Question 1

Which statement best describes why the Cambrian explosion was important?

Accepted Answer

A) because good fossils from this period are available to study 
B) because there was an explosion in animal abundance 
C) because there was an explosion in ecological diversity among animals 
D) because plant and animal fossils were found together for the first time 
A) because good fossils from this period are available to study 
B) because there was an explosion in animal abundance 
C) because there was an explosion in ecological diversity among animals 
D) because plant and animal fossils were found together for the first time C

Question 2

Figure 27.1  
-Which of the following trees depicts the same relationship among species as shown above?

Accepted Answer

A) 
  
B) 
  
C) 
  
D) None;the above trees all depict a different relationship among species. 
A) 
  
B) 
  
C) 
  
D) None;the above trees all depict a different relationship among species. B

Question 3

The cladistic approach to estimating phylogenetic trees is most like the approach of which species concept?

Accepted Answer

A) morphospecies concept 
B) biological species concept 
C) phylogenetic species concept 
A) morphospecies concept 
B) biological species concept 
C) phylogenetic species concept C

Question 4

Which of the following would be useful in creating a phylogenetic tree of a taxon?

Accepted Answer

A) morphological data from fossil species 
B) genetic sequences from living species 
C) gehavioral data from living species 
D) all of the above 
E) none of the above 
A) morphological data from fossil species 
B) genetic sequences from living species 
C) gehavioral data from living species 
D) all of the above 
E) none of the above

Question 5

The phenetic approach to estimating phylogenetic trees is most like the approach of which species concept?

Accepted Answer

A) morphospecies concept 
B) biological species concept 
C) phylogenetic species concept 
A) morphospecies concept 
B) biological species concept 
C) phylogenetic species concept

Question 6

In plant communities today,leaf morphology is correlated with mean annual temperature,so paleobotanists use fossil leaf morphology to estimate the mean annual temperature of paleoclimates.However,the angiosperm fossil record contains an overabundance of samples fossilized near lakes or rivers where vines are especially common.Since vine leaves have a somewhat different association with temperature,use of data from vine-rich locations leads to mean average temperature estimates that are lower than actual recorded temperatures in modern plant communities.This potential bias in paleobotanical climate estimates is due to which type of bias in the fossil record? (R.J.Burnham,N.C.A.Pitman,K.R.Johnson,and P.Wilf.2001.Habitat-related error in estimating temperature from leaf margins in a humid tropical forest.American Journal of Botany 88:1096-1102.)

Accepted Answer

A) Taxonomic bias 
B) Temporal bias 
C) Habitat bias 
D) Abundance bias 
A) Taxonomic bias 
B) Temporal bias 
C) Habitat bias 
D) Abundance bias

Question 7

Figure 27.5  
-In the phylogenetic trees above,numbers represent species and the same species are shown in both trees.Which two species are represented as sister species in Tree 2 but are not shown as sister species in Tree 1?

Accepted Answer

A) 1 and 2 
B) 2 and 3 
C) 3 and 4 
D) 6 and 5 
E) The two trees show all the same phylogenetic relationships. 
A) 1 and 2 
B) 2 and 3 
C) 3 and 4 
D) 6 and 5 
E) The two trees show all the same phylogenetic relationships.

Question 8

The largest extinction,measured as a percentage of species that disappeared,occurred at the end of which geological period?

Accepted Answer

A) Permian 
B) Cretaceous 
C) Tertiary 
D) Devonian 
E) Silurian 
A) Permian 
B) Cretaceous 
C) Tertiary 
D) Devonian 
E) Silurian

Question 9

The Mesozoic era is nicknamed the Age of Reptiles and the Cenozoic era is nicknamed the Age of Mammals.What do these nicknames mean?

Accepted Answer

A) They indicate that the two eras are about the same length,because one lineage dominates the fauna of Earth only for a set period of time. 
B) They identify the time of greatest diversity of these groups in the fossil record. 
C) They identify the point of origin of these groups in the fossil record. 
D) Both A and C are true. 
E) Both B and C are true. 
A) They indicate that the two eras are about the same length,because one lineage dominates the fauna of Earth only for a set period of time. 
B) They identify the time of greatest diversity of these groups in the fossil record. 
C) They identify the point of origin of these groups in the fossil record. 
D) Both A and C are true. 
E) Both B and C are true.

Question 10

A hypothetical island lies far from any other landmasses.There are many different types of plants,but only one animal-a beetle that can fly or walk from plant to plant and feeds by chewing leaves.Which morphological change would be most likely to trigger an adaptive radiation of the beetles?

Accepted Answer

A) a change in wing shape that improves flight speed 
B) an additional segment on a pair of legs 
C) a mouthpart that can pierce fruits and seeds 
A) a change in wing shape that improves flight speed 
B) an additional segment on a pair of legs 
C) a mouthpart that can pierce fruits and seeds

Question 11

Which of the following organisms would be most likely to fossilize?

Accepted Answer

A) a species of rat that lives in the desert 
B) a species of clam found in a shallow marine habitat 
C) a species of slug that lives in the rain forest 
D) a species of flower found in Ontario forests 
A) a species of rat that lives in the desert 
B) a species of clam found in a shallow marine habitat 
C) a species of slug that lives in the rain forest 
D) a species of flower found in Ontario forests

Question 12

Which of the following organisms would be most likely to fossilize?

Accepted Answer

A) a rare worm 
B) a common worm 
C) a rare squirrel 
D) a common squirrel 
A) a rare worm 
B) a common worm 
C) a rare squirrel 
D) a common squirrel

Question 13

According to the phylogeny above,which of the following is true?

Accepted Answer

A) Chimpanzees are more closely related to humans than bonobos are. 
B) Bonobos and chimpanzees are more closely related to each other than humans. 
C) Chimpanzees and bonobos evolved from humans. 
D) Chimpanzees and bonobos are more evolved than gorillas. 
A) Chimpanzees are more closely related to humans than bonobos are. 
B) Bonobos and chimpanzees are more closely related to each other than humans. 
C) Chimpanzees and bonobos evolved from humans. 
D) Chimpanzees and bonobos are more evolved than gorillas.

Question 14

Which of the following statements is true about a phylogeny,as represented by a phylogenetic tree?

Accepted Answer

A) Descendant groups (branches)from the same node do not necessarily share any derived characters. 
B) A monophyletic group can be properly based on convergent features in addition to synapomorphies. 
C) The ancestral group is often identified by out-group analysis. 
D) All of the above answers are correct. 
E) None of the above answers are correct. 
A) Descendant groups (branches)from the same node do not necessarily share any derived characters. 
B) A monophyletic group can be properly based on convergent features in addition to synapomorphies. 
C) The ancestral group is often identified by out-group analysis. 
D) All of the above answers are correct. 
E) None of the above answers are correct.

Question 15

You find a new fossil deposit,containing many species with shells but no soft-bodied species.What is the most logical conclusion?

Accepted Answer

A) There were no soft-bodied organisms at this time and location. 
B) Conditions were not right to fossilize soft-bodied organisms. 
C) There was a mass extinction event among hard-bodied,but not soft-bodied,species at this location. 
A) There were no soft-bodied organisms at this time and location. 
B) Conditions were not right to fossilize soft-bodied organisms. 
C) There was a mass extinction event among hard-bodied,but not soft-bodied,species at this location.

Question 16

Your professor wants you to construct a phylogenetic tree of orchids.She gives you tissue from seven orchid species and one lily.What is the most likely reason she gave you the lily?

Accepted Answer

A) to serve as an out-group 
B) to see if it's a cryptic orchid species 
C) to see if the lily and the orchids show all the same shared derived characters (synapomorphies) 
D) to see if you were paying attention 
A) to serve as an out-group 
B) to see if it's a cryptic orchid species 
C) to see if the lily and the orchids show all the same shared derived characters (synapomorphies) 
D) to see if you were paying attention

Question 17

Which value(s)would be required to calculate how long ago the most recent ancestor of ungulates lived?

Accepted Answer

A) the number of base pairs that differ among species in a certain genetic sequence 
B) the total number of base pairs in the genetic sequence examined 
C) the age of a fossil ancestor for calibration 
D) All of the above 
A) the number of base pairs that differ among species in a certain genetic sequence 
B) the total number of base pairs in the genetic sequence examined 
C) the age of a fossil ancestor for calibration 
D) All of the above

Question 18

All of the following events can trigger an adaptive radiation except

Accepted Answer

A) a vicariance event splitting the habitat. 
B) the evolution of a new morphological feature. 
C) the colonization of a new habitat. 
D) the extinction of competitors. 
E) gene duplication events. 
A) a vicariance event splitting the habitat. 
B) the evolution of a new morphological feature. 
C) the colonization of a new habitat. 
D) the extinction of competitors. 
E) gene duplication events.

Question 19

Which of the following key adaptations is found in many animals from the Burgess Shale fauna,but not found in the Doushantuo and Ediacaran faunas?

Accepted Answer

A) mouthparts 
B) segmentation 
C) burrow formation 
D) multicellularity 
A) mouthparts 
B) segmentation 
C) burrow formation 
D) multicellularity

Question 20

Figure 27.6  
-Applying the principle of parsimony to the trait "ability to fly," which of the two phylogenetic trees above is better?

Accepted Answer

A) Tree 1 
B) Tree 2 
C) Both trees are equally parsimonious. 
A) Tree 1 
B) Tree 2 
C) Both trees are equally parsimonious.

Exam 27: Phylogenies and the History of Life

Which statement best describes why the Cambrian explosion was important?

Figure 27.1 -Which of the following trees depicts the same relationship among species as shown above?

The cladistic approach to estimating phylogenetic trees is most like the approach of which species concept?

Which of the following would be useful in creating a phylogenetic tree of a taxon?

The phenetic approach to estimating phylogenetic trees is most like the approach of which species concept?

Figure 27.5 -In the phylogenetic trees above,numbers represent species and the same species are shown in both trees.Which two species are represented as sister species in Tree 2 but are not shown as sister species in Tree 1?

The largest extinction,measured as a percentage of species that disappeared,occurred at the end of which geological period?

The Mesozoic era is nicknamed the Age of Reptiles and the Cenozoic era is nicknamed the Age of Mammals.What do these nicknames mean?

A hypothetical island lies far from any other landmasses.There are many different types of plants,but only one animal-a beetle that can fly or walk from plant to plant and feeds by chewing leaves.Which morphological change would be most likely to trigger an adaptive radiation of the beetles?

Which of the following organisms would be most likely to fossilize?

Which of the following organisms would be most likely to fossilize?

According to the phylogeny above,which of the following is true?

Which of the following statements is true about a phylogeny,as represented by a phylogenetic tree?

You find a new fossil deposit,containing many species with shells but no soft-bodied species.What is the most logical conclusion?

Your professor wants you to construct a phylogenetic tree of orchids.She gives you tissue from seven orchid species and one lily.What is the most likely reason she gave you the lily?

Which value(s)would be required to calculate how long ago the most recent ancestor of ungulates lived?

All of the following events can trigger an adaptive radiation except

Which of the following key adaptations is found in many animals from the Burgess Shale fauna,but not found in the Doushantuo and Ediacaran faunas?

Figure 27.6 -Applying the principle of parsimony to the trait "ability to fly," which of the two phylogenetic trees above is better?

Biology and the Tree of Life

Water and Carbon: the Chemical Basis of Life

Protein Structure and Function

Nucleic Acids and the Rna World

An Introduction to Carbohydrates

Lipids, membranes, and the First Cells

Inside the Cell

Cell-Cell Interactions

Cellular Respiration and Fermentation

Photosynthesis

The Cell Cycle

Meiosis

Mendel and the Gene

Dna and the Gene: Synthesis and Repair

How Genes Work

Transcription, RNA Processing, and Translation

Control of Gene Expression in Bacteria

Control of Gene Expression in Eukaryotes

Analyzing and Engineering Genes

Genomics

Principles of Development

An Introduction to Animal Development

An Introduction to Plant Development

Evolution by Natural Selection

Evolutionary Processes

Speciation

Bacteria and Archaea

Protists

Green Algae and Land Plants

Fungi

An Introduction to Animals

Protostome Animals

Deuterostome Animals

Viruses

Plant Form and Function

Water and Sugar Transport in Plants

Plant Nutrition

Plant Sensory Systems, signals, and Responses

Plant Reproduction

Animal Form and Function

Water and Electrolyte Balance in Animals

Animal Nutrition

Gas Exchange and Circulation

Electrical Signals in Animals

Animal Sensory Systems and Movement

Chemical Signals in Animals

Animal Reproduction

The Immune System in Animals

An Introduction to Ecology

Behavioural Ecology

Population Ecology

Community Ecology

Ecosystems

Biodiversity and Conservation Biology

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