Chapter 3

Question 0

Natural selection is the consequence of

Answer 0

variation; inheritance; differential reproductive success

Question 1

The 2000-2004 drought in California

Answer 1

shortened the growing season of the mustard plant; led to earlier flowering in the mustard plant; created selective forces that changed the characteristics of the mustard plant

Question 2

Researchers studying variations in oldfield mouse coat color found that the light coat color of many beach populations was due to a

Answer 2

mutation in the Mc1R protein, which reduces the ability of alpha-MSH to bind; mutation in the regulatory region of the Agouti gene, which increases ASP expression; reproduction in eumelanin production

Question 3

Natural selection sorts on

Answer 3

phenotypic, not genotypic, differences in a population

Question 4

Genes affect traits

Answer 4

by producing a norm of reaction

Question 5

Natural selection is a process by which

Answer 5

the characteristics of populations change over time

Question 6

When evolutionary biologist study the process of natural selection, they focus on

Answer 6

how a trait of interest changes of time; how a trait of interest remains constant over time

Question 7

A species’ life history strategy refers to

Answer 7

a schedule and manner of investment in SURVIVORSHIP over the lifetime of an individual;
a schedule and manner of investment in REPRODUCTION over the lifetime of an individual

Question 8

The formal definition of “fitness” in evolutionary biology

Answer 8

pertains to relative reproductive success

Question 9

A trait that serves one purpose today but evolved under different selective conditions is

Answer 9

called an exaptation

Question 10

The guppy behavior studies presented in your test, including the experiments on transferring guppies between high predation and low predation sites, illustrate the

Answer 10

Rapidity with which natural selection can operate; significant differences in behavior that have evolved between populations over 10,000 years; significant differences in behavior that have evolved within populations due to predation stress

Question 11

Considering the phylogenetic evidence that feathers evolved prior to flight, what might have been the original function of feathers?

Answer 11

heat retention; facilitating tactile sensation; waterproofing; shielding from sunlight

Question 12

The antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis proposes that

Answer 12

the same gene(s) that code for beneficial effects also code for deleterious effects in other contexts

Question 13

Gene sharing is

Answer 13

one way that a new molecular function can arise; is a form of molecular exaptation

Question 14

An exaptation is a

Answer 14

trait originally selected for one function but later co-opted for another

Question 15

How can we explain the exquisite complexity of some complex traits, such as the vertebrae eye?

Answer 15

Each intermediate step toward the evolution of complex traits was itself adaptive; Intermediate stages of complex traits were functional and selected for in the past but were selected for a function other than that observed today

Question 16

Evolutionary change in one species that affects the selective conditions for a second species is know as

Answer 16

coevolution

Question 17

The term for a simultaneous action of natural selection on each side of the host-pathogen interaction is known a a(n)

Answer 17

evolutionary arms race

Question 18

Why aren’t organisms perfectly adapted to their environments?

Answer 18

There are physical constraints that cannot be overcome;
An organism’s surroundings do not present a stationary target to which natural selection can optimize its phenotype; the process of natural selection lacks forsight

Question 19

The results of the Lenski and Travisano experiment on cells in 12 replicate lines of E. coli illustrate the fact that

Answer 19

Evolution by natural selection is sometimes significantly affected by chance events, such as random mutations, and the order in which they happen; Evolution by NS is often a predictable, repeatable process

Question 20

According the figure “Droughts and flowering time,” which of the following statements is true? Part 1

Answer 20

Descendant populations of the mustard plant growing after the severe 2000-2004 drought flowered earlier in the season that those from pre-drought populations

Question 21

According the figure “Droughts and flowering time,” which of the following statements is true (about hybrids)?

Answer 21

Hybrids flowered at intermediate times

Question 22

According to the figure about plant height and elevation, plants with genotype 1

Answer 22

Grow tall at high and low elevations but are short at medium elevations

Question 23

In principle, the variations in oldfield mouse coat color illustrated in the figure above could result from

Answer 23

Genetic differences; environmental differences; differences in diet; exposure to sunlight

Question 24

The experiment on early work on predation, coat color, and fitness in the oldfield mouse demonstrates

Answer 24

a selective advantage to mice with coats that match the color of their environment

Question 25

According to the figure about “high, medium, low-predation pressure and school size,” which of the following is true? Part 1

Answer 25

Group size increases as predation pressure increases

Question 26

According to Lenski and Travisano’s E.coli cell line graph, which of the following is true

Answer 26

Average cell volume increased substantially over the first 2000-3000 generations

Question 27

According to the figure about “high, medium, low-predation pressure and school size,” which of the following is true? Part 2

Answer 27

The percentage of fish found in larger groups increases as predation pressure increases

Question 28

According to Lenski and Travisano’s E.coli cell line graph, which of the following is true? Part 2

Answer 28

After only 500 generations, natural selection had already increased fitness in the evolving strains; Average fitness INCREASED substantially over the first 2000 to 3000 generations

Question 29

According to the Norm of Reaction Curves figure, which of the following statements is true?

Answer 29

ALL THE ABOVE:
genotypes don’t code for a fixed leaf size
genotypes don’t code for a fixed leaf area
Genotypes code for a number and area of leaves that depends on the intensity of light to which the given plant is exposed