Deck 4: Modern Evolutionary Theory

Question 1

_____________ occurs when individuals seek out mates within the same population but in a different group or subpopulation.

A) Inbreeding
B) Outbreeding
C) Assortative mating
D) Genetic drift

Answer 1

Outbreeding

Question 2

Specific traits that do best in a given environment are called

A) exaptations.
B) adaptations.
C) phenotypic variations.
D) fitness traits.

Answer 2

adaptations.

Question 3

_____________ selection is bimodal; that is, it favors more than one form of the trait's variation, usually those at opposite ends of the spectrum.

A) Directional
B) Natural
C) Stabilizing
D) Disruptive

Answer 3

Disruptive

Question 4

Novel genetic complexes arise only via

A) variation.
B) mutation.
C) deviation.
D) derivation.

Question 5

The processes of evolution are

A) stabilizing selection, directional selection, and disruptive selection.
B) mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, and natural selection.
C) genetic variation, phenotypic variation, adaptation, and exaptation.
D) natural selection, directional selection, and stabilizing selection.

Question 6

Epigenetic effects are developmental factors that

A) occur inside the DNA.
B) occur outside the DNA.
C) occur inside and outside the DNA.
D) result from hormonal fluctuations.

Question 7

Speciation is all of the following EXCEPT

A) the process by which new species arise.
B) new life arising from previously nonexisting forms.
C) the logical extension of Darwin's ideas about descent with modification.
D) the part of evolutionary theory that many people strongly react against.

Question 8

_____________ selection favors one of the extreme ends of a trait's variation.

A) Directional
B) Natural
C) Stabilizing
D) Disruptive

Question 9

Morphological, temporal, geographic, and inferred ecological similarities are used when attempting to

A) classify biological species.
B) measure genetic variations between generations.
C) decide whether two living organisms belong to the same or different species.
D) decide whether two paleospecies' fossils belong to the same or different species.

Question 10

_____________ is seen when species share phenotypic characteristics due to recent common ancestry.

A) Convergent evolution
B) Parallel evolution
C) Divergent evolution
D) Natural evolution

Question 11

_____________ occurs when a random event alters the allele frequencies in a population such that subsequent generations have allele frequencies different from their parental generations.

A) Inbreeding
B) Outbreeding
C) Assortative mating
D) Genetic drift

Question 12

The distinctness of a subspecies

A) is not biological.
B) can be measured by genetic differences.
C) is due to feeding on different resources over an extended period of time.
D) is due to mating with different individuals over an extended period of time.

Question 13

New forms of life on this planet

A) are not created anew.
B) arise from previously existing forms.
C) Both A and B are correct.
D) Neither A nor B is correct.

Question 14

_____________ consists of small changes over dramatically long periods of time, slowly adding up to significant change and, potentially, to speciation.

A) Punctuated equilibrium
B) Speciation
C) Allopatric speciation
D) Phyletic gradualism

Question 15

From the Hardy-Weinberg frequency equation we learn that in a large population, if there are no evolutionary pressures and mating is random, then allele frequencies

A) do not change from generation to generation.
B) reach an equilibrium.
C) Both A and B are correct.
D) Neither A nor B is correct.

Question 16

_____________ selection favors the variation on a trait that occurs in the middle of the distribution.

A) Directional
B) Natural
C) Stabilizing
D) Disruptive

Question 17

Paleospecies are

A) subunits of a species.
B) irregular subpopulations.
C) species that are now extinct.
D) species that shared a distinct evolutionary trajectory.

Question 18

_____________ is seen when two distantly related forms exhibit similar phenotypes.

A) Convergent evolution
B) Parallel evolution
C) Divergent evolution
D) Natural evolution.

Question 19

_____________ occurs when individuals seek out individuals with traits similar to their own or different from their own

A) Inbreeding
B) Outbreeding
C) Assortative mating
D) Genetic drift

Question 20

_____________ involves a separation and isolation of populations of a parent species.

A) Punctuated equilibrium
B) Speciation
C) Allopatric speciation
D) Phyletic gradualism

Question 21

_____________ posits that rapid change to one or a few populations could result in a speciation event that is typically followed by a long period of relatively minor change in the species.

A) Punctuated equilibrium
B) Speciation
C) Allopatric speciation
D) Phyletic gradualism

Question 22

All of the following are descriptive of subspecies EXCEPT

A) they are somehow biologically distinct from other populations of a species.
B) they are a population within a species.
C) they engage in little or no gene flow with other populations.
D) they share similar evolutionary trajectories with other populations.

Question 23

If we measure frequencies of alleles and find that they have changed, then we would do all of the following EXCEPT

A) attempt to determine the affecting process.
B) check for mutations.
C) extrapolate the derivations.
D) see if gene flow occurred.

Question 24

_____________ occurs when individuals within a small subunit of a population mate more with each other than with individuals from any other subunit.

A) Inbreeding
B) Outbreeding
C) Assortative mating
D) Genetic drift

Question 25

All of the following affect allele frequencies EXCEPT

A) migration.
B) mating.
C) genetic shift.
D) genetic drift.

Question 26

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Biological communities that have less diversity are resilient enough to sustain environmental challenges without disappearing.
B) Biological communities that maintain diversity are less resilient in sustaining environmental challenges without disappearing.
C) Biological communities that maintain diversity are resilient enough to sustain environmental challenges without disappearing.
D) Biological communities that maintain diversity are resilient enough to sustain environmental challenges but still disappear.

Question 27

Which of the following is NOT part of the set of basic requirements that are necessary if natural selection is to affect evolutionary change in a population?

A) differential reproductive success
B) genetic shift
C) phenotypic variation
D) heritable traits

Question 28

Gene flow is which of the following?

A) the process by which allele frequencies are changed, largely through migration and nonrandom mating
B) the process by which allele frequencies remain the same, largely through migration and nonrandom mating
C) the process by which allele frequencies are changed, largely through natural selection
D) the process by which allele frequencies remain the same, flowing back and forth between populations

Question 29

An evolutionary process in which a small group of individuals account for all of the genetic variation in a large population is called a(n)

A) originator effect.
B) chance effect.
C) founder effect.
D) random effect.

Question 30

The expanded description of evolution put forward by scientists since Darwin's and Wallace's research is referred to as the

A) new evolutionary theory.
B) new synthesis.
C) punctuated equilibrium theory.
D) fitness fusion.

Question 31

A trait that is currently serving a function other than that for which it originally arose is called a(n)

A) exaptation.
B) adaptation.
C) phenotypic variation.
D) fitness trait.

Question 32

Developmental Systems Theory (DST) views evolutionary change as all of the following EXCEPT

A) genotype change occurring through phenotype-environment interaction.
B) more than genotype change occurring through phenotype-environment interaction.
C) a complex organism-environment system.
D) when organisms influence their ecologies and thus the selection pressures on themselves.

Question 33

Changes in allele frequencies occur in all of the following circumstances EXCEPT

A) within populations.
B) across generations.
C) during an individual's life.
D) over time.

Question 34

The movement of alleles in and out of populations is called

A) migration.
B) assortative mating.
C) genetic shift.
D) genetic drift.

Question 35

Which of the following is NOT part of the definition of the biological species concept used in this text?

A) a group of interbreeding natural populations
B) a group that is reproductively isolated from other such groups
C) a group that is reproductively isolated from other groups but can interbreed
D) a set of populations that can mate with one another

Question 36

Which of the following interacts directly with the environment?

A) genotypes
B) phenotypes
C) DNA
D) alleles

Question 37

The process by which an organism undergoes genetic change in response to selection pressures is called

A) exaptation.
B) adaptation.
C) genotypic change.
D) phenotypic change.

Question 38

A population can be defined as

A) a cluster of individuals of the same species who share a common geographical area and find their mates more often in their own cluster than in others.
B) a cluster of individuals of similar species who share a common geographical area and find their mates more often in their own cluster than in others.
C) a cluster of individuals of the same species who live in different geographical areas and find their mates more often in their own cluster than in others.
D) a cluster of individuals of the same species who share a common geographical area and find their mates more often outside of their own cluster than inside of their own cluster.

Question 39

A subspecies is

A) a population within a species that is not biologically distinct from other populations of that species and engages in little to no gene flow with other populations.
B) a population within a species that is somehow biologically distinct from other populations of that species and engages in little to no gene flow with other populations.
C) a population within a species that is somehow biologically distinct from other species and engages in little to no gene flow with other populations.
D) a population within a species that is somehow biologically distinct from other populations of that species and engages in gene flow with other populations.

Question 40

A bottleneck is when

A) there is a dramatic reduction in population numbers, followed by a further decrease in the population such that the resulting small population has only the limited variation from the original population that made it through the bottleneck.
B) there is a dramatic reduction in population numbers, followed by an increase in the population such that the resulting large population has only the limited variation from the original population that made it through the bottleneck.
C) there is a dramatic increase in population numbers, followed by a further increase in the population such that the resulting large population has the variation from the original population that made it through the bottleneck.
D) there is a dramatic increase in population numbers, followed by a decrease in the population such that the resulting population has only the limited variation from the population that made it through the bottleneck.

Question 41

Alleles are all of the following EXCEPT

A) slight chemical variants of a gene.
B) stabilizing variants of a gene.
C) at the same locus on a chromosome.
D) alternate forms of a gene.

Question 42

Diversity in organisms occurs because of all of the following EXCEPT

A) complexity of environments.
B) environments changing over time.
C) organismal change in response to mutation.
D) organismal change in response to genetic shifts.

Question 43

Which of the following statements is false?

A) All traits of an organism are adaptations.
B) Traits may arise by default because of structural or physical laws.
C) Some traits have lost any current function.
D) Some traits are co-opted to function in a different way than the original function.

Question 44

Phenotypic changes can arise as a result of

A) mutation, genetic shift, epigenetic processes, and gene flow.
B) natural selection, DNA derivations, gene flow, and developmental processes.
C) gene flow, developmental processes, fitness fusion, and natural selection.
D) mutation, gene flow, epigenetic processes, and developmental processes.

Question 45

Name and define the four ways in which evolutionary change occurs in populations.

Question 46

Define gene flow and describe the two main ways that it occurs. Your answer should include at least four definitions (yes, four).

Question 47

Using Mendel's pea plants as an example, name and describe three ways that natural selection affects the distribution of traits.

Question 48

What is the pace of evolution? Name and describe the two most common ideas about the pace of evolutionary change.

Question 49

Define speciation and three ways that it occurs.