22.2 Descent with modification by natural selection explains the adaptations of organisms and the unity and diversity of life Flashcards
Darwinʹs mechanism of natural selection required long time spans in order to modify species. From whom did Darwin get the concept of Earthʹs ancient age?
A) Georges Cuvier
B) Charles Lyell
C) Alfred Wallace
D) Thomas Malthus
E) John Henslow
B) Charles Lyell
12) As a young biologist, Charles Darwin had expected the living plants of temperate South America would resemble those of temperate Europe, but he was surprised to find that they more closely resembled the plants of tropical South America. The biological explanation for this observation is most properly associated with the field of
A) meteorology.
B) embryology.
C) vertebrate anatomy.
D) bioengineering.
E) biogeography.
E) biogeography.
13) Which of these naturalists synthesized a concept of natural selection independently of Darwin?
A) Charles Lyell
B) Gregor Mendel
C) Alfred Wallace
D) John Henslow
E) Thomas Malthus
C) Alfred Wallace
14) Charles Darwin was the first person to propose
A) that evolution occurs.
B) a mechanism for how evolution occurs.
C) that the Earth is older than a few thousand years.
D) a mechanism for evolution that was supported by evidence.
E) a way to use artificial selection as a means of domesticating plants and animals.
D) a mechanism for evolution that was supported by evidence.
15) In Darwinʹs thinking, the more closely related two different organisms are, the
A) more similar their habitats are.
B) less similar their DNA sequences are.
C) more recently they shared a common ancestor.
D) less likely they are to have the same genes in common.
E) more similar they are in size.
C) more recently they shared a common ancestor.
16) Which of these conditions should completely prevent the occurrence of natural selection in a population over time?
A) All variation between individuals is due only to environmental factors.
B) The environment is changing at a relatively slow rate.
C) The population size is large.
D) The population lives in a habitat where there are no competing species present.
A) All variation between individuals is due only to environmental factors.
Natural selection is based on all of the following except
A) genetic variation exists within populations.
B) the best-adapted individuals tend to leave the most offspring.
C) individuals who survive longer tend to leave more offspring than those who die young.
D) populations tend to produce more individuals than the environment can support.
E) individuals adapt to their environments and, thereby, evolve.
E) individuals adapt to their environments and, thereby, evolve.
18) Which of the following represents an idea that Darwin learned from the writings of Thomas Malthus?
A) All species are fixed in the form in which they are created.
B) Populations tend to increase at a faster rate than their food supply normally allows.
C) Earth changed over the years through a series of catastrophic upheavals.
D) The environment is responsible for natural selection.
E) Earth is more than 10,000 years old.
B) Populations tend to increase at a faster rate than their food supply normally allows.
19) Which statement about natural selection is most correct?
A) Adaptations beneficial in one habitat should generally be beneficial in all other habitats as well.
B) Different species that occupy the same habitat will adapt to that habitat by undergoing the same genetic changes.
C) Adaptations beneficial at one time should generally be beneficial during all other times as well.
D) Well-adapted individuals leave more offspring, and thus contribute more to the next generationʹs gene pool, than do poorly adapted individuals.
E) Natural selection is the sole means by which populations can evolve.
D) Well-adapted individuals leave more offspring, and thus contribute more to the next generationʹs gene pool, than do poorly adapted individuals.
20) Given a population that contains genetic variation, what is the correct sequence of the following events, under the influence of natural selection?
1 Well-adapted individuals leave more offspring than do poorly adapted individuals.
2 A change occurs in the environment.
3 Genetic frequencies within the population change.
4 Poorly adapted individuals have decreased survivorship.
A) 2 → 4 → 1 → 3
B) 4 → 2 → 1 → 3
C) 4 → 1 → 2 → 3
D) 4 → 2 → 3 → 1
E) 2 → 4 → 3 → 1
A) 2 → 4 → 1 → 3
21) A biologist studied a population of squirrels for 15 years. During that time, the population was never fewer than 30 squirrels and never more than 45. Her data showed that over half of the squirrels born did not survive to reproduce, because of competition for food and predation. In a single generation, 90% of the squirrels that were born lived to reproduce, and the population increased to 80. Which inference(s) about this population might be true?
A) The amount of available food may have increased.
B) The number of predators may have decreased.
C) The squirrels of subsequent generations should show greater levels of genetic variation than previous generations, because squirrels that would not have survived in the past will now survive.
D) AandBonly
E) A, B, and C
E) A, B, and C
22) To observe natural selectionʹs effects on a population, which of these must be true?
A) One must observe more than one generation of the population.
B) The population must contain genetic variation.
C) Members of the population must increase or decrease the use of some portion of their anatomy.
D) A and C only
E) A and B only
E) A and B only
23) If the HMS Beagle had completely bypassed the Galapagos Islands, Darwin would have had a much poorer understanding of the
A) relative stability of a well-adapted populationʹs numbers over many generations.
B) ability of populations to undergo modification as they adapt to a particular environment.
C) tendency of organisms to produce the exact number of offspring that the environment can support.
D) unlimited resources that support population growth in most natural environments.
E) lack of genetic variation among all members of a population.
B) ability of populations to undergo modification as they adapt to a particular environment.
24) During drought years on the Galapagos, small, easily eaten seeds become rare, leaving mostly large, hard-cased seeds that only birds with large beaks can eat. If a drought persists for several years, what should one expect to result from natural selection?
A) Small birds gaining larger beaks by exercising their mouth parts.
B) Small birds mutating their beak genes with the result that later-generation offspring have larger beaks.
C) Small birds anticipating the long drought and eating more to gain weight and, consequently, growing larger beaks.
D) More small-beaked birds dying than larger-beaked birds. The offspring produced in subsequent generations have a higher percentage of birds with large beaks.
E) Larger birds eating less so smaller birds can survive.
D) More small-beaked birds dying than larger-beaked birds. The offspring produced in subsequent generations have a higher percentage of birds with large beaks.
25) Which of the following statements is an inference of natural selection?
A) Subsequent generations of a population should have greater proportions of individuals that possess traits better suited for success in unchanging environments.
B) An individual organism undergoes evolution over the course of its lifetime.
C) Habitats do not generally have unlimited resources.
D) Natural populations tend to reproduce to their full biological potential.
E) Some of the variation that exists among individuals in a population is genetic.
A) Subsequent generations of a population should have greater proportions of individuals that possess traits better suited for success in unchanging environments.
26) Which of the following must exist in a population before natural selection can act upon that population?
A) Genetic variation among individuals
B) Variation among individuals caused by environmental factors
C) Sexual reproduction
D) B and C only
E) A, B, and C
A) Genetic variation among individuals
