General Biology BI101 Spring 2007
Study Questions Chapter 14
1. Charles Darwin was NOT influenced by which of the following people in formulating his ideas about natural selection?
BI101 SQ Ch14 1 4/17/2007
General Biology BI101 Spring 2007
Study Questions Chapter 14
a. Thomas Malthus
b. Charles Lyell
c. William Smith
d. Gregor Mendel
BI101 SQ Ch14 1 4/17/2007
General Biology BI101 Spring 2007
Study Questions Chapter 14
2. What were Darwin’s contributions to science?
a. Darwin recognized and described the process of natural selection.
b. Darwin recognized and described the pattern of evolution.
c. Darwin recognized and described many new species in South America and on Pacific islands.
3. What is a modern definition of evolution?
a. Evolution is the formation of a new species.
b. Evolution is a change in the characteristics of a population over time.
c. Evolution is natural selection for a novel trait.
d. Evolution is a trait that increases the fitness of an individual relative to individuals without that trait.
4. Which list below contains the four observations of natural selection?
a. variation in population, heritable variation, selection, unlimited survival and reproduction
b. uniform population, heritable traits, selection, differential survival or reproduction
c. variation in population, environmental variation, selection, differential survival or reproduction
d. rapid reproduction rate, constant population size, variation among individuals in a population, heritable variation
5. Which of the following lines of evidence support(s) the idea that evolution occurs?
BI101 SQ Ch14 1 4/17/2007
General Biology BI101 Spring 2007
Study Questions Chapter 14
a. the fossil record
b. genetic and biochemical analyses
c. comparative anatomy and embryology
d. artificial selection
e. all of the above
BI101 SQ Ch14 1 4/17/2007
General Biology BI101 Spring 2007
Study Questions Chapter 14
6. All vertebrate embryos resemble each other during the early stages of development. For example, fish, turtles, chickens, mice, and humans develop tails and gill slits during early stages of development. This suggests that _________.
a. early embryonic development is conservative
b. ancestral vertebrates possessed genes that directed the development of tails and gill slits, and all of their descendants still retain those genes
c. genes that modify the developmental pathways in vertebrates arose later in evolution
d. all of the above
7. Which of the following is NOT one of the main points of Darwin’s theory of evolution?
BI101 SQ Ch14 1 4/17/2007
General Biology BI101 Spring 2007
Study Questions Chapter 14
a. Life on Earth is quite old.
b. Evolution is gradual and continuous.
c. Contemporary species share a common descent.
d. Species are formed and adapt by the process of natural selection.
e. All of the above are true.
BI101 SQ Ch14 1 4/17/2007
General Biology BI101 Spring 2007
Study Questions Chapter 14
8. Which of the following is a basic requirement for natural selection to be an effective evolutionary force?
BI101 SQ Ch14 1 4/17/2007
General Biology BI101 Spring 2007
Study Questions Chapter 14
a. Mutation must occur frequently.
b. Individuals reproduce at a rapid rate.
c. Each population is limited to a small size.
d. A population exhibits some genetic variability.
e. all of the above
BI101 SQ Ch14 1 4/17/2007
General Biology BI101 Spring 2007
Study Questions Chapter 14
9. Which of the following would describe artificial selection?
a. breeding organisms for the purpose of generating certain features or traits (e.g., dog breeds)
b. coloration changes in guppy populations in the absence of predators
c. increased frequency of roaches that avoid sugar-baited poison traps
d. all of the above
10. Which of the following is an incorrect statement about mutation?
a. Mutation introduces variation into a population. b. Mutations can be inherited from parents to offspring.
c. Mutations may have no effect on the organism. d. Mutations that are favored by selection are more likely to occur.
11. Natural selection acts on ____________________, while evolution occurs in ________________.
12. Does evolution through natural selection produce “better” organisms in an absolute sense? Are we climbing the “ladder of Nature”? Defend your answer.
13. Both the study of fossils and the idea of divine creation have had an impact on evolutionary thought. Discuss why one is considered scientific endeavor and the other is not.
14. In evolutionary terms, “success” can be defined in many different ways. What are the most successful organisms you can think of in terms of (a) persistence over time, (b) sheer numbers of individuals alive now, (c) numbers of species, and (d) geographical range?
15. In what sense are humans currently acting as agents of selection on other species? Name some organisms that are favored by the environmental changes humans cause.
16. What are antibiotics?
a. Antibiotics are drugs administered to people (or other animals) that kill bacteria growing in or on that individual.
b. Antibiotics are drugs administered to people (or other animals) that boost the individual's immune system.
c. Antibiotics are proteins produced by cells of the immune system that combine with a specific antigen and facilitate the destruction of the antigen.
d. Antibiotics are chemicals that kill viruses.
17. Antibiotic prescriptions normally specify that one take the entire course of treatment, such as a fixed number of pills, rather than simply taking the medicine until one feels better. Why?
a. It is wasteful to leave pills behind.
b. You may suffer a relapse of the illness.
c. Bacteria carrying slight resistance will be killed by the full course but will persist with a lesser dose.
18. In the United States today about half of the corn crop is genetically engineered with a protein that is toxic to corn borers, an insect pest of corn. Which of the following conditions are necessary for the corn borer to evolve resistance to the toxic protein?
a. The corn borer must have heritable variation in the resistance to the toxic protein. The resistant corn borers must survive better or reproduce more than nonresistant corn borers.
b. The corn borers must lack variation in the resistance to the toxic protein. The resistant corn borers must survive in the same way as nonresistant corn borers.
c. All corn borers must have resistance to the toxic protein. The resistant corn borers must survive better or reproduce more than other insects.
d. The corn borer must have heritable variation in the resistance to the toxic protein. The resistant corn borers must survive and reproduce the same as nonresistant corn borers.
19. For cockroaches to have rapidly evolved resistance to the insecticide Combat®:
a. they must have learned to avoid it.
b. some cockroaches must have had a mutation, causing them to dislike the ingredients.
c. few people must have been using this brand.
20 Biologists have shown that some species of fish have genetic variation in their tendency to bite an angler's bait and hook. With repeated fishing and harvesting of caught fish:
a. catching fish should become more difficult.
b. catching fish should become easier.
c. no change in catching success should occur.
d. an individual's ability to catch fish relative to other anglers will determine one's success.
21. Biologists have shown that some species of fish have genetic variation in their tendency to bite an angler's bait and hook. In professional bass fishing tournaments, all fish caught are returned to the water; therefore:
a. catching fish should become more difficult.
b. catching fish should become easier.
c. no change in catching success should occur.
22. Behavioral geneticists have found that the ability of house mice to squeak is determined by a single gene. If squeaky mice are more likely to be dropped by startled predators:
a. the mouse population will consist of more and more squeakers over time.
b. the mouse population will consist of more and more nonsqueakers over time.
c. the occurrence of squeaking in the mouse population will not change.
d. squeaking will become louder over time.
Bizarre Facts in Biology Winged Wooing in Hawaii
Many people are familiar with the tiny common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, which is common worldwide in temperate areas. Most people don’t know that the Hawaiian islands are home to hundreds of unique close relatives of this “weed” species, and that they show an incredible degree of diversity. Many species remain undescribed by researchers, so there may be as many as one thousand different Drosophila species in Hawaii alone.
About 100 species of Hawaiian Drosophila belong to a group called the “picture-wings” (http://www.biology.duke.edu/rausher/hawdros.htm) because of elaborate pigmentation patterns on their wings. Some of these species are much larger than the common D. melanogaster, and many have highly modified mouths or legs. Some species are even flightless! Perhaps they should be called “fruitless flies.”
Many of the more unusual features of males in these species may be due to the flies’ courtship practices. In order to successfully mate with a female, a male fly may need to directly compete with other males (and have evolved specific modifications, like a “hammerhead,” to do so). Then, to attract the female, he may need to dance, sing (vibrate the wings), or douse his intended with perfume (pheromones).
It is believed that all of these diverse species are descended from one ancient colonizing species (http://www.hawaii-forest.com/essays/9810.html) from the mainland, at a time when there was only one Hawaiian island. This species diversified into many by the process of adaptive radiation (http://www.meta-library.net/evolution/oppor-body.html), natural selection to adapt to specific environmental conditions. As the new islands formed by volcanic activity, there was further colonization and diversification into the many species observed today.
23. What are some of the different habitats to which the various fruit fly species of Hawaii have evolved?
24. What are some of the ways that males of Hawaiian Drosophila species compete with each other for females?
25. What does it mean to say that natural selection is an “opportunistic process”? How does this help to explain the diversity of Hawaiian Drosophila?
26. The ability of organisms to pass on to their offspring physical changes that the parents developed during their own lifetimes is known as _______.
BI101 SQ Ch14.doc 3
General Biology BI101 Spring 2007
Study Questions Chapter 14
a. genetic drift
b. natural selection
c. artificial selection
d. adaptive radiation
BI101 SQ Ch14.doc 3
General Biology BI101 Spring 2007
Study Questions Chapter 14
e. inheritance of acquired characteristics
27. You are a biologist studying a natural population of mice, and you observe that in one area the proportion of darker colored mice is greater than the proportion of lighter colored mice. In another area, the opposite is true. You find that only the area with more dark mice has predators. Therefore, you hypothesize that darker mice are favored in areas with predators, perhaps because they are more difficult to see. If your hypothesis is true, what would you expect to happen in the few generations after predators are introduced to an area with a population of mice that previously did not have predators?
a. The proportion of darker colored mice will decrease.
b. The proportion of darker colored mice will not change.
c. The predators will evolve to be able to better see the darker mice.
d. The proportion of darker colored mice will increase.
28. In what way does the human population influence evolution?
a. Human development changes the habitats of many species, influencing natural selection on those species.
b. Use of antibiotics by humans has selected for antibiotic-resistant bacterial populations.
c. Humans are responsible for the many breeds of dogs found today.
d. all of the above
Use the following three terms to answer questions 29 through 38:
a. analogous structures b. homologous structures c. vestigial structures
29. Structures that may differ in function but that have similar anatomy, presumably because of descent from common ancestors, are called ______.
30. Structures that serve no apparent purpose but are homologous to functional structures in related organisms are called
31. Structures that have similar functions and superficially similar appearance but very different anatomy, such as the wings of insects and birds, are called _________. The similarities are due to similar environmental pressures rather than to common ancestry.
BI101 SQ Ch14.doc 5
General Biology BI101 Spring 2007
Study Questions Chapter 14
32. Insect wings and bird wings are _________.
33. Penguin wings and swallow wings are _________.
34. Seal flippers and penguin wings are _________.
35. Bat wings and insect wings are _________.
36. Ostrich wings and hummingbird wings are _________.
37. Frog legs and kangaroo legs are _________.
38. Cockroach legs and mouse legs are _________.
BI101 SQ Ch14.doc 5
General Biology BI101 Spring 2007
Study Questions Chapter 14
39. The diagram on the left indicates a flowchart of evolutionary reasoning. After reading and understanding the information, label the key to indicate which boxes are observations and which are conclusions based on those observations.
40. Three major changes can be concluded from the evolutionary tree of the modern horse. Using the clues from this diagram, label the points where these three changes occurred.
Label A: Body size increased, perhaps in response to predation.
Label B: Stout strong legs and large strong hooves developed, perhaps in response to life on the open plains.
Label C: Teeth became larger and harder, noticeably changing the diet from those of the earliest horses.
41. Outwardly similar body parts that serve a similar function in unrelated organisms (such as the wings of insects and birds) are _________. (Level 2)
BI101 SQ Ch14.doc 5
General Biology BI101 Spring 2007
Study Questions Chapter 14
a. analogous structures
b. homologous structures
c. vestigial structures
d. evidence of convergent evolution
e. evidence of divergent evolution
f. Both the first and fourth answers are correct.
BI101 SQ Ch14.doc 5
General Biology BI101 Spring 2007
Study Questions Chapter 14
42. Each of the limbs in the diagram on the left shows the same set of bones (homologous structures). Using the human forearm as the key, label each of the bones.
Not a study question – for your personal consideration:
Darwin and Wallace’s discovery of natural selection is one of the great revolutions in scientific thought. Some scientific revolutions spill over and affect the development of philosophy and religion. Is this true of evolution? Does (or should) the idea of evolution by natural selection affect the way humans view their place in the world?
BI101 SQ Ch14.doc 5