Exam 24: The Origin of Species

Many songbirds breed in North America in the spring and summer, and then migrate to Central and South America in the fall. They spend the winter in these warmer areas where they feed and prepare for the spring migration north and another breeding season. Two hypothetical species of sparrow, A and B, overwinter together in mixed flocks in Costa Rica. In spring, species A goes to the east coast of North America, and species B goes to the west coast. What can you say about the isolating mechanisms of these two species?

Two species of frogs belonging to the same genus occasionally mate, but the embryos stop developing after a day and then die. These two frog species separate by ________.

The question refers to the following evolutionary tree, in which the horizontal axis represents time (present time is on the far right), and the vertical axis represents morphological change. Which conclusion can be drawn from this evolutionary tree?

Beetle pollinators of a particular plant are attracted to its flowers' bright orange color. The beetles not only pollinate the flowers, but they mate while inside of the flowers. A mutant version of the plant with red flowers becomes more common with the passage of time. A particular variant of the beetle prefers the red flowers to the orange flowers. Over time, these two beetle variants diverge from each other to such an extent that interbreeding is no longer possible. What kind of speciation has occurred in this example, and what has driven it?

How are two different species most likely to evolve from one ancestral species?

Use the following description to answer the question. On the Bahamian island of Andros, mosquitofish populations live in various, now-isolated freshwater ponds that were once united. Currently, some predator-rich ponds have mosquitofish that can swim in short, fast bursts; other predator-poor ponds have mosquitofish that can swim continuously for a long time. When placed together in the same body of water, the two kinds of female mosquitofish exhibit exclusive breeding preferences. What is the best way to promote fusion between two related populations of mosquitofish, one of which lives in a predator-rich pond and the other of which lives in a predator-poor pond?

A small number of birds arrive on an island from a neighboring larger island. This small population begins to adapt to the new food plants available on the island, and their beaks begin to change. About twice a year, one or two more birds from the neighboring island arrive. These new arrivals ________.

House finches were found only in western North America until 1939, when a few individuals were released in New York City. These individuals established a breeding population and gradually expanded their range. The western population also expanded its range somewhat eastward, and the two populations have recently come in contact. If the two forms were unable to interbreed when their expanding ranges met, it would be an example of ________.

You are confronted with a box of preserved grasshoppers of various species that are new to science and have not been described. Your assignment is to separate them into species. There is no accompanying information as to where or when they were collected. Which species concept will you have to use?

The following question refers to this hypothetical situation. A female fly, full of fertilized eggs, is swept by high winds to an island far out to sea. She is the first fly to arrive on this island and the only fly to arrive in this way. Thousands of years later, her numerous offspring occupy the island, but none of them resembles her. There are, instead, several species, each of which eats only a certain type of food. None of the species can fly and their balancing organs (halteres)are now used in courtship displays. The male members of each species bear modified halteres that are unique in appearance to their species. Females bear vestigial halteres. The ranges of all of the daughter species overlap. - Fly species W, found in a certain part of the island, produces fertile offspring with species Y. Species W does not produce fertile offspring with species X or Z. If no other species can hybridize, then which of the following statements about species W and Y are true? I Species W and Y have genomes that are still similar enough for successful meiosis to occur in hybrid flies. II Species W and Y have more genetic similarity with each other than either did with the other two species. III Species W and Y may fuse into a single species if their hybrids remain fertile over the course of many generations.

Macroevolution is ________.

There is still some controversy among biologists about whether Neanderthals should be placed within the same species as modern humans or into a separate species of their own. Most DNA sequence data analyzed so far indicate that there was probably little or no gene flow between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. Which species concept describing species relationship between modern humans and Neanderthals is most applicable in these observations?

Reinforcement is most likely to occur when ________.

A narrow hybrid zone separates the toad species Bombina bombina and Bombina variegata. What is true of those alleles that are unique to the parental species?

How can reproductive barriers form sympatric populations while their members remain in the same geographic area?

The peppered moth provides a well-known example of natural selection. The light-colored form of the moth was predominant in England before the Industrial Revolution. In the mid-19th century, a dark-colored form appeared. The difference is produced by a dominant allele of one gene. By about 1900, approximately 90% of the moths around industrial areas were dark colored, whereas light-colored moths were still abundant elsewhere. Apparently, birds could readily find the light moths against the soot-darkened background in industrial areas and, therefore, were eating more light moths. Recently, use of cleaner fuels has greatly reduced soot in the landscape, and the dark-colored moths have been disappearing. Should the two forms of moths be considered separate species?

In a hypothetical situation, a certain species of flea feeds only on pronghorn antelopes. In the western United States, pronghorns and cattle often associate with one another in the same open rangeland. Some of these fleas develop a strong preference for cattle blood and mate only with other fleas that prefer cattle blood. The host mammal can be considered as the fleas' habitat. If this situation persists, and new species evolve, this would be an example of ________.

In the oceans on either side of the Isthmus of Panama are 30 species of snapping shrimp; some are shallow-water species, others are adapted to deep water. There are 15 species on the Pacific side and 15 different species on the Atlantic side. The Isthmus of Panama started rising about 10 million years ago. The oceans were completely separated by the isthmus about 3 million years ago. In the figure, the isthmus separates the Pacific Ocean on the left (side A)from the Atlantic Ocean on the right (side B). The seawater on either side of the isthmus is separated into five depth habitats (1-5), with 1 being the shallowest. Which of these habitats is likely to harbor the most recently diverged species?

The largest unit within which gene flow can readily occur is a

Which of the following statements describes mechanical isolation prezygotic barrier?