Deck 2: Genetic Adaptation

Question 1

For generations, neighborhood children had left their sexually reproducing multicolored bean collection unprotected and scattered on the sidewalk after play. One day, bean-eating birds invaded their neighborhood looking for food. The next generation of beans all were mostly gray (sidewalk-colored). What type of genetic evolution caused the generational shift?

A) ecological selection
B) sexual selection
C) artificial selection
D) gene flow
E) industrial melanism.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Neighborhood children always left their self-reproducing multicolored bean collection unprotected and scattered on the sidewalk after play. One day, bean-eating birds invaded their neighborhood looking for food. Which beans have a 'selective advantage?

A) Beans whose color matches the sidewalk.
B) New types of beans arising from random mutation.
C) Beans with gene flow or drift.
D) The bean population's total color variation.
E) Brightly colored beans.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Neighborhood children had always left their self-reproducing multicolored bean collection unprotected and scattered on the sidewalk after play. One day, bean-eating birds invaded their neighborhood looking for food. In this scenario, what is the 'selective pressure'?

A) the children
B) bean color
C) the sidewalk
D) hungry birds
E) sexual reproduction

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which child best exemplifies the homozygous inheritance of a recessive genetic disease:

A) a child who will have cystic fibrosis
B) a child with two dominant alleles for the disease
C) a child who will NOT get cystic fibrosis.
D) a child who will be a heterozygous carrier for cystic fibrosis
E) a child with a balanced polymorphism.

Question 5

If someone who is heterozygous for (or a carrier of) a recessive genetic disease has a child with another heterozygous carrier, what are the chances that their child will have (come down with) the disease? (Make an inheritance diagram on scratch paper if it will help you to think this through.)

A) none in four (0%)
B) one in four (25%)
C) two in four (50%)
D) three in four (75%)
E) four in four (100%)

Question 6

We learned that where malaria has been tamed through cultural practices and ceases to pose a risk to human health, the dangerous sickle cell allele will likely eventually be cleared from the gene pool. This would be due to:

A) cultural determinism
B) biological determinism
C) natural selection
D) biocultural diversity
E) genetic drift

Question 7

When random chance (like a falling tree) results in a change in the frequency of certain genes in the gene pool we call that _____.

A) genetic drift
B) genetic mutation
C) gene flow
D) mutational drift
E) genetic drift

Question 8

When the frequency of certain genes in the gene pool shift as the result of migration, we call that ______.

A) genetic selection
B) genetic drift
C) gene drift
D) mutation
E) gene flow

Question 9

Which of the following is the same as or a type of 'natural selection'?

A) each answer is correct
B) genetic drift
C) gene flow
D) mutation
E) genetic adaptation

Question 10

Genetic adaption is a special form of 'evolution' caused by:

A) gene drift
B) mutation
C) gene flow
D) natural selection
E) all of the answers are correct

Question 11

Genetic adaptation occurs when natural selection acts upon:

A) physically weaker or feeble organisms
B) expressed traits in the present generation
C) genotypic traits
D) future generations.
E) None of the answers is right.

Question 12

'Industrial melanism' is best exemplified by:

A) A change in a species' main color paralleling the color change in their environment
B) Industrial processes of artificial reproduction of moths
C) The Red Queen Hypothesis
D) Balanced polymorphism
E) A loss of carrying capacity in an environment

Question 13

Compared to in human beings, it is relatively easy to see natural selection at work in creatures like:

A) fruit flies
B) germs
C) organisms with rapid generational turnover
D) all of the answers are correct.
E) species that have very short lifespans.

Question 14

'Mortality' refers to _____ while 'morbidity' refers to _____.

A) death / sickness
B) sickness / death
C) they both refer to death
D) they both refer to sickness
E) they both refer to sickness and death

Question 15

Most inherited traits:

A) are monogenic
B) are polygenic
C) are polychromatic
D) are monotonic
E) come from one gene that has a dominant and a recessive allele

Question 16

Celiac Disease (CD) may be linked to genes that offer some protection from which of the following problems:

A) Gluten intolerance
B) Vitamin and iron deficiencies
C) Dental caries (cavities)
D) Viruses
E) Faulty hemoglobin

Question 17

Widescale early wheat domestication for farming could only have occurred where most humans already

A) Had the capacity to digest gluten
B) Had the capacity to digest lactase
C) Knew how to bake bread
D) Knew how to treat Celiac Disease
E) Were anthropogenic

Question 18

The main difference between microevolution and macroevolution is

A) Microevolution occurs within species and macroevolution splits one species into more than one species
B) One refers to small traits and the other to large
C) Microevolution involves genetic drift while macroevolution involves genetic mutation
D) Microevolution occurs in plants while macroevolution occurs in animals
E) One is for abiotic populations and the other is for biotic populations

Question 19

If someone who is heterozygous for (or a carrier of) a recessive genetic disease has a child with a homozygous NON-carrier, what are the chances that the child will have (come down with) the disease? (Feel free to make an inheritance diagram on scratch paper if it will help you to think this through.)

A) none in four (0%)
B) one in four (25%)
C) two in four (50%)
D) three in four (75%)
E) four in four (100%)

Question 20

While many congenital or genetic diseases are 'recessive,' some are 'dominant.' In regard to a disease passed on through a DOMINANT version of a gene, which of the following is true?

A) A person who inherits only one copy of the dominant version of the gene will develop/have the disease.
B) A heterozygous person will only be a 'carrier' of the disease.
C) All of the children born to an individual who is heterozygous will have the disease.
D) None of the children born to a person who is homozygous will have the disease.
E) A person who inherits only one copy of the recessive version of the gene cannot have the disease.

Question 21

If a parent is 'homozygous' for a 'recessive' trait then:

A) the trait will not appear in the offspring because it is recessive.
B) the phenotype of the recessive allele will only appear if the other parent gives a recessive allele to the offspring.
C) the allele will not be passed on because it is recessive.
D) the allele will never be expressed because it was originally paired with another recessive allele in the parent.
E) all offspring must express the trait phenotypically regardless of which allele the other parent contributes.

Question 22

The process of 'niche construction' does NOT or did NOT support:

A) genetic adaptation via natural selection.
B) adaptive evolution of human resistance to malaria.
C) biological determinism.
D) the biocultural approach.
E) accepted understandings of the evolution of an adaptation to lactose intake.

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT an 'environmental pressure'?

A) a disease
B) an increase in predators
C) a mutation
D) a famine
E) a natural disaster

Question 24

How does 'ecological selection' differ from 'sexual selection'?

A) Ecological selection is another name for natural selection, and sexual selection is synonymous with artificial selection.
B) While both are forms of natural selection, the trigger for ecological selection is external to the organism (environmental), while the trigger for sexual selection is internal to the organism (mate preference).
C) Ecological selection is an evolutionary process, while sexual selection is simply a reproductive strategy.
D) Ecological selection is an example of biological determinism, while sexual selection is an example of cultural determinism.
E) The two labels actually apply to the same phenomenon.

Question 25

'Genetic evolution' does NOT:

A) happen to entire populations.
B) change the frequency of a given gene or genes in the gene pool.
C) occur as an adaptive response.
D) change an individual's genes during his or her lifetime.
E) exist as one of many forms of evolution.

Question 26

At which level does 'genetic evolution' occur (at which level do we measure it or assess whether or not it has happened)?

A) the interspecies level
B) the population level
C) the individual level
D) the chromosomal level
E) the habitat level

Question 27

The mechanism of 'natural selection':

A) creates new mutations within the gene pool.
B) focuses/works on pre-existing phenotypic variation.
C) focuses/works on traits that do not exist within the population yet but that have the potential to be advantageous.
D) focuses/works only on genotypic variation.
E) creates advantageous traits.

Question 28

Which of the following is NOT an 'environmental pressure'?

A) a disease
B) an increase in predators
C) a mutation
D) a famine
E) a natural disaster

Question 29

Which of the following does NOT co-occur with 'genetic adaptation'?

A) ecological selection
B) natural selection
C) descent with modification
D) genetic drift
E) fitness

Question 30

What does the peppered moth example NOT demonstrate?

A) industrial melanism
B) natural selection
C) macroevolution
D) genetic adaptation
E) evolution

Question 31

'Evolution' is essentially just another word for:

A) change.
B) progression.
C) adaptation.
D) survival.
E) genetics.

Question 32

'Gene pool' refers to:

A) the total pool of genes that an offspring receives from its parents.
B) the total possible set of genes an offspring COULD receive from its parents.
C) the entire set of genes that exist within one population.
D) the distribution of dominant alleles in a population.
E) every gene known to science.

Question 33

'Niche construction' describes:

A) shelter building behavior engaged in by certain species (e.g., beavers, humans).
B) when organisms, through biological and behavioral processes, act upon the environmental niches that they occupy just as those niches act upon them.
C) when individual members of a species adapt to the environment.
D) a change in frequency of genes in a population's gene pool.
E) when a species shifts from reliance on one food source to another.

Question 34

A structured package or bundle of DNA (one that can be passed along to an offspring) is called:

A) a cell.
B) a gene.
C) a chromosome.
D) a polygene.
E) an allele.

Question 35

An 'allele' is:

A) another word for gene.
B) the phenotypic expression of a gene.
C) a specific version of a gene.
D) a dominant or recessive phenotype.
E) a mechanism of mutation.

Question 36

A 'polymorphic' gene:

A) has numerous pairs.
B) has numerous alleles.
C) has numerous chromosomes.
D) combines with many others to generate a trait.
E) is never certain.

Question 37

Most human traits have a:

A) genetic basis in a dominant-recessive gene combination.
B) genetic basis in co-dominant genes.
C) genetic basis in a polymorphic gene.
D) polygenic (complex, multi-gene) origin.
E) common ancestor.

Question 38

Genetically speaking, the majority of traits:

A) result from the expression of many genes working together.
B) result from the expression of two gene pairs.
C) are generated by the same gene.
D) depend upon a heterozygous pair of alleles.
E) depend upon a homozygous pair of alleles.

Question 39

When speaking of dominant and recessive genes, which of the following is true?

A) Dominant alleles must co-occur in an individual in order to be expressed.
B) Recessive alleles must co-occur in an individual in order to be expressed.
C) Recessive genes are never expressed.
D) Dominant genes are never expressed.
E) Monogenic traits are always co-dominant.

Question 40

In talking about genetic adaptation, 'dominance' refers to:

A) species that are most fit in their environment.
B) the specific genes that are most fit for their environment.
C) genes that overpower the expression of other genes.
D) alleles that overpower the expression of other related alleles.
E) powerful forces of natural selection.

Question 41

We learned that one simple, graphical way of discovering all of the potential combinations of a particular gene that can occur in children, given the genotypes of their parents, is to:

A) draw a Punnett Square.
B) develop a pie chart.
C) track cause and correlation.
D) draw a Mendelian Circle.
E) create a flow chart using Boasian reasoning.

Question 42

A tree in the woods is randomly knocked over (say, by a lighting strike), and the falling tree kills a badger that had been sheltering below it. The evolutionary consequence of this badger's death is:

A) gene flow.
B) genetic drift.
C) mutation.
D) eugenics.
E) macroevolution.

Question 43

Genetic mutations are best described as a form of:

A) miscopying.
B) speciation.
C) survival.
D) fitness.
E) artificial selection.

Question 44

What would a geneticist say happens when a group of people with blue eyes migrates to an area where people do not have blue eyes, and then both populations interbreed?

A) genetic drift
B) gene flow
C) nothing on this list works as an answer
D) macroevolution
E) natural selection

Question 45

Genetic drift, gene flow, and mutation are all:

A) inhibitors of or barriers to natural selection.
B) components of artificial selection.
C) non-existent in human populations.
D) evolutionary processes.
E) classified instances of natural selection.

Question 46

'Genetic adaptation' can be said to have occurred only when:

A) the forces of natural selection lead to increases, in the next generation, of the frequency of genes supporting advantageous manifest traits that already existed within the population.
B) there are more individual members of a species than in the previous generation.
C) individuals within a population have each adapted to environmental pressures.
D) the environmental impact of one generation is greater than that of the previous generation.
E) organisms clone themselves to reproduce.

Question 47

'Genetic adaptation' involves changes in gene frequencies in a ____ from one ____ to the next.

A) person / habitat
B) gene pool / generation
C) gene pool / habitat
D) person / generation
E) habitat / person

Question 48

In regard to natural selection, 'fitness' is best characterized by:

A) higher fertility rates.
B) stronger individuals.
C) lower mortality rates.
D) the advantage provided by expressed traits given a new environmental pressure.
E) having more babies that survive until at least after they have reproduced again.

Question 49

'Genetic fitness' is measured with reference to _____ and _____.

A) homeostasis and development
B) increased fertility and increased mortality
C) physiology and environment
D) decreased mortality and increased fertility
E) increased strength and cunning (smartness)

Question 50

The set of genes you carry is a:

A) phenotype.
B) gene pool.
C) genotype.
D) polygenic.
E) monogene.

Question 51

What kind of genetic evolution affects or works through altering the balance of 'phenotypic' or expressed traits?

A) genetic adaptation
B) gene drift
C) gene flow
D) genetic mutation
E) fitness

Question 52

'Sexual selection' is one way to label what happens:

A) in the human creation of domestic animals.
B) wherever ecological selection cannot occur.
C) in human populations where kinship rules dictate marriage/mating rules.
D) during artificial selection.
E) in certain fish species where cloning is common.

Question 53

The concept of sexual selection can best explain the adaptive advantage of:

A) a high male-to-female ratio.
B) lactose tolerance.
C) industrial melanism.
D) genetic variation.
E) male peacock tails.

Question 54

When humans breed plants or animals on purpose to produce particular traits, this is called:

A) artificial selection.
B) sexual selection.
C) natural selection.
D) environmental selection.
E) ecological selection.

Question 55

'Artificial selection' refers to or is:

A) any genetic change in a species brought on by human presence.
B) the purposeful breeding of animals and plants by humans to achieve certain traits.
C) a process of cultural evolution that is analogous to natural selection.
D) how environmental pressures affect mechanical systems.
E) when a person chooses a mate based on traits that index his or her 'good' genes.

Question 56

Sexual selection occurs when organisms respond directly to:

A) environmental pressures exerted from outside of the species.
B) the 'Red Queen Hypothesis.'
C) the time and effort saved by cloning.
D) the environment.
E) index traits displayed by potential mates.

Question 57

Why is 'genetic variation' in a population's gene pool helpful for species survival?

A) If only a small portion of a population varies genetically, then only a small portion dies.
B) It provides for broader variety during the process of mate selection.
C) It is not helpful; it makes extinction more likely.
D) Genetic variation means that some members of a population faced with an environmental pressure will have a better chance of surviving it.
E) Where there is no variation, every organism can survive an environmental change.

Question 58

The 'Red Queen Hypothesis' can best be applied to which of the following situations:

A) A lethal pathogen is introduced into and kills an entire population.
B) A pathogen develops a new lethal strain, and the host population puts up no resistance.
C) Sudden climate change kills a pathogen population.
D) A population and its pathogen co-adapt.
E) Sexual reproduction leads to a lack of population-wide variation.

Question 59

According to the 'Red Queen Hypothesis':

A) Over time, species will gradually progress and become more highly evolved.
B) Variation in a species' gene pool allows that species to keep up with changes in another species, or to co-evolve.
C) Genetic variation is not as important as maintaining power.
D) A population that maintains its genetic variation cannot evolve quickly.
E) A species that starts out with a lot of variation in its gene pool can become less varied over time.

Question 60

Sexual reproduction can be better for species survival than a-sexual reproduction because it:

A) increases genetic variation in a population.
B) decreases the amount of time put into mate selection.
C) decreases the amount of energy the body puts into creating gametes (sperm, eggs).
D) increases the proportion of DNA that each mate provides.
E) decreases genetic variation in a population.

Question 61

Which of the following situations best exemplifies the type of scenario described in the 'Red Queen Hypothesis'?

A) a situation in which sexual reproduction keeps a species from going extinct
B) a breakaway colony of bees stealing the queen bee from the main hive
C) a species in which few males live to reproduce, and therefore females are in charge
D) the tendency of fish to reproduce asexually when under threat from pathogens
E) the tendency of social insects (bees, termites, ants) to quarantine the queen when she is about to become fertile

Question 62

In what way is malaria an 'anthropogenic' disease?

A) Malaria is connected to sickle cell anemia, a human disorder.
B) Malaria evolved to keep down the growing human population.
C) The abundance of malaria-carrying mosquitoes is facilitated by human interaction with the environment.
D) Malaria is a disease that affects humans, as opposed to diseases that do not affect humans.
E) The disease is polymorphic.

Question 63

Why did the moths of industrial England change colors?

A) The soot from the industrial revolution created a colder environment.
B) In the late 1800s, too many of the younger darker moths were 'harvested' by moth hunters who worked for the hat makers.
C) Industrial soot covered the habitat of these moths, making light winged moths more easily visible to predators than darker ones.
D) Industrial soot entered the moths' food supply, and showed up in their wings.
E) The moths did not themselves change color; they only got covered in soot.

Question 64

Lactose tolerance:

A) evolved along with the ability to herd dairy animals.
B) was common in our earliest Homo sapiens sapiens ancestors.
C) offers no advantage to herders or pastoralists.
D) never offered any selective advantage to anyone.
E) is necessary for vegetarianism.

Question 65

Lactose TOLERANCE is the exception, not the norm. This is because:

A) All adults have the enzyme lactase, which helps us to digest milk.
B) Fishing populations are more likely to be exposed to lactose bacterium and therefore to have evolved a tolerance for it.
C) Where milk is taboo infants never get exposed to it, causing an intolerance later in life.
D) Lactose tolerance only holds a selective advantage for populations with dairy herds.
E) Lactose tolerance only holds a selective advantage for populations living near the equator.

Question 66

The term for the relationship between an allele that itself is harmful but can be kept in a population's gene pool because the hazard it entails is offset by protection it provides an organism from another problem is:

A) the sickled-malarial link.
B) balanced polymorphism.
C) hemoglobular polymorphism.
D) balanced polygenics.
E) balanced heterogenetics.

Question 67

Which of the following situations provides the best example of 'balanced polymorphism'?

A) Dark and light colored moths were distributed equally in industrial England.
B) The sickle cell trait is selected for at a rate high enough to confer protection from malaria but low enough to keep death rates from sickle cell anemia in check.
C) Lactose tolerance in some populations is balanced out by lactose intolerance in others.
D) The hemoglobin allele that offers protection from both malaria and sickle cell anemia exists in a balance with a hemoglobin allele that offers no protection.
E) Moth wing color alleles co-exist at rates that go up and down over time depending on which environmental pressures are more active.

Question 68

Which of the following best describes the relation between sickle cell anemia and malaria?

A) An overabundance of hemoglobin caused by malaria counteracts sickle cell anemia.
B) People who only have one allele for sickle cell anemia are poor hosts for malaria and therefore more likely to survive it.
C) The two diseases do not co-occur.
D) The two diseases can co-occur but not in the same geographic region.
E) The malaria parasite's primary niche is inside people with sickle cell anemia.

Question 69

Hemoglobin is:

A) a type of adaptation.
B) the part of red blood cells that transports oxygen throughout the body.
C) the part of white blood cells that transports oxygen throughout the body.
D) the part of red blood cells that makes them move or that propels them through the body.
E) an evolutionary byproduct or 'neutral adaptation.'

Question 70

An individual who is heterozygous in regard to hemoglobin type 's' (which can lead to sickle shaped blood cells) and type 'a' (which supports a round shape) will probably:

A) have ancestors from Alaska or the northernmost part of the Americas.
B) have no children.
C) die of sickle cell anemia.
D) die of malaria.
E) be somewhat protected against malaria and be healthy enough to reproduce.