Deck 24: Systematic Biology: Phylogeny and Classification

Question 1

When describing phylogenetic trees, each branching point is called a ____.

A) clade
B) node
C) point
D) root
E) split

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The organisms included within any category of the taxonomic hierarchy comprise a(n) ____.

A) family
B) class
C) order
D) taxon
E) domain

Answer 2

D

Question 3

A plant systematist aims to ____ organisms.

A) identify and name
B) identify and describe
C) identify, name, and classify
D) identify, describe, name, and classify
E) identify, describe, name, classify, and determine evolutionary relationships of

Answer 3

D

Question 4

In the taxonomic hierarchy, a family consists of a group of similar ____.

A) orders
B) classes
C) species
D) genera
E) domains

Question 5

On which continent are introduced mosquito species absent?

A) Asia
B) North America
C) South America
D) Antarctica
E) Australia

Question 6

A diagram that hypothesizes the evolutionary relationships between a set of organisms is a ____ tree.

A) comparison
B) phylogenetic
C) classification
D) taxonomic
E) species

Question 7

To which phylum does the American black bear ( Ursus americanus ) belong?

A) Mammalia
B) Carnivora
C) Chordata
D) Ursidae
E) Ursus

Question 8

Systematists aided in the effort to eradicate malaria from Europe by ____.

A) developing insecticides to kill mosquitoes
B) categorizing mosquitoes into six species
C) discovering that all mosquitoes breed in standing water
D) cloning the genes of the malaria pathogen
E) identifying Plasmodium as the parasite that causes malaria

Question 9

A taxon that includes only birds and bats, two clades of vertebrates capable of flight, is considered ____.

A) paraphyletic
B) polyphyletic
C) monophyletic
D) complete
E) incomplete

Question 10

By definition, a monophyletic lineage is a ____.

A) clade
B) taxon
C) genus
D) family
E) phylogenetic tree

Question 11

When identifying and naming new species, Linnaeus used the ____ species concept.

A) ecological
B) taxonomic
C) phylogenetic
D) biological
E) morphological

Question 12

In the system of binomial nomenclature, species are assigned a two-part name: the first part is the ____ and the second part is the ____.

A) species; genus
B) genus; specific epithet
C) species; family
D) genus; family
E) family; species

Question 13

According to the convention for properly writing Latin binomials, the scientific name for modern human beings should be written as ____.

A) Homo sapiens
B) Homo Sapiens
C) Homo sapiens
D) homo sapiens
E) h. sapiens

Question 14

Which list of taxonomic levels is in the correct order, from most inclusive to least inclusive?

A) domain - kingdom - phylum - class
B) species - kingdom - family - order
C) genus - family - order - species
D) phylum - genus - family - species
E) kingdom - family - class - order

Question 15

Homarus americanus and Bufo americanus are ____ because ____.

A) different species; they are classified in different genera
B) the same species; they have the same specific epithet
C) plants; all plants have the specific epithet americanus
D) closely related; they have the same specific epithet
E) classified in different domains; they have different scientific names

Question 16

The first modern practitioner of taxonomy was ____.

A) Ernst Mayr
B) Jean Baptiste de Lamarck
C) Alfred Russel Wallace
D) Charles Darwin
E) Carolus Linnaeus

Question 17

The eradication of malaria in Europe resulted from a specific breakthrough in the science of ____.

A) systematics
B) ecology
C) morphology
D) physiology
E) sanitation

Question 18

The scientific name of a polar bear is Ursus maritimus . The first part, Ursus , is the ____ name.

A) family
B) genus
C) species
D) order
E) phylum

Question 19

A group that contains species from separate evolutionary lineages is considered ____.

A) paraphyletic
B) polyphyletic
C) monophyletic
D) haplophyletic
E) multiphyletic

Question 20

The class Reptilia is a group of species that share a common ancestor and some, but not all of its descendants. It is therefore considered ____.

A) monophyletic
B) polyphyletic
C) paraphyletic
D) an outgroup
E) a domain

Question 21

Figure 24.3 (questions 27-29)
Answer the question using the accompanying figure. In the figure, letter A represents a ____ taxon, which includes ____.

A) polyphyletic; species from different evolutionary lineages
B) polyphyletic; an ancestral species and all of its descendants
C) paraphyletic; an ancestral species and only some of its descendants
D) monophyletic; species from different evolutionary lineages
E) monophyletic; an ancestral species and all of its descendants

Question 22

On a phylogenetic tree for Anthropoidea, the clade that includes ____ and the clade that includes ____ are sister taxa because they emerged from a common node.

A) chimpanzees; orangutans
B) orangutans; humans
C) gorillas; chimpanzees
D) gorillas; both chimpanzees and humans
E) old world monkeys; both chimpanzees and humans

Question 23

The external morphological traits of two North American species of tree frog ( Hyla versicolor and H . chrysoscelis ) are very similar; therefore, scientists use ____ to distinguish them.

A) internal anatomy
B) behavioral traits
C) homologous appendages
D) skin coloration
E) analogous structures

Question 24

Mendel; Darwin In the 1700s, ____ classified organisms by their morphological similarities and differences, and in the 1800s, ____ provided the scientific rationale for the heritable basis of these morphological variations.

A) Mendel; Linnaeus
B) Darwin; Linnaeus
C) Linnaeus; Darwin
D) Linnaeus; Mendel
E) Mendel; Darwin

Question 25

Morphological characteristics are widely used for taxonomic classifications because they are ____.

A) the most likely indicators of evolutionary relationships
B) the most likely to represent reproductive isolation among groups
C) easy to assess in living, preserved, or fossilized specimens
D) always the exact phenotypic expression of genotypes
E) indicative of genetic relatedness

Question 26

Similarity in any type of biological trait resulting from shared ancestry is called ____.

A) homology
B) homoplasy
C) exaptation
D) anagenesis
E) cladogenesis

Question 27

Which traits were originally used for classifying organisms into taxonomic categories?

A) morphology and behavior
B) DNA and amino acid sequences
C) physiology and biochemical pathways
D) geography and ecology
E) morphology and physiology

Question 28

Answer the question using the accompanying figure. In the figure, letter C represents a ____ taxon, which includes ____.

A) polyphyletic; an ancestral species and all of its descendants
B) monophyletic; an ancestral species and all of its descendants
C) monophyletic; species from different evolutionary lineages
D) paraphyletic; an ancestral species and only some of its descendants
E) polyphyletic; an ancestral species and only some of its descendants

Question 29

The evolutionary process whereby an ancestral species undergoes speciation and produces two descendant species, both distinct from their common ancestor, is known as ____.

A) gradualism
B) equilibrium
C) taxonomy
D) anagenesis
E) cladogenesis

Question 30

Behavioral traits are useful in differentiating species because behaviors ____.

A) are never genetically determined
B) related to mating may create prezygotic isolation
C) of fossilized specimens are easy to infer
D) are independent of morphological characteristics
E) are always learned

Question 31

Which pair of traits is homologous?

A) butterfly wings and bat wings
B) the surfaces of bird and bat wings
C) the skeletons of bird and bat wings
D) butterfly wings and bird wings
E) bird wings and bat wings

Question 32

The ____ is a bone in the middle ear of tetrapod vertebrates that evolved from, and is therefore ____to, the hyomandibula in early fishes.

A) hyomandibula; homologous
B) eardrum; analogous
C) eardrum; unrelated
D) stapes; unrelated
E) stapes; homologous

Question 33

The Hominidae taxon includes ____.

A) only humans
B) only humans and chimpanzees
C) gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans
D) gibbons, orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans
E) new world monkeys and old world monkeys

Question 34

Characters that provide evidence for evolutionary relationships based on shared ancestry are called ____.

A) homologous
B) analogous
C) taxonomic
D) convergent
E) exaptations

Question 35

Clues to evolutionary relationships are provided by differences in DNA sequences resulting from ____.

A) insertions only
B) deletions only
C) substitutions only
D) both insertions and deletions
E) insertions, deletions, and substitutions

Question 36

Answer the question using the accompanying figure. In the figure, letter B represents a ____ taxon, which includes ____.

A) monophyletic; an ancestral species and all of its descendants
B) polyphyletic; species from different evolutionary lineages
C) polyphyletic; an ancestral species and all of its descendants
D) paraphyletic; species from different evolutionary lineages
E) paraphyletic; an ancestral species and only some of its descendants

Question 37

On a phylogenetic tree, two clades that emerge from the same node are called ____ because they are each other's closest relatives.

A) sister clades
B) ancestral clades
C) phyla
D) families
E) cousins

Question 38

Since birds descended from one group of terrestrial dinosaurs, the grouping that includes only terrestrial dinosaurs is ____.

A) anagenetic
B) analogous
C) monophyletic
D) polyphyletic
E) paraphyletic

Question 39

Mammalia, the taxon that includes all mammals, is ____ because all mammals are the descendants of a common ancestor.

A) biphyletic
B) monophyletic
C) polyphyletic
D) homoplastic
E) paraphyletic

Question 40

Phenotypic similarity that evolved independently in different lineages is called ____.

A) cladogenesis
B) anagenesis
C) embryogenesis
D) homology
E) homoplasy

Question 41

Analyses of molecular sequences for study of evolutionary relationships are constrained by ____.

A) the fact that every base in a nucleic acid serves as a separate, independent character for analysis
B) the presence of many genes that have been conserved by evolution
C) the limited number of nucleotide characters, making it difficult to determine whether genetic similarities between species are homoplastic or homologous
D) the usefulness of genes for studying only closely related species that have minor morphological differences
E) nucleic acids that are not directly affected by the developmental or environmental factors that cause nongenetic morphological variations

Question 42

The principle of parsimony ____ for constructing the phylogenetic tree that represents the smallest number of evolutionary changes.

A) minimizes the number of homologies
B) maximizes the number of homologies
C) completely ignores homologies
D) minimizes the number of homoplasies
E) maximizes the number of homoplasies

Question 43

Influencing the philosophy and analysis of many systematists in the mid-1900s, ____ published Phylogenetic Systematics , arguing that classifications should be based solely on evolutionary relationships.

A) Carolus Linnaeus
B) Willi Hennig
C) Gregor Mendel
D) Charles Darwin
E) Ernst Mayr

Question 44

With cladistic analyses, characters of an organism exist in ____ form(s), referred to as ____.

A) one; a character state
B) two; character states
C) two; variable traits
D) many; polymorphic states
E) many; variable traits

Question 45

Crocodilians are classified as reptiles; however, they share a common ancestor with birds, which are not classified as reptiles. Therefore, Reptilia is a ____ taxon.

A) monophyletic
B) polyphyletic
C) paraphyletic
D) genetically unrelated
E) homoplastic

Question 46

In the absence of evidence from fossils, systematists frequently use a technique called ____ to identify ancestral and derived character states.

A) outgroup comparison
B) ingroup analysis
C) gel electrophoresis
D) microarray analysis
E) homology comparison

Question 47

Which innovation(s) places birds in a separate class?

A) wings only
B) high metabolic rate
C) wings and flight
D) high metabolic rate and dry skin
E) wings, flight, and high metabolic rate

Question 48

The PhyloCode is a set of rules for ____.

A) naming organisms using traditional taxonomic groups
B) classifying organisms into Linnaean hierarchies
C) identifying and naming clades
D) creating binomial species names
E) allowing paraphyletic groups to be named

Question 49

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has advanced our understanding of systematics because it allows for ____.

A) analysis of morphological traits
B) analysis of small amounts of DNA from museum specimens and fossils
C) the reconstruction of entire individuals from a small amount of DNA
D) the reconstruction of entire individuals from a small amount of RNA
E) the analysis of an entire genome from a small fossil fragment

Question 50

When systematists compare vertebrates to all other animals, the absence of a vertebral column is the ____ character state, and the presence of a vertebral column is the ____.

A) homologous; homoplasy
B) ancestral; homology
C) homologous; derived
D) derived; ancestral
E) ancestral; derived

Question 51

The scientific approach that classifies organisms based on evolutionary relationships is known as ____.

A) comparative morphology
B) evolutionary ecology
C) taxonomy
D) cladistics
E) genetics

Question 52

Turtles, lizards, snakes, crocodilians, and birds descended most recently from an ancestral ____.

A) amniote
B) tetrapod
C) archosaur
D) reptile
E) archelosaur

Question 53

Because ____ character states are shared by the ingroup and the outgroup, phylogenetic trees are constructed by cladistic analyses that group species that share only ____ character states.

A) derived; derived
B) nongenetic; genetic
C) derived; ancestral
D) ancestral; genetic
E) ancestral; derived

Question 54

According to cladistics, a derived character state is called a(n) ____.

A) apomorphy
B) exaptation
C) polymorphy
D) homology
E) homoplasy

Question 55

Comparison of the wings of birds and the wings of bats reveals that they____.

A) are completely homologous structures
B) are completely analogous structures
C) are completely homoplastic structures
D) are vestigial structures
E) have homoplastic and homologous components

Question 56

Fossils of plants found in deeper geologic layers do not show vascular tissues, while fossils in shallower geologic layers include some specimens with and some without vascular tissues. Thus, vascular tissue in plants is considered a ____ character.

A) ancestral
B) homoplasious
C) primitive
D) derived
E) physiologically essential

Question 57

Unless a derived character state is lost or replaced by newer characters over evolutionary time, ____ can serve as markers for ____ lineages that underwent adaptive radiation.

A) apomorphies; polyphyletic
B) apomorphies; paraphyletic
C) synapomorphies; monophyletic
D) synapomorphies; polyphyletic
E) synapomorphies; paraphyletic

Question 58

Phenotypic similarities that provide no information about shared ancestry because they are not inherited from a common ancestor are ____.

A) homologies
B) homoplasies
C) morphological
D) anatomical
E) physiological

Question 59

An ancestral ____ gave rise to animals including mammals, lizards, turtles, and birds.

A) amniote
B) reptile
C) archosaur
D) dinosaur
E) archelosaur

Question 60

The closest living relatives of birds are ____.

A) mammals
B) lizards
C) turtles
D) crocodiles
E) amphibians

Question 64

Which domain(s) consist(s) of prokaryotic organisms?

A) Bacteria only
B) Archaea and Eukarya
C) Bacteria and Eukarya
D) Bacteria and Archaea
E) Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya

Question 65

The best outgroup to use for resolving phylogenetic relationships of vascular plants is the ____ because all of its character states are considered ancestral.

A) angiosperms
B) ferns
C) conifers
D) cycads
E) ginkgophytes

Question 67

The systematics of today is very different from the systematics learned a generation ago. As a result, which statement is the least accurate?

A) The biological species concept has no validity.
B) The number of existing species is known with certainty.
C) The Linnaean system of classification is wrong most of the time.
D) Morphological traits are not reliable for determining species relationships.
E) Evolutionary-based classification has entirely reorganized the classification and categories of organisms and their relationships to one another.

Question 69

Linear chromosome structure is a character unique to members of the domain(s) ____.

A) Eukarya
B) Archaea
C) Bacteria
D) Eukarya and Bacteria
E) Archaea and Bacteria

Question 71

A molecular clock is based on ____.

A) measurement of daylight by pigment complexes
B) daily changes in amino acid sequence in specialized proteins
C) regulation of gene expression
D) precise oscillations of atoms in a crystal
E) a constant rate of mutation in DNA sequences

Question 72

To identify the optimal phylogenetic tree from multiple potential trees, many systematists use the ____ , which states that the simplest plausible explanation of any phenomenon is the best.

A) maximum likelihood method
B) principle of parsimony
C) genetic distance method
D) gradual phyletic hypothesis
E) punctuated equilibrium hypothesis

Question 74

Gene sequences that evolve at a constant rate can be used to ____.

A) index the time of divergence between two species
B) calculate speciation rates across lineages
C) calculate speciation rates within different lineages
D) index the number of extinct species within a lineage
E) calculate extinction rates across lineages

Question 77

To account for variations in the evolutionary rates at different genetic loci, the ____ compares alternative trees reflecting different rates of evolutionary change to identify the best evolutionary path.

A) punctuated equilibrium hypothesis
B) gradual phyletic hypothesis
C) traditional systematic method
D) principle of parsimony
E) maximum likelihood method

Question 78

The movement of genetic material between organisms by any mechanism other than descent is known as ____.

A) lateral gene substitution
B) polyphyly
C) hybridization
D) cloning
E) horizontal gene transfer

Question 79

Currently, taxonomic domains include ____.

A) Kingdom, Phylum, Class, and Species
B) Plantae, Animalia, Fungi, Protista, and Monera
C) Archaea, Bacteria, Eukarya
D) Mammalia, Insecta, Aves, and Plantae
E) North America, South America, Eurasia, Africa, and Australia