Evolutionary Biology - Exam 1
Questions with Verified Answers
Microevolution - ANSWERSHow do populations change over time?
[Change in allele frequencies in a population over generations.]
Macroevolution - ANSWERSHow do new species come into being?
[evolution on a large scale extending over geologic era and resulting in the formation of
new taxonomic groups]
Charles Darwin - ANSWERSnatural selection; descent with modification. mechanism
introduced to explain evolution. Origin of Species (1859)
4 Postulates of Darwin - ANSWERS1. Individuals within a species are variable
(VARIATION)
2. Some of these variations are passed onto
offspring (HERITABILITY)
3. In every generation, more offspring are
produced than can survive
4. Survival and reproduction are not random:
individuals that survive and reproduce are
those with the most favorable variations
(SELECTION)
Modern Synthesis - ANSWERS1930-1940's. a consolidation of the results of various
lines of investigation from the 1920s through the 1950s that supported and reconciled
the Darwinian theory of evolution and the Mendelian laws of inheritance in terms of
natural selection acting on genetic variation
Evolution - ANSWERS-descent with modification
-change in allele frequencies in a population over generations/time; microevolution
-divergence of 2 or more species from one species; macroevolution
Aristotle's "Great Chain of Being" - ANSWERSlifeforms are created in their current form
by God. How much spirit is in the organism (a lot of spirit = closer to God; Hierarchical
organization)
Pre-Darwinian View - ANSWERSStatic. God created the world. Trying to understand
the divine plan.
Carolus Linnaeus - ANSWERS(1707-1778)
species are ideal "types" that were unchanged and unchangeable
, created system of naming organisms (binomial species name)
went from long Latin names to two Latin names
"God creates, Linnaeus names"
called the "type specimen" - one thing that describes all the diversity of that particular
species
Georges-Louis Leclerc - ANSWERS(1707-1778)
common ancestry of organisms based on morphological similarities
Homology
Other Proposed Hypotheses of Evolution - ANSWERSBiblical book of genesis
Native American creation
Hindu Creation
Intelligent Design
Extraterrestrial origin - came from comets
All are reasonable, but NOT testable
Intelligent Design (ID) - ANSWERSthe idea that life is so complex it could only have
been created by intelligent design.
proposed in last 20 years
some microevolution and some macroevolution does occur
However, some biological systems could not evolve gradually by natural selection b/c
they are irreducibly complex (Not created necessarily by God; no religious affiliation)
A theory involving something supernatural would not replace Evolution as a scientific
theory b/c it's not scientific
Lamarck - ANSWERSinheritance of acquired characteristics
unconscious striving upward (directed)
Giraffe example
contradicted → exceptions prove the rule (ex: horizontal gene transfer in bacteria);
however, not usually the case (acquired traits are not passed down to offspring)
Variation in natural populations - ANSWERSRaw Material of Evolution
• Selection can act on variation
• Selection, drift and mating system
can eliminate variation
• Mutation, migration, and mating
system can increase variation
2 Types of Variation - ANSWERSVg = genotypic variation (not same as genetic
variation)
Vp = phenotypic variation
Phenotypic Variation (Vp) - ANSWERS-selection
Questions with Verified Answers
Microevolution - ANSWERSHow do populations change over time?
[Change in allele frequencies in a population over generations.]
Macroevolution - ANSWERSHow do new species come into being?
[evolution on a large scale extending over geologic era and resulting in the formation of
new taxonomic groups]
Charles Darwin - ANSWERSnatural selection; descent with modification. mechanism
introduced to explain evolution. Origin of Species (1859)
4 Postulates of Darwin - ANSWERS1. Individuals within a species are variable
(VARIATION)
2. Some of these variations are passed onto
offspring (HERITABILITY)
3. In every generation, more offspring are
produced than can survive
4. Survival and reproduction are not random:
individuals that survive and reproduce are
those with the most favorable variations
(SELECTION)
Modern Synthesis - ANSWERS1930-1940's. a consolidation of the results of various
lines of investigation from the 1920s through the 1950s that supported and reconciled
the Darwinian theory of evolution and the Mendelian laws of inheritance in terms of
natural selection acting on genetic variation
Evolution - ANSWERS-descent with modification
-change in allele frequencies in a population over generations/time; microevolution
-divergence of 2 or more species from one species; macroevolution
Aristotle's "Great Chain of Being" - ANSWERSlifeforms are created in their current form
by God. How much spirit is in the organism (a lot of spirit = closer to God; Hierarchical
organization)
Pre-Darwinian View - ANSWERSStatic. God created the world. Trying to understand
the divine plan.
Carolus Linnaeus - ANSWERS(1707-1778)
species are ideal "types" that were unchanged and unchangeable
, created system of naming organisms (binomial species name)
went from long Latin names to two Latin names
"God creates, Linnaeus names"
called the "type specimen" - one thing that describes all the diversity of that particular
species
Georges-Louis Leclerc - ANSWERS(1707-1778)
common ancestry of organisms based on morphological similarities
Homology
Other Proposed Hypotheses of Evolution - ANSWERSBiblical book of genesis
Native American creation
Hindu Creation
Intelligent Design
Extraterrestrial origin - came from comets
All are reasonable, but NOT testable
Intelligent Design (ID) - ANSWERSthe idea that life is so complex it could only have
been created by intelligent design.
proposed in last 20 years
some microevolution and some macroevolution does occur
However, some biological systems could not evolve gradually by natural selection b/c
they are irreducibly complex (Not created necessarily by God; no religious affiliation)
A theory involving something supernatural would not replace Evolution as a scientific
theory b/c it's not scientific
Lamarck - ANSWERSinheritance of acquired characteristics
unconscious striving upward (directed)
Giraffe example
contradicted → exceptions prove the rule (ex: horizontal gene transfer in bacteria);
however, not usually the case (acquired traits are not passed down to offspring)
Variation in natural populations - ANSWERSRaw Material of Evolution
• Selection can act on variation
• Selection, drift and mating system
can eliminate variation
• Mutation, migration, and mating
system can increase variation
2 Types of Variation - ANSWERSVg = genotypic variation (not same as genetic
variation)
Vp = phenotypic variation
Phenotypic Variation (Vp) - ANSWERS-selection
