Exam 1: An Overview of Evolutionary Biology

Given the fact that humans are the ones producing and distributing pesticides, why do we call the development of pesticide resistance natural selection rather than artificial selection?

According to the phylogenetic tree shown, fungi are most closely related to which of the following?

In describing the importance of Darwin's theory of evolution, Theodosius Dobzhansky argued that

Which of the following is an example of observational research?

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution resulted in a ________ because it changed the way we understand how all living things came to be and how they function.

If you are interested in preserving phylogenetic diversity as part of a conservation strategy, would you be more concerned about the loss of all of the species labeled with an X or of the one species labeled with a Y?

In developing his sex ratio theory, Sir Ronald A. Fisher assumed that sex ratio is under genetic control. Why is this an important assumption?

In On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin brought together two ideas that resulted in a paradigm shift in biology. What were these two ideas?

If testes size is correlated with number of sperm produced, under what condition is larger testes size more likely to be evolutionarily advantageous?

The loss of which species on the figure would represent the loss of the most significant phylogenetic diversity?

Darwin realized that the often exquisite fit of species to their environment is primarily the result of

In performing manipulative experiments, scientists usually try to alter only one variable at a time. Why do they do this?

In a population with 50 males and 25 females that produce a total of 100 offspring, calculate how many grandoffspring per child a parent will have if (a) the parent produces half sons and half daughters, or (b) the parent produces 1/4 sons and 3/4 daughters. Which strategy will be favored by natural selection in this population?

Evolutionary biologists, like most scientists, use two empirical approaches to study evolution, observation and manipulation. What is the difference between these approaches?

Antibiotic resistance evolves quickly because

In what way is artificial selection different from natural selection?

Sir Ronald A. Fisher developed a sex ratio model partly because so much observational data suggested that the 1:1 sex ratio was common in nature and he wanted to understand why. What is the natural ordering when it comes to empirical and theoretical approaches?

Which of the following is an example of artificial selection?

Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes and chimps have 24 pairs. How has this difference best been explained?

To understand the evolution of a species, we need to know about its ancestors and what changes have occurred along the way. Darwin called this process