Question 1

The study and classification of biodiversity is called

Accepted Answer

A)  homology. 
B)  homoplasy. 
C)  systematics. 
D)  phylogeny. 
E)  synapomorphy.

Question 2

Which process cannot result in homoplasy?

Accepted Answer

A)  Convergent evolution 
B)  Evolutionary reversals 
C)  Descent from a common ancestor 
D)  Similar selection pressures 
E)  All of the above can result in homoplasy.

Question 3

In studies of the sensory exploitation hypothesis,which observation would most challenge the validity of the hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

A)  The genes were evolving in a manner consistent with the molecular clock. 
B)  The genes were evolving in a manner inconsistent the molecular clock. 
C)  The female preference for swords had evolved before swords evolved in males. 
D)  The female preference for swords had evolved after swords evolved in males. 
E)  Males with swords had a shorter life span than males without swords.

Question 4

Which nucleotide change is a transition?

Accepted Answer

A)  A to C 
B)  C to A 
C)  C to T 
D)  T to A 
E)  T to G

Question 5

A group that includes the common ancestor and some,but not all,of its descendants is considered to be

Accepted Answer

A)  paraphyletic. 
B)  polyphyletic. 
C)  synapomorphous. 
D)  monogamous. 
E)  monophyletic.

Question 6

In modern systematics,each family name is based on

Accepted Answer

A)  the name of the order to which it belongs. 
B)  a characteristic common to all members. 
C)  the Latin name for the organisms. 
D)  the name of the largest member species. 
E)  the name of a member genus.

Question 7

Histone genes,which evolve very slowly,would most likely be used to study relationships

Accepted Answer

A)  among very similar species. 
B)  within the same genera. 
C)  among extinct organisms. 
D)  among phyla of animals. 
E)  among species of apes.

Question 8

Humans and African apes (chimpanzees,bonobos,and gorillas)share traits such as elongated skulls and shortened canine teeth,which other more distantly related species do not have.These characteristics are called

Accepted Answer

A)  homoplasies. 
B)  synapomorphies. 
C)  cladistics. 
D)  parsimonies. 
E)  evolutionary reversals.

Question 9

What is formed when any two branches diverge in a phylogenetic tree?

Accepted Answer

A)  A node 
B)  A lineage 
C)  A population 
D)  A root 
E)  A module

Question 10

Which statement about phylogenies is true?

Accepted Answer

A)  Taxa cannot be placed within other taxa. 
B)  Rotating lineages around nodes changes the meaning of the information contained within the phylogenetic tree. 
C)  The evolutionary distance between clades can be determined by examining the vertical distance between them. 
D)  Any group of species that we designate with a name is a clade. 
E)  None of the above

Question 11

Species of plants that have evolved mechanisms to prevent self-fertilization are said to be

Accepted Answer

A)  selfing. 
B)  self-incompatible. 
C)  synapomorphous. 
D)  synchronous. 
E)  self-compatible.

Question 12

Which statement about systematics is true?

Accepted Answer

A)  All homoplastic traits are due to convergent evolution. 
B)  All homologous traits are homoplasies. 
C)  All synapomorphies are derived traits. 
D)  All derived traits are synapomorphies. 
E)  All homoplasies are homologous traits.

Question 13

The figure below shows a phylogenetic tree of immunodeficiency viruses.Suppose biologists had all of the information shown but did not have samples from sooty mangabeys.Under these conditions,what would you infer as the most likely source of HIV-2?

Accepted Answer

A)  Chimpanzees 
B)  Sykes' monkeys 
C)  African green monkeys 
D)  Sun-tailed monkeys 
E)  Mandrills

Question 14

Which is an important assumption in dating evolutionary distances by the molecular clock?

Accepted Answer

A)  Different genes evolve at the same rate in the same lineage. 
B)  A particular gene evolves at the same rate in all lineages of interest. 
C)  Different genes evolve at different rates in the same lineage. 
D)  The events being dated happened more than about a million years ago. 
E)  The events being dated happened less than about a million years ago.

Question 15

Mitochondrial DNA is most useful for phylogenetic analysis

Accepted Answer

A)  in the study of relatively ancient relationships. 
B)  for groups with few species that have survived to the present. 
C)  of closely related species of animals. 
D)  of prokaryotes. 
E)  when one is tracking the paternal lineage.

Question 16

Phylogenetic studies of self-incompatibility in Leptosiphon

Accepted Answer

A)  revealed that self-incompatibility evolved only once. 
B)  showed that self-incompatibility was the ancestral trait. 
C)  supported the sensory exploitation hypothesis. 
D)  could not be performed due to lack of a molecular clock. 
E)  demonstrated convergent evolution of self-incompatibility.

Exam 16: Reconstructing and Using Phylogenies