Evolution and Diversity Exam Materials
Course Introduction
This course explores the fundamental principles of biological evolution and the vast diversity of life on Earth. Students will examine mechanisms of evolutionary change, such as natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow, and study how these processes have shaped the development of species over time. Through analysis of fossil records, phylogenetic relationships, and patterns of adaptation, learners will gain an understanding of the origins and maintenance of biodiversity. Emphasis will be placed on both microevolutionary changes within populations and macroevolutionary trends leading to the emergence of new taxa. The course also addresses the significance of evolution in contemporary biological research and its implications for conservation and human health.
Recommended Textbook
Evolution 1st Edition by Carl T. Bergstrom
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Chapter 1: An Overview of Evolutionary Biology
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Q1) Charles Darwin was the first person to suggest that
A)the present forms of all existing species are the result of natural selection.
B)species have changed over long periods of time.
C)traits acquired during a life time were passed on to subsequent generations.
D)A and B
Answer: A
Q2) In which of the following scenarios are models being used to make predictions and plan for the future?
A)A policeman clocks the speed of a motorist with a radar gun.
B)Someone checks the weather forecast for the weekend.
C)An evolutionary biologist estimates fitness by measuring gene frequencies over time.
D)All of the above
Answer: B
Q3) 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?
Answer: Answers will vary but should include that the distinction refers not to whether humans are involved,but to whether they deliberately choose which organisms will reproduce.
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Chapter 2: Early Evolutionary Ideas and Darwins Insight
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Q1) Early Greek philosophers were among the first to
A)develop a philosophy of a natural world driven by physical laws.
B)describe the heavenly bodies as gods or personages.
C)explain the world around them according to fixed laws of nature.
D)A and C
Answer: D
Q2) Darwin drew on the work of Thomas Malthus,a political economist,to convince his readers that
A)there is a competition for limited resources in nature.
B)many individuals in a population do not survive to the age of reproduction.
C)only a fraction of the surviving individuals in a population reproduce.
D)All of the above
Answer: D
Q3) Archbishop James Ussher calculated the age of Earth based on the Old Testament.He estimated that the creation of the world took place
A)on exactly October 23, 4004 B.C.
B)within a century of 3900 B.C.
C)between 75,000 and 2-3 million years ago.
D)an inconceivably long time ago.
Answer: A
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Chapter 3: Natural Selection
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Q1) A trait that serves one purpose today but evolved under different selective conditions is
A)called an exaptation.
B)called an adaptation.
C)not favored by natural selection
D)A and C
E)B and C
Answer: A
Q2) Natural selection sorts on
A)phenotypic, not genotypic, differences in a population.
B)genotypic, not phenotypic, differences in a population.
C)both genotypic and phenotypic differences in a population.
D)None of the above
Answer: A
Q3) Natural selection is the consequence of A)variation.
B)differential reproductive success.
C)inheritance.
D)All of the above
Answer: D
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Chapter 4: Phylogeny and Evolutionary History
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Q1) Which of the following pairs correctly matches the phylogenetic tree type (1,2,or 3)with the information it represents (i,ii,or iii).
1)Cladograms
2)Phylograms
3)Chronograms
i.A tree with aligned branch tips that indicates only the evolutionary relationships among the taxa shown
ii.A tree in which branch lengths represent actual time rather than the amount of evolutionary change
iii.A tree in which branch lengths represent the relative amount of evolutionary change
A)(1-i),(2-ii),and (3-iii)
B)(1-i),(2-iii),and (3-ii)
C) 1-ii),(2-i),and (3-iii)
D)(1-ii),(2-iii),and (3-i)
Q2) What are the differences between rooted and unrooted phylogenetic trees?
Q3) In what ways do the processes of reconstructing phylogenetic trees and mapping evolutionary events onto trees generate hypotheses?
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Chapter 5: Inferring Phylogeny
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Q1) Evolutionary biologists have developed a number of different phylogenetic methods to find a tree that best corresponds to a number of character states for a given group of taxa.Describe the fundamental idea behind parsimony,and explain the strengths and weaknesses of this method.
Q2) Which of the following statements regarding rooted trees is (are)true?
A)A maximum parsimony approach distinguishes among multiple alternative roots that correspond to the same unrooted tree.
B)Any two rooted trees corresponding to the same unrooted tree will require the same number of character changes.
C)The most common approach to rooting a tree is to use an outgroup.
D)A and B
E)B and C
Q3) How many different unrooted tree arrangements are possible for a phylogenetic tree relating four species?
A)Three
B)Four
C)Two
D)Seven
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Chapter 6: Transmission Genetics and the Sources of
Genetic Variation
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Q1) In a _________ mutation,part of a chromosome is transferred to a nonhomologous chromosome.
A)deletion
B)inversion
C)translocation
D)fission
E)fusion
Q2) Mendel's law of segregation states that
A)each diploid individual has two copies of every gene.
B)only one copy of each gene is found in a gamete.
C)traits from each parent are permanently blended in offspring.
D)A and B
E)None of the above
Q3) Which position in a codon is most likely to contribute to the degeneracy of the genetic code?
A)First
B)Second
C)Third
D)Any position
E)No position
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Chapter 7: The Genetics of Populations
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Q1) When a population is in a neutral equilibrium,a small change causes the population to
A)return to its starting position.
B)move farther away from its starting point.
C)remain at its displaced position.
D)A and B
E)A and C
Q2) Consider a human illness in which individuals homozygous for a deleterious,recessive allele suffer from a disease with a selection coefficient of s = 0.85 (i.e.,a relative fitness of 0.15).At equilibrium,the nondeleterious allele has a population frequency of 0.95.What is the mutation rate from the healthy allele to the deleterious allele?
Q3) Assume a biallelic locus in a diploid population has the genotype frequencies: A A = 0.59; A A = 0.16; and A A = 0.25.What is the observed allele frequency (p)of the A allele?
A)0.59
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Chapter 8: Evolution in Finite Populations
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain why the probability of fixation of a new beneficial allele is independent of population size in Haldane's model of selection and drift.
Q2) Imagine that,of three species,it is known that species 1 and 3 were separated 10 million years ago,based on geologic measurements.Genetic analysis at a neutral locus indicates that these species differ by 100 substitutions.If there are 10 substitutions separating species 1 and 2,approximately how long ago did these species diverge?
A)0.1 million years ago
B)1 million years ago
C)10 million years ago
D)100 million years ago
E)Cannot be determined based on the information provided
Q3) What are the observed and expected heterozygosities in a population that has three genotypes with the following occurrences: f(A A )= 100,f(A A )= 25,f(A A )= 100.
Q4) Consider a population of 10,000 pigeons founded by a population in which no alleles were identical by descent.After 30 generations in this Wright-Fisher population,what will the expected identity by descent be?
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Chapter 9: Evolution at Multiple Loci
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Q1) What is the largest possible value that linkage disequilibrium can reach if all allele frequencies are 0.5?
A)0.25
B)0.5
C)0.75
D)1
E)None of the above
Q2) Genotypic adaptive landscapes may better represent true adaptive landscapes than phenotypic adaptive landscapes when
A)single mutations can have a large effect on the phenotype.
B)phenotypic landscapes are hard to mathematically model.
C)phenotypic landscapes do not account for drift.
D)genotypic landscapes are easier to visualize.
E)genotypic landscapes are smooth.
Q3) Understanding phenotype-genotype relationships is difficult because of A)pleiotropy.
B)dominance.
C)epistasis.
D)A and C
E)All of the above
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Chapter 10: Genome Evolution
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Q1) Syntenic dot plots are useful when
A)comparing gene orders in prokaryotes.
B)identifying inversions.
C)examining genomic evolution.
D)A and B
E)All of the above
Q2) Eukaryotic genome size is
A)tightly correlated with organismal complexity.
B)not well correlated with organismal complexity.
C)largest in humans.
D)typically smaller than prokaryotic genome size
E)approximately the same in all eukaryotes.
Q3) A researcher collects a soil sample and sequences the entire genomes of two prokaryotes found in the sample.In these genomes,he finds identical prophage DNA located in different areas of the two genomes.Based on the similarity of the sequences of the prophages and their placement in the prokaryotes' genomes,what could he conclude about the relatedness of the two prokaryotes?
Q4) Explain how horizontal gene transfer is different than sexual reproduction.
Q5) What are transcription factors and how do they address the G-value paradox?
Q6) Describe a haplotype block.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: The Origin and Evolution of Early Life
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Q1) The two major cell types are
A)archaea and bacteria.
B)archaea and prokaryotes.
C)prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
D)eukaryotes and archaea.
E)eukaryotes and bacteria.
Q2) Why can't we use modern atmospheric conditions to infer the origin of life?
Q3) What is the evolutionary relationship between mutation rates and DNA proofreading and repair?
Q4) The conditions in the Miller-Urey experiment produced amino acids but not peptides.Subsequent experiments have adjusted the conditions and have produced other amino acids and stable peptide bonds.What is the significance of stable peptide bonds?
Q5) Molecular mutualism is
A)an interaction of molecules that disrupts hypercycles.
B)an interaction of two species to the benefit of both.
C)replication of RNA by another enzyme.
D)an interaction of molecules that increases the replication of each other.
Q6) Give an example of a modern hypercycle.
Q7) What does the abbreviation LUCA stand for and what is it?
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Chapter 12: Major Transitions
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Q1) What do the four membranes of apicoplasts imply about the nature of the endosymbiosis event that produced them?
Q2) Charles and Mary Brown have demonstrated that as cliff swallow colony size increases,the number of nests with one or more unhatched eggs decreases.They have also demonstrated that as the size of colony increases,the number of parasites increases,and these parasites cause nest failures and juvenile mortality.These two observations indicate that there are trade-offs in group living.What would be a better measure than unhatched eggs to understand the benefits of group living in cliff swallows?
Q3) Which of the following is an advantage of the economy of scale?
A)Division of labor
B)Sexual reproduction
C)More individuals per group
D)Multicellularity
Q4) Transfer of genes between organelles and the nucleus
A)occurred only in the distant past.
B)only happens between the mitochondria and the nucleus.
C)only happens between the chloroplast and the nucleus.
D)is ongoing.
Q5) Why does genetic imprinting inhibit parthenogenesis?
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Evolution and Development
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Q1) Although many human characters are neotenous compared to a chimpanzee,head growth is not.In the fetus of both species,brain and head growth start at approximately the same developmental stage and progress at the same rate.Soon after birth,chimpanzee brain and head growth stops.Human brain and head growth continues for several years after birth.Thus,relative to head growth,reproduction is occurring at a later stage.Assuming that chimpanzees represent the ancestral condition,explain what type of heterochrony humans have in brain development.
Q2) What is meant by the colinearity of Hox genes?
Q3) What evidence suggests that MADS-box genes are older than flowers?
Q4) MADS-box genes affect A)only flowers.
B)segmentation in animals.
C)leaves, roots, and flowers.
D)early development.
Q5) How does facultative neoteny in other species support the paedomorph advantage hypothesis for axolotls?
Q6) How can natural selection lead to the loss of a gene duplication?
Q7) Does all life evolve from simple to complex? Explain.
Q8) How can changes in genetic enhancers affect morphology?
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Chapter 14: Species and Speciation
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Q1) Which of the following is not a prezygotic isolating mechanism?
A)Habitat isolation
B)Temporal isolation
C)Hybrid inviability
D)Behavioral isolation
E)Gametic incompatibility
Q2) Which of the following statements describes a problem with applying the phenetic species concept?
A)One must construct a phylogenetic tree.
B)Character weighting is ambiguous.
C)Gene flow must be measured.
D)The concept only works with sexual species.
Q3) Drosophila biologists often delimit species boundaries by crossing individuals from different populations.Implicit in this method is the
A)evolutionary species concept.
B)phylogenetic species concept.
C)phenetic species concept.
D)biological species concept.
Q4) In which model of allopatric speciation is genetic drift a larger factor,and why?
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Chapter 15: Extinction and Evolutionary Trends
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Q1) What is a sink population?
A)A large panmictic population comprising all members of a species
B)A metapopulation
C)A local population that would likely decline to extinction without immigration
D)A local population in which emigration rate exceeds immigration rate
E)A and B
Q2) Which of the following conditions favor(s)fossilization?
A)A dead organism remains exposed for a long time.
B)A dead organism is covered by soft sediment.
C)A dead organism is covered by water.
D)A dead organism is exposed to scavengers that clean the bones.
E)C and D
Q3) The earliest Homo sapiens fossils are about 200,000 years old.Could you use radiocarbon dating to determine the age of fossils from that period? Briefly justify your answer.
Q4) Which mass extinction led to the disappearance of the dinosaurs?
A)K-T mass extinction
B)Triassic mass extinction
C)Permian mass extinction
D)Devonian mass extinction
Page 17
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Chapter 16: The Evolution of Sex
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Q1) Which of the following statements illustrates a potential cost of sexual reproduction?
A)Proteins in the seminal fluid of Drosophila males shorten the life expectancy of inseminated females.
B)Female birds of paradise inspect several males before deciding who to mate with.
C)Male and female damselflies form characteristic mating wheels, which allow the partners to fly, albeit at slower speeds than single damselflies.
D)All of the above
Q2) Could HIV infection be considered a cost of sexual reproduction? Keep your answer to one sentence.
Q3) Counter the following argument: "Sexual reproduction is just an accident of evolution,once established it is irreversible.One does not need to postulate specific benefits to explain its maintenance."
Q4) Does Muller's ratchet apply to both apomictic and automictic asexual populations?
Q5) What are two examples of asexual-like reproduction in the genomes of obligate sexually reproducing organisms?
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Chapter 17: Sexual Selection
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Q1) What prediction of the runaway model that is never predicted for the good genes model may help to distinguish between the models in natural populations?
Q2) Part of the courting behavior of male jumping spiders consists of drumming the ground with their legs.Studies have shown that leg drumming decreases the longevity of the spiders.Why might male leg drumming have evolved in jumping spiders?
Q3) To study sperm competition in beetles,you sample a population that is effectively monogamous,as chances of meeting more than one mating partner in nature are extremely low.In the lab,you pair multiple individuals to create a polygamous mating system,but you also maintain a monogamous control line.Would you expect sperm competition in the polygamous line to increase,decrease,or remain the same relative to the monogamous control line (assuming there was heritable variance for this trait in the population)?
Q4) A lek is a
A)permanent territory in songbirds.
B)mating location.
C)temporary arena in which males display to females.
D)group of sneaker males.
E)A and B
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Chapter 18: The Evolution of Sociality
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Q1) Which of the following represents a Nash equilibrium in the hawk-dove game? Assume that the cost of a fight is greater than the benefit of the resource that is being fought over.
A)Both players always play dove.
B)Both players always play hawk.
C)Player 1 always plays hawk, player 2 always plays dove; both players know each other's role (player 1 or player 2) before the encounter.
D)Player 1 always plays hawk, while player 2 plays hawk some of the time and dove some of the time.
Q2) Allele X codes for a cooperative behavior among full siblings.Recipients of this behavior receive a benefit of 7 fitness units,and the behavior costs the donor 3 fitness units.Use Hamilton's rule to determine whether allele X will spread in the population.
Q3) You want to study whether reciprocity explains the evolution of mobbing behavior in birds.You have two sources of birds to choose from: (A)a group of birds from your lab that all originated from the same mating pair,and (B)a group of presumably unrelated birds from the wild.Which choice would you prefer? Briefly justify your answer.
Q4) Name the three familial conflicts.
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Chapter 19: Coevolution
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Q1) When researchers examined the effects of withholding nitrogen from Bradyrhizobium japonicum,they used a "split root" treatment in which half of a soybean plant's root mass received gaseous nitrogen,whereas the other half did not.Why did the researchers use this split root treatment?
A)They were economizing on experimental soybean plants.
B)They were testing whether different parts of the root react differently to the absence of nitrogen.
C)They were testing the range of nitrogen in which soybean plants can thrive.
D)They were testing whether the potential "retaliation" against cheating symbionts was specific to root nodules that did not fix nitrogen.
Q2) Which of the following differs between intra- and interspecific interactions when it comes to the evolution and maintenance of cooperation?
A)Interacting partners from different species are not linked by inclusive fitness.
B)We cannot apply game theory to interspecific systems.
C)Cooperative interactions cannot shift into antagonistic ones in intraspecific systems.
D)All of the above
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Chapter 20: Evolution and Medicine
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Q1) Which of the following represents a similarity between the evolution of tumors and the vertebrate immune response?
A)Both involve somatic mutations.
B)Both involve sexual reproduction.
C)Both can be examined using the Hardy-Weinberg principle.
D)Genetic drift is negligible in both systems.
Q2) What is the likely phylogenetic explanation for the crossing of food and air pathways in humans?
A)A connection between the two previously separated pathways evolved to allow for an alternative air intake in case of a "stuffy nose."
B)Lungs evolved from pouches in the digestive system.
C)Access to odor receptors in the nose allowed for assessing food quality before swallowing.
D)A connection between both pathways allowed for a more efficient swallowing mechanism.
Q3) Individuals of a certain tree species experience a markedly higher mortality rate at age 200 and beyond.Name two other changes you would expect in 200-year-old trees if this increase in mortality was accompanied by senescence.
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