Exam 16: Reconstructing and Using Phylogenies

Which of the following represents a legitimate challenge or limitation of the studies presented in the text that examine the accuracy of phylogenetic reconstruction?

Which scientist proposed the molecular clock hypothesis?

How did researchers ensure that experiments testing the phylogeny reconstruction method using bacteriophage T7 matched the levels of homoplasy seen in real data sets?

Use the following to answer questions : Consider five species of toads.Species A and B are sister species.Species C and D are also sister species.The clade containing species A and B is sister to the clade containing species C and D.Species E is sister to the clade containing A,B,C,and D. -Which species is most likely to share synapomorphies with species C?

The ratites are a group of flightless birds comprising the ostrich,emu,cassowaries,rheas,and kiwis.All share certain morphological similarities (such as a breastbone without a keel)not found in other birds,but they live on different continents.In the past,some ornithologists regarded their similarities as homoplasies,but they are now thought to be synapomorphies.Based on this information,you would conclude that the ratites were once regarded as a _______ group but are now believed to be _______.

The wasp genus Nasonia contains all of the descendants of the members' common ancestor.This genus therefore would be called

Use the following to answer questions : Consider five species of toads.Species A and B are sister species.Species C and D are also sister species.The clade containing species A and B is sister to the clade containing species C and D.Species E is sister to the clade containing A,B,C,and D. -Not counting the root as a node,how many nodes would be found in a phylogenetic tree containing just species A,B,C,and D?

Matz's discovery of coral proteins that fluoresce in red light was a valuable extension of the Noble Prize-winning work that produced green fluorescent protein because

Use the following to answer questions : Refer to the figure below. -How long ago did the lineage leading to humans and chimpanzees diverge from the lineage leading to gorillas?

According to Linnaean nomenclature,which species name is not written correctly?

The common ancestor of humans and the other "great apes" walked on all fours,whereas humans are bipeds.Bipedalism is thus the _______ trait.

Use the following to answer questions : Refer to the figure below. -Not counting the root,how many nodes are present?

Any taxon that consists of all the evolutionary descendants of a common ancestor is called a _______.

The antifreeze proteins found in fish that live in very cold waters of the Arctic and Antarctic have evolved independently,not because of shared ancestry.Based on this information,which statement is true?

The common ancestor of all of the species displayed in a phylogenetic tree lies at the _______ of the tree.

Which statement about the molecular clock is true?

Suppose that mice and humans differ by 20 substitutions in their globin genes,and rats and mice differ by 5 substitutions.On the basis of other evidence,we know that the ancestor to humans and mice lived 80 million years ago.Assuming the molecular clock is operating,rats and mice split from each other _______ million years ago.

Which of the following is the largest taxon?

The evolutionary relationship among organisms is known as

A taxon that includes a common ancestor,all descendants of that ancestor,and no other organisms is considered to be