Winegard 2

Question 1

Formula for natural selection?

Answer 1

Variation
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differential reproduction
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heredity
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natural selection

Question 2

Why are genes selfish?

Answer 2

Genes, defined as an specified area on a chromosome which codes for a protein, are the unit of selection. They are what is passed faithfully from generation to generation

Question 3

What three outcomes are the result of natural selection?

Answer 3

Adaptions:
- Inbiology, anadaptation, also called an adaptive trait, is a trait with a current functional role in the life of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection

Adaptations look as if they were designed (complex, reliable, precise, functional)

By Products:
- A byproduct (also known as a spandrel) evolved as the byproduct of some other characteristic, rather than as a direct result of adaptive selection

Noise:
- Noise: traits caused by genetic variants (including mutations) that have little adaptive significance for the organism

Question 4

Intrasexual vs intersexual selection?

Answer 4

Intrasexual Selectioninvolves characteristics which affect the outcome of competition among members of one sex for access to members of the other sex

Intersexual Selectionwould influence the evolution of secondary sexual characteristics which determine the relative “attractiveness” of members of one sex to the other sex

Question 5

Proximate and ultimate causation?

Answer 5

Ultimate causation explains traits in terms of evolutionary forces acting on them.
Example: female animals often display preferences among male display traits, such as song. An ultimate explanation based on sexual selection states that females who display preferences have more vigorous or more attractive male offspring.

Proximate causation explains biological function in terms of immediate physiological or environmental factors.
Example: a female animal chooses to mate with a particular male during a mate choice trial. A possible proximate explanation states that one male produced a more intense signal, leading to elevated hormone levels in the female producing copulatory behavior.

Question 6

Proper vs actual domain?

Answer 6

The proper domain of a module is the information that the module evolved to process (the set of problems it was designed to solve

The actual domain of a module is all the information in the environment that satisfy the modules input conditions