The Evolution of Behavior

Question 1

what are some misconceptions of natural selection

Answer 1

Jean Lamarck (inheritance of acquired characteristics) ; The Great Chain of Being; and The Naturalistic Fallacy, eugenics

Question 2

what is eugenics

Answer 2

the idea that some individuals should not reproduce

Question 3

what is the modern synthesis

Answer 3

The unification of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection with the discovery of particulate gene inheritance

Question 4

what is artificial selection

Answer 4

human determined or selected traits in species breeding programs

Question 5

what are the three criteria for traits to evolve through Natural Selection

Answer 5

variation of the trait; Fitness consequences due to the trait (reproduction); mode of inheritance (genetic transmission)

Question 6

what is as genotype

Answer 6

genetic make-up of an organism

Question 7

what is a phenotype

Answer 7

observable properties of an organism; Phenotype is the product of genotype and environment

Question 8

what is an allele

Answer 8

a gene variant which possess one of two or more alternative forms

Question 9

what is variation

Answer 9

individual differences in a trait (behavior, morphology, etc.)

Question 10

what are sources of genetic variation

Answer 10

mutation, genetic recombination, and migration

Question 11

what is genetic recombination

Answer 11

changes that occur as a consequence of sexual reproduction

Question 12

what is fitness consequence

Answer 12

effect of a trait on individual reproductive success

Question 13

what is mode of inheritance

Answer 13

act of passing traits to future generations

Question 14

what is heritability

Answer 14

fraction of variation of a trait due to heritable rather than environmental affects

Question 15

what is the range of heritability scores

Answer 15

0 to 1

Question 16

what does it mean when heritability is 0

Answer 16

all variation is due to the environment

Question 17

what does it mean when heritability is 1

Answer 17

all variation due to gene

Question 18

what does it mean when heritability is 0.5

Answer 18

heritability is high

Question 19

what does it mean when heritability is 0.1

Answer 19

heritability is low

Question 20

what is narrow-sense heritability

Answer 20

the proportion of variance in a trait that is accounted for by genetic variance

Question 21

what is parent/offspring regression

Answer 21

overlap of offspring traits with parental traits under conditions of high heritability; little overlap suggests low heritability

Question 22

what is cross-fostering

Answer 22

Cross-fostering experiment show a negative correlation groups size preference between generations

Question 23

what is sociobiology

Answer 23

Sociobiology is the study of the evolution of social behavior

Question 24

what is the Selfish Gene approach advocated by Evolutionary Biologist Richard Dawkins

Answer 24

Genes appear selfish because they act to increase their frequency in the population

Question 25

what are adaptations

Answer 25

traits that natural selection molds an organism to match the environment

Question 26

what is the condition of existence

Answer 26

the living and nonliving environment that serves as backdrop for natural selection

Question 27

what is common ancestry

Answer 27

explains the similar structure in animals of the same class and independent of habitat

Question 28

what are the origin of specie’s two laws

Answer 28

condition of existence and common ancestry

Question 29

why are phylogenetic trees important

Answer 29

Useful for exploring evolutionary change and relationships

Question 30

what is homology

Answer 30

phenotypic similarity of descendent species inherited from common ancestor

Question 31

what is homoplasy

Answer 31

character similarity that evolved independent of ancestry