INTRODUCTION TO EVOLUTION

Biology 107

Final Examination

Spring 2001 Name ______________________________

Part I. Multiple Choice. Please circle the number of the answer that is most completely correct

(2 pts/question).

1. Malthus' essay on the principle of population was influential in shaping Darwin's ideas about the mechanisms of evolutionary change because it convinced Darwin than:

1. every individual is unique

2. acquired characters could be inherited

3. all organisms have prodigious reproductive potential

4. inheritance was particulate

5. choose this answer if none of the above is correct

2. The position of a gene on a chromosome is called its:

1. site

2. locality

3. locus

4. coordinate

5. sequence

3. The closest living relatives of humans are:

1. orangutans

2. lemurs

3. chimpanzees

4. Old World monkeys

5. gibbons

4. A population that is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium is:

1. not evolving

2. is evolving rapidly

3. under intense directional selection

4. at high risk of extinction

5. likely to reproduce asexually

5. In the Linnaean hierarchy, the category the lies immediately above the Order is the:

1. Genus

2. Class

3. Kingdom

4. Phylum

5. choose this answer if none of the above is correct

6. Alfred Russell Wallace influenced Darwin's thinking by convincing him that:

1. the earth was much older that most people believed

2. the genetic instructions are encoded in DNA

3. there was a struggle for existence

4. spontaneous generation could not occur

5. choose this answer if none of the above is correct

7. Life first appeared on earth approximately:

1. 3.4 billion years ago

2. 1.7 billion years ago

3. 6.1 billion years ago

4. 6,000 years ago

5. 500 million years ago

8. In a single locus, two allele system, the X allele is present in a frequency of 0.6, and that of the x allele is present in a frequency of 0.4. Under the assumptions of Hardy-Weinberg, the

expected genotypic frequencies in the next generation will be:

1. XX = 0.16, Xx = 0.48, xx = 0.36

2. XX = 0.33, Xx = 0.33, xx = 0.33

3. XX = 0.08, Xx = 0.20, xx = 0.72

4. XX = 0.36, Xx = 0.48, xx = 0.16

5. Choose this answer if none of the above is correct

9. According to the rule of priority:

1.the most simple hypothesis is always true

2. the world is approximately 6,000 years old

3. all life comes from previously existing life

4. intelligent life on other planets is a certainty

5. choose this answer if none of the above is correct

10 According to the stratigraphic law of superposition:

1. there is contiguity of geologic processes past and present

2. the lowest stratum is most likely to be of volcanic origin

3. strata with the same index fossils are likely to be of the same age

4. new crust is formed at mid-oceanic ridges

5. choose this answer if none of the above is correct

11. In a single locus, two allele system with dominance, an individual of unknown genotype could be either homozygous dominant, or heterozygous. Results of a test cross (= back cross) of the unknown individual produces only a single phenotype. From this you correctly conclude that the genotype of the unknown individual is:

1. heterozygous

2. homozygous dominant

3. heterozygous recessive

4. homozygous recessive

5. choose this answer if none of the above is correct

12. According to the Lamarckian view:

1. acquired characters can be inherited

2. inheritance involves a blending of traits

3. the world is approximately 65 million years old.

4. there must be a struggle for existence

5. each entity exists as a theoretical ideal type

13. The breakup of Pangaea resulted in a southern "supercontinent" called:

1. Gondwanaland

2. Laurwanda

3. Eurasia

4. Laurasia

5. Laurentide

14. Australopithecines first appear in the fossil record in:

1. Australia

2. South America

3. Africa

4. Eurasia

5. New Zealand

15. A behavior that raises the fitness of the individual performing the act, and lowers the fitness of the recipient of the act, is termed:

1. selfishness

2. altruism

3. spite

4. reciprocal altruism

5. stupidity

16. The re-analysis of the Bumpus House Sparrow data revealed that:

1. the survival patterns of males and females were identical with respect to body size

2. smaller males were morel likely to survive than larger males

3. survival was unrelated to body size

4. females survived better than males

5 choose this answer if none of the above is correct

17. The earliest member of the genus Homo is:

1. H. afarensis

2. H. robustus

3. H. erectus

4. H. habilis

5. H. afarensis

18. In a normal individual diploid organism, the maximum number alleles at any locus is:

1. 2

2. 1

3. equal to two times the number of individuals in the population

4. unspecified

5. choose this answer if none of the above is correct

19. A species that grows rapidly and matures early would also probably:

1. have a very large body size

2. produce only one offspring in each reproductive episode

3. allocate a large amount of energy to any given offspring

4. reproduce many times during its lifetime

5. have a type II or type III survivorship curve

20 Which of the following is an assumption of Hardy-Weinberg:

1. no gene flow

2. large population size

3. no mutation

4 random mating

5. choose this answer if all of the above are assumptions of Hardy-Weinberg

21. Mendel interpreted the results of his breeding experiments with garden peas as evidence of:

1. blending inheritance

2. inheritance of acquired characteristics

3. natural selection

4. genetic drift

5. choose this answer if none of the above is correct

22. According to the biogenetic law:

1. without genetic variation, there can be no evolutionary change

2. evolution does not reverse itself

3. within a species of endothermic vertebrate, individuals at high latitudes tend to have

larger body size than those at lower latitudes

4. no two species can occupy the same ecological niche

5. choose this answer if none of the above is correct

23. The abbreviation DNA stands for:

1. deoxyribonucleic acid

2. dimethyl-nitric acid

3. disulfamine nitroacidic acid

4. diphospho-nucleic acid

5. choose this answer if none of the above is correct

24. The notion that the potential of an individual is irreversibly set by his/her genotype is called:

1. evolution

2. Lamarkianism

3. biological determinism

4. genetic drift

5. paedomorphosis

25. Darwin's birthday is:

1. 12 January

2. 18 March

3. 19 February

4. 12 February

5. 19 January

Part II. True-False. Please circle the letter T if you believe the statement to be true, and the

letter F if you believe the statement to be false (2 pts. each).

26. Biologists can accurately estimate the number of species of organisms in the world today to within an order of magnitude. T F

27. Larger organisms have a smaller surface area relative to their body mass or volume than do smaller organisms of the same shape. T F

28. Two populations that occur in sympatry must represent separate species. T F

29. The closest living relatives of vertebrates are echinoderms (e.g., starfish, sea urchins).

T F

30. Structures that are similar due to convergent evolution are properly termed analogous structures. T F

31. Darwin shares with Charles Lyell the credit for developing the idea of evolution by natural

selection. T F

32. If choice is exercised in accepting mates, the sex that is most likely to do the choosing is the

male. T F

33. A spontaneous increase in the number of chromosome sets is called parthenogenesis.

T F

34. Most of the cells in your body are diploid. T F

35. The various species of Australopithecus precede those of the genus Homo in the fossil record.

T F

36. Genetic drift is an example of non-Darwinian evolution. T F

37. Lamarck believed in the theory of natural selection as developed by Darwin. T F

38. Heterochrony involves an evolutionary change in the timing of developmental events.

T F

39. According to the theory of plate tectonics, the earth's crust is consumed at subduction

zones. T F

40. The mosquito found embedded in amber in the Dominican Republic (as presented in Jurassic Park) represents an example of a body fossil. T F

41. Assume that the allele A is dominant to the recessive allele a, and there are no other alleles at that locus. The maximum number of phenotypes that one would expect in the population is

two. T F

42. Natural selection that operates on only one tail of a curve of variation is called directional

selection. T F

43. Darwin's appreciation of the laws of inheritance came from his having read the published

works of Gregor Mendel. T F

44. Sperm are haploid. T F

45. In his experiments, Stanley Miller was able to produce DNA from methane, water vapor, and ammonia. T F

46. Having discovered that the study of evolution is so much fun, I intend to change my major

to biology. T F

Part III. Fill-in the Blank (2 pts/blank).

47. We live in the __________________________________ biogeographic realm.

48. The taxonomic methodology that groups OTUs on the basis of overall similarity is called

_______________________________, whereas the methodology that groups OTUs on the basis of shared, derived characters is called ________________________________.

49. The notion that our hypotheses should be no more complicated than necessary is known as

the ________________________________, whereas the rule that states that the correct scientific name for a species of organism is the one that was published first is called the

_________________________________.

50. A spontaneous increase in the number of chromosome sets is called ____________________.

51. The DNA strand that is complimentary to AATAGCCGTAGA would have the sequence

______________________________.

52. In mitosis, the number of chromosomes ______________________, whereas in meiosis, the number of chromosomes _____________________________.

53. The nearness of a measurement to the true value is termed the ________________________

of the measurement; the repeatability of a measurement is termed its __________________________.

54. The evolutionary phenomenon that produces organisms that are a blend of adult and larval

or juvenile characteristics is termed ___________________________.

55. Two species whose geographic distributions do not overlap are said to be

________________________, whereas two species whose geographic distributions abut (i.e. are contiguous) but do not overlap are said to be ___________________________.

56. The person whose writing convinced Darwin of the immensity of geologic time was

______________________; the person who convinced Darwin of the enormous reproductive potential of organisms was _________________________.

57. An allele that suppresses the expression of an alternative allele at a locus is said to be

________________________, whereas the allele whose expression is suppressed is said to be

________________________.

58. The genetic makeup of an organism is termed its ___________________________, whereas the outward manifestation of an organism is termed its ___________________________.

59. The scientific name of the first tool using member of the genus Homo is

__________________________; the scientific name of the first member of the genus Homo to get out of Africa is _____________________________.

60. According to the theory of island biogeography, the equilibrium number of species on small islands will be _________________________ than on large islands, and the equilibrium number of species on islands near to the source of immigrants will be ________________________ than

for islands far from the source.

61. In the absence of malaria, the recessive allele s, that causes sickle-cell anemia would be expected to ____________________________ in a population.

Part IV. Short Essay. Please provide a concise, legible answer to four (and only four) of the following (15 pts. each).

62. What are the two components of Darwinian sexual selection? If choice is exercised in selecting a mate, which sex is likely to be choosy, and why? Which sex is likely to compete for mates, and why?

63. Design an experiment to test the Lamarkian idea that acquired characters are inherited. Be sure to state specifically the hypothesis under test, the prediction the is derived from the hypothesis, and the expected outcome if the hypothesis is correct, and the expected outcome if the hypothesis is false.

64. Briefly outline the Darwinian thesis concerning evolution by natural selection. That is, indicate the facts and the inferences that Darwin drew from those facts to arrive at his conclusions about how evolution could occur.

65. What is the species-area relationship as it applies to islands? What are the factors that determine the equilibrium number of species on islands?

66. Distinguish clearly between the terms homology and analogy. Provide an example of each. Why is it important to make the distinction between homology and analogy?

67. What is the Hardy-Weinberg expression (or law)? What is the relevance of this concept to the study of population genetics? In order for a population to be in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, what conditions must be met (i.e., what are the assumptions of Hardy-Weinberg?).

68. Distinguish clearly between Batesian and Mullerian mimicry. Indicate who benefits and who is affected deleteriously.