Exam 18: Introduction to Darwinian Evolution

Consider this statement: "There is bias in the fossil record." Why would bias exist in the fossil record if scientists carefully preserve dig sites and document all findings?

When DNA sequences are compared, the closet living relative of humans is found to be the gorilla.

Which example best illustrates homoplasy?

What is a cladogram?

After 11 years, the descendants of transferred guppies in Venezuela and Trinidad were significantly larger than their ancestors, indicating that the larger size of guppies was an adaptation to the new environment.

Overproduction, variation, limits on population growth, and differential reproductive success are all components of:

DNA sequencing data suggest that evolutionary changes are related to an accumulation of:

What is the evolutionary relationship between a human arm and a cat's forelimb?

You have identified a new mammal species. You are surprised to find that it has a pelvis, but there is no evidence the species has legs. What can you conclude about this animal's structure?

Medicine must respond with new drugs and vaccinations to the slow evolution of disease-causing organisms such as bacteria and viruses.

Scientific evidence in the field of developmental biology overwhelmingly demonstrates that development in different animals is controlled by the same kinds of:

Who arranged organisms into a scale of nature and first stated that organisms changed toward the more complex and perfect?

The accumulation of genetic changes in vertebrates that modified the basic body plan laid out in fish development illustrates evolutionary development from a common ancestor.

The differential distribution of wing length in Drosophila , with larger wings in northern areas and smaller wings in southern climates, provides evidence that:

The genetic code demonstrates the universality of living things because it is common to virtually all:

A cactus spine and a pea tendril illustrate homoplasy because both are modified leaves.

The modern synthesis theory of evolution explains Darwin's observations of variation among offspring in terms of amino acid substitutions.

The genetic code is sometimes called "universal," meaning that all organisms share the same:

During the 1920s to 1940s, biologists combined Mendelian genetics with Darwin's theory to form a unified explanation of evolution that is referred to as:

Table 18-1 Based on data in the accompanying table, which primate has the most recent common ancestor with humans?