Exam 17: Microevolution

The process by which a species of bird with an intermediate beak size becomes two separate species with large and small beaks respectively is called disruptive selection.

Which of the following categories is the smallest capable of evolution?

Populations of organisms undergo continual evolution, which means that:

Refer to the table above and then answer the questions that follow. -Genetic drift results in a change in gene frequencies because:

Refer to the table above and then answer the questions that follow. -The only known population of a reptile species lives on an African mountain. The population is relatively large, but no close relatives of this species are known. Suppose you could stop all mutations within the population and all emigration out of this population. Which statement best describes the probable future of this population?

Microevolution is:

The common genetic defects of certain dog breeds are due to:

In central Africa, the frequency (percentage) of the sickle-cell gene, compared to the normal gene, has remained stable over the years because the sickle-cell gene protects against malaria. In the United States, malaria was eradicated shortly before World War II by eliminating the mosquito that spreads the disease. What has likely happened to the frequency of the sickle-cell gene in African Americans living in the United States since the elimination of malaria?

Assume that protein synthesis always reads along a chromosome three bases at a time to code for each successive amino acid in a protein. There are two kinds of point mutations, a base substitution and a base deletion. How are these two types of mutations likely to affect the protein coded for by a mutated gene?

The construction of housing developments on the beaches of southern California has resulted in the loss of areas with sufficient weeds to support certain butterflies. This can result in:

Suppose we find a population with 60 AA individuals, 20 Aa individuals, and 20 aa individuals, what is the genotype frequency of Aa?

Consider a species that becomes localized in its distribution and overspecializes in a particular type of food. How would this affect the likelihood that this species will become extinct?

The evolutionary advantage of incest taboos in humans is that they protect against:

Refer to the following populations of a plant species and then answer the questions that follow. 1. 20 plants capable of asexual reproduction only. 2. 50 plants with unisexual flowers. Some plants bear male and some female flowers. 3. 1,000 plants with bisexual, self-fertilizing flowers. 4. 500 plants with bisexual, self-sterile flowers that make seeds only when cross-pollinated. -Which population would be most likely to survive in the event of a drastic environmental change?

Of the following mechanisms, which would prevent evolution from occurring in a population that reproduced only asexually.

Refer to the following populations of a plant species and then answer the questions that follow. 1. 20 plants capable of asexual reproduction only. 2. 50 plants with unisexual flowers. Some plants bear male and some female flowers. 3. 1,000 plants with bisexual, self-fertilizing flowers. 4. 500 plants with bisexual, self-sterile flowers that make seeds only when cross-pollinated. -The physical appearance of which population is most likely to be affected by the founder effect?

The fact that mutations are random and independent of "need implies that:

You are studying leaf size in a natural population of plants. The second season is particularly dry, and the following year the average leaf size in the population is smaller than the year before. But the amount of overall variation is the same, and the population size hasn't changed. Also, you've done experiments that show that small leaves are better adapted to dry conditions than are large leaves. Which of the following has occurred?

Mutations:

Which of the following males in a given population would be considered the most fit in an evolutionary sense? One that produced: