Ecology & Evolution Crerar Exam 1

Name:______________________________ EXAM I FOUNDATIONS OF ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION BIOL 308 FALL 2012 Some helpful formulas for you: p = 2NAA + NAa / 2N q = 2Naa + NAa / 2N p2 + 2pq + q2 p + q = 1 X2 = ((observed - expected)2 / expected) 1. Which of the following is NOT one of the basic assumptions needed in order to explain natural selection? A) Within a population, there are variations of a trait. B) Within a population, more offspring are produced than can survive. C) Within a population, species maintain homeostasis. D) Within a population, individuals with a trait that is beneficial in their environment will reproduce and pass on their genes. 2. Any heritable characteristic that an organism possesses that improves its ability to survive and reproduce in its environment is a/an ____. A) Genotype B) Homologous structure C) Phenotype D) Adaptation 3. The wing of a bat, the flipper of a whale, and the forelimb of a horse appear very different, yet detailed anatomical studies reveal the presence of the same basic bone pattern. These structures are examples of: A) Analogous structures B) Homologous structures C) Vestigial structures D) Pure coincidence E) Magic 4. If a population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, then: A) It is evolving to adapt to environmental changes B) The frequency of alleles is changing with each generation C) Mutations, immigration, and selective mating are changing allele frequencies D) It is not evolving and allele frequencies remain the same with each generation E) Homozygous recessive individuals are less fit 5. What is the only factor that can change allele frequencies in populations to produce adaptive evolutionary change? A) Mutation B) Gene flow C) Non-random mating D) Genetic drift E) Natural Selection 6. What does "Scala Naturae" mean? A) The process of nature selecting some individuals to survive and reproduce and discriminating against others. B) A diagrammatic history of the evolution of organisms from a common ancestor. C) Often represented as tree, with the trunk representing a common ancestor and the branches derived species. D) In science it is represent the idea that reason can be used to judge theories. E) A ranking or scale of organisms from least perfect to most perfect. Often represented as a ladder with humans on the top rung. 7. What degree did Cambridge grant Charles Darwin in 1831? A) Engineering B) Geology C) Biology D) Botany E) Theology 8. All of the following are required for natural selection to create evolutionary change in a population EXCEPT: A) Variation in size or health of genetically identical individuals that is caused by environmental factors B) Genetic variation exists in a population C) Individuals that have superior traits produce more offspring than less fit individuals D) Genes that produce superior traits are passed to offspring E) Differential survival and reproduction exist 9. Which of the following statements best describes the effect of a genetic drift on the gene frequencies of a population? A) Genes enter a population through immigration, thus changing gene frequencies B) Genes leave a population through emigration, thus changing gene frequencies C) Chance alone can cause significant changes in gene frequencies of small populations D) Mutations over time cause gene frequencies to change E) Selection against one allele causes gene frequencies to change 10. You may have heard that natural selection is concerned with survival of the fittest. That is a misleading half-truth. Survival is important, but only in so far as it contributes to: A) speciation B) microevolution C) reproductive success D) adaptation 11. What is the principle of uniformitarianism? A) The idea that all individuals of a species share certain uniform traits. B) The idea that doctors and nurses should wear uniforms so they are not confused with the patients. C) The theory that new species are created at constant uniform rates. D) Hutton's theory that there was a continuous gradient between nonliving and living organisms (i.e. uniformity in all things). E) The theory that the formation of mountains, valleys and other geological features could be explained by the same geological process that are occurring now had been occurring for long periods of time at near uniform rates. 12. In a small group of people living in a remote area of Kentucky, there is a high incidence of “blue skin”, a condition that results from a variation in the structure of hemoglobin. All of the “blue-skinned” residents can trace their ancestry to one couple, who were among the original settlers of this region. The unusually high frequency of “blue skin” in the area is a(n) example of: A) Mutation B) Genetic drift C) Natural selection D) Sexual selection E) Heterozygote advantage 13. The creationist "argument from design" is based on the idea that complex structures and organisms can't arise by chance. The argument fails because, although _________ is random, ___________ is not; it is directed in the sense of increasing adaptation. evolution/selection mutation/selection adaptation/mutation selection/mutation 14. Which of the following is NOT a claim of the “theory” of Special Creation A) Species do not change and they show limited variation. B) Each species was separately created. C) Earth and life were recently created. D) All of the above are claims of the “theory” of Special Creation. 15. Put the following court cases/decisions involving evolution in chronological order (from earliest to most recent) --- Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District-1; Epperson v. Arkansas-2; Scopes Monkey Trial-3; Edwards v. Aquillard-4 A) 1234 B) 3241 C) 3421 D) 2341 16. By studying medium ground finch populations in the Galapagos Islands over the course of several decades, the Grants and their colleagues have demonstrated that, during drought years, natural selection favors birds with _______ beaks; during wet years, natural selection favors birds with ________ beaks. [Deep beaks are larger than shallow beaks] A) deep/deep B) shallow/deep C) deep/shallow D) shallow/shallow 17. You are raising a stock of Drosophila flies, and when each individual emerges from the pupa you clip off its wings. Assume that this treatment does not disrupt mating success and they go on to produce new generations, in each of which you continue to clip wings. By the end of 50 generations, what would you most expect to observe in the last generation of flies as they emerge? A) all flies would be born with wings B) all flies would be born without wings C) many flies would be born without wings D) the size of the wings would decrease from the first to the fiftieth generation. 18. Which of the following answers places these people in the correct time sequence with respect to their contribution to biology --- Darwin-1; Linnaeus-2; LaMarck-3; Dobzhansky-4; Mendel-5 A) 32154 B) 23451 C) 42135 D) 32145 E) 23154 19. Which of these pairs are mismatched? A) Charles Darwin - Natural Selection B) Linnaeus - Classified organism by Scala Naturae C) Cuvier - a series of catastrophes explains the fossil record D) Lamark - Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics E) All of above are correct 20. Darwin argued that in 750 years elephants have the potential to grow a population from two elephants to over nineteen million elephants. Why would this argument be important to Darwin's theory of natural selection? A) Because one of the postulates of his theory was that the earth was very old. B) Because it showed that there was variation within a species and that was one of the postulates of his theory. C) Because it explained why there were so many fossil elephants. D) Because it showed that if unchecked all populations have the ability to grow exponentially. E) Because it showed that elephants couldn't survive in environment they were not adapted to. 21. Here’s a good one from a freshman biology textbook. Which of the following communities would be the most likely to be in Hardy Weinberg equilibrium? A) Covertree --- where all four of the natives live normal lives. B) Oldport --- a remote paradise where the rich love to mingle with the richer, and hate the poor. C) Provenance --- an area where nobody wants to go, the natives haven't the sense to leave, and only people with big ears have offspring. D) Cube Island --- still another remote paradise, where the many natives indiscriminately mate with each other several times a day. E) Northerly --- a far-distant place that endures an annual influx of people from Disconnecticut, who never leave. 22. True or False: Creation science and intelligent design theory are credible scientific challenges to the theory of evolution. A) True B) False 23. Greek philosopher that first and most strongly supported an essentialist view and a deified universe, influencing science in the process, though he had never undertaken any scientific investigations. A) Anaximander B) Aristotle C) Empedocles D) Plato E) Henry 24. True or False: High mutation rates increase the chances that lineages can survive in rapidly changing environments. A) True B) False 25. True or False: This is EXAM I. For the following questions match the MOST appropriate letter with the appropriate number: ___E__26. Genetic equilibrium A) Archbishop James Ussher __A___27. Calculation of moment of creation B) Charles Darwin __D___28. The Rediscovery of Mendel’s paper C) William Smith ___B__29. Natural Selection D) H. de Vries ___C__30. Principle of Faunal Succession E) G. U. Yule For the following questions match the MOST appropriate letter with the appropriate number: _____D__31. Sickle-cell anemia A) result of frame-shift mutation ____E___32. Australian Silvereye B) example of migration-selection balance ____A___33. Hypercholesterolemia C) genetic bottleneck ____B___34. Water snakes in Lake Erie D) result of point mutation _____C__35. Pingelapese people E) founder effect For the following questions match the MOST appropriate letter with the appropriate number: ____D___36. Vancomycin A) Artificial Selection ____A___37. Dog breeds B) Proof of extinction ____E___38. Bee eaters C) Vestigial traits _____C__39. Brown Kiwi D) Proof of evolution in historical times ____B___40. Irish Elk E) Biogeography 41. Gene flow... A) reduces genetic differences between populations B) increase genetic differences between populations C) reduces the potential for natural selection to produce adaptations D) increases the mutation rate in a population E) none of the above 42. If a population that contains 16% homozygous recessive individuals (blue eyes), and 84% individuals with brown eyes (homozygous dominant and heterozygotes), what is the frequency of the dominant allele in the population? A) 0.6 B) 0.4 C) 0.32 D) 0.64 E) 0.8 43. True or False: Most mutations are beneficial in terms of fitness. FILL IN THE BLANK. (1.5 points each) _______Paralogous/paralogy_____1. Type of homology in which the divergence of homologous genes can be traced to gene duplication events. _Modern/Evolutionary Synthesis_2. An understanding of evolutionary biology that emerged in the early twentieth century as the principles of evolution were integrated with the principles of modern genetics. _____Population Genetics______3. Study of allele and genotype frequency changes and the mechanisms responsible for these changes. ____Descent with Modification__4. Phrase used by Darwin in On the Origin of Species in place of “evolution”. _____Pangenesis_____________5. Darwin’s explanation of how genetic information is passed from parent to offspring (i.e. heredity). Based on inheritance of tiny heredity particles he called _gemmules_ that could be transmitted from parent to offspring (used to explain atavisms, hybrids, etc.) _______Artificial Selection____6. The selection by plant and animal breeders of individuals with certain desirable traits (analogous to natural selection). _Hardy Weinberg (Castle) Equilibrium_7. The null model for population genetics. ____Panmictic/Panmixia______8. A ____ population is one where all individuals are potential partners (aka. random mating). ______TR Malthus___________9. Wrote “An Essay on the Principle of Population”. This work was read by Darwin during his historic voyage and influenced his thinking on differential survivability. __Co-option/Preadaptation/Exaptation_10. A selectively advantageous trait used for a new, secondarily derived function. SHORT ANSWER/LISTING/SHORT DISCUSSION. 1. In lecture, we discussed six creationist objections to evolution. List THREE of these objections (your answer MUST include only those discussed in lecture). (3 points) How can natural selection and random mating create complex traits and adaptations? Includes: arguments from design and irreducible complexity Evolution via natural selection is a prediction (It is not falsifiable.) The Earth is too young for the diversity we see. Radiometric dating and assumptions from uniformitarianism are invalid. Violates the second law of thermodynamics. No one has ever seen evolution occur (There has been no evolution in modern times.) 2. Vestigial traits are often used as evidence for the theory of evolution. (a) In a few sentences (i.e. less than FIVE), explain why vestigial traits are used as evidence of evolution. (b) In one sentence, define vestigial traits. (c) Give an example of a vestigial trait. (5 points) Support descent with modification and are inexplicable under the “theory” of special creation. Homologies. A useless or rudimentary version of a body part that has an important function in another, closely allied species. Wings on the brown kiwi, rubber boa hind limbs, coccyx in humans, arrector pili muscles in humans, etc. 3. LaMarck was the first evolutionary biologist to propose a mechanism for evolution. This mechanism was heavily criticized by many of his fellow scientists. In TWO concise sentences, state the two major problems with LaMark’s mechanism for change. (4 points) Change is directed toward greater complexity (perfection). There is the capacity to react to special circumstances in the environment and to remain in harmony with the environment. Also called the inheritance of acquired chracteristics. 4. In lecture, we used mosquito fish gonopodium as an example of natural selection producing adaptations that are often not perfect. Provide an explanation of this example as it relates to the above statement regarding natural selection. (3 points) The male has a modified anal fin to serve as a copulatory organ (gonopodium). Females prefer to mate with males with large gonopodia. However, males with large gonopodia are susceptible to predation. Thus, populations evolve a phenotype that strikes a compromise between opposing agents of selection. 5. In lecture, we discussed the fate of supplicated genes. List the THREE possible fates of a duplicated gene? (3 points) Same function. New function. No function (pseudogene). Bonus (I). (2 points) Who said this? “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution”. Theodosius Dobzhansky Son of Bonus (I). (2 points) What said this? “There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved.” Charles Darwin Son of Bonus (II). (2 points) Who said this? “May it not be possible…that the fossils in question belonged to species still existing, but which have changed since that time and have been converted into the similar species that we now actually find?” Lamark Hardy/Weinberg Time! Show your work. Some helpful formulas for you: p = 2NAA + NAa / 2N q = 2Naa + NAa / 2N p2 + 2pq + q2 p + q = 1 X2 = ((observed - expected)2 / expected) X2 1, 0.05 = 3.841 1. A plant population consists of two flower morphs, white and red, controlled by a single locus and two alleles. The white morph represents the recessive homozygote. The red morph consists of some combination of heterozygotes and dominant homozygotes. Assume that 50% of the population has red flowers. What are the frequencies of all three genotypes (assuming Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium)? (6 points) ASSUME Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium. It was given that 50% of the population has red flowers (AA and Aa); so 50% have white flowers (homozygous recessive; aa). Thus q2 = 0.50 (50%). Therefore q = ?0.50 or 0.707. Therefore p = 1-0.707 or 0.292. So, using the equation: (0.292)2 + 2(0.292)(0.707) + (0.707)2 Frequencies must be: 0.086 AA, 0.414 Aa, and 0.5 aa.