Deck 14: Macroevolution: the Long Run

Question 1

Trilobites went extinct

A) 500 million years ago, not associated with a mass extinction.
B) 443.8 million years ago, associated with the Ordovician extinction.
C) 358.9 million years ago, associated with the Devonian extinction.
D) 251.9 million years ago, associated with the Permian extinction.
E) 201.3 million years ago, associated with the Triassic extinction.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Where have marsupials never existed in the wild?

A) North America
B) Asia
C) Australia
D) Antarctica
E) none of the above

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Extinction of a species can occur from

A) habitat loss.
B) competition with other species.
C) inability to withstand physical environment.
D) a and b
E) a, b, and c

Answer 3

E

Question 4

All of the following pieces of evidence suggest that animals existed prior to the Cambrian explosion EXCEPT:

A) macroscopic fossils from the Ediacaran period, 570 mya
B) microscopic fossils of multicellular organisms 2.1 bya
C) biomarkers from sponges 635 mya
D) molecular data showing the earliest matazoans appeared 700 mya

Question 5

In 2018 the IUCN found that out of 93,577 species, ________ were threatened due to human activities.

A) 72%
B) 53%
C) 28%
D) 11%

Question 6

What have scientists learned about the evolutionary history of microbial species over the past billion years?

A) α has remained slightly higher than Ω.
B) Tens of thousands of lineages have gone extinct every million years.
C) We can not infer what early microbes were like based on living species alone.
D) a and b
E) a, b, and c

Question 7

Bryozoan lineages in the fossil record

A) changed gradually over time.
B) show little to no change.
C) show punctuated change.
D) changed once in the Modern fauna.

Question 8

How does increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere threaten marine life?

A) It acidifies the ocean.
B) It raises oxygen levels.
C) It decreases water temperature.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 9

Which of the following is not true regarding Large Igneous Provinces?

A) They can span millions of cubic kilometers in volume.
B) Their eruptions can last for thousands of years.
C) They are rare geological events in the history of Earth, occurring only every 20-30 million years.
D) They release high concentrations of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Question 10

Younger fossils are often morphologically different from older fossils in a lineage. How do paleontologists think the morphological transition happened?

A) The younger fossils are a species that underwent anagenesis, gradually evolving a new morphology.
B) The younger fossils are a new species that branched off the older one, rapidly evolving a new morphology.
C) The younger fossils are likely a new species from a different lineage that migrated to the area.
D) a and b
E) none of the above

Question 11

Which of the following is true in reference to the major evolutionary faunas?

A) The Cambrian fauna is now extinct.
B) The Modern fauna originated in the Cambrian.
C) The Paleozoic fauna never rebounded to previous levels of diversity after the Permian extinction.
D) The Modern fauna has persisted for the least amount of time.

Question 12

Why are there so many species of beetles?

A) The extinction rate in beetles is higher than the origination rate.
B) The origination rate in beetles is higher than the extinction rate.
C) Standing diversity relative to other groups is low in beetles.
D) none of the above

Question 13

Which of the following is true regarding atmospheric carbon dioxide levels?

A) They are currently well above the average of the past 600,000 years.
B) They are currently well below the average of the past 600,000 years.
C) Similar deviations from the average have occurred over the last 600,000 years.
D) a and c

Question 14

Adaptive radiation may occur when

A) clades occupy ecological niches in the absence of competition.
B) key innovations within a clade allow exploitation of new niches.
C) environmental changes open new ecological niches and allow for key innovations.
D) all of the above

Question 15

Why is it challenging to catalog the diversity of life through time?

A) It is difficult to distinguish species based on fossils alone.
B) The fossil record is incomplete.
C) There are too many microorganisms to count.
D) a and b
E) a, b, and c

Question 16

Which of the following factors involved in the Cambrian explosion was likely not due to a changing ocean chemistry?

A) increased oxygen levels
B) increased nutrients from soil erosion
C) evolution of genetic toolkit
D) evolution of biomineralization

Question 17

Which of the following is true about rock strata?

A) Older rocks are always buried deep below the surface.
B) Some strata in a location may be missing due to erosion.
C) Rock strata are likely continuous from layer to layer.
D) Fossils have a similar morphology from strata to strata.

Question 18

Based on the figure below, which of the following is true?
D)

A) Overall, from stages A to D, the origination rate exceeded the extinction rate.
B) No single species is represented throughout all stages.
C) In stage C, the origination rate exceeded the extinction rate.
D) The highest origination rate is seen in stage

Question 19

Cichlid species in the Great Lakes of East Africa experienced adaptive radiations over the past few hundred thousand years, resulting in what type(s) of feeding morphologies?

A) crushing mollusks
B) scraping algae
C) eating the scales off other cichlids
D) all of the above

Question 20

Is a sixth mass extinction underway?

A) no, because the number of animals going extinct is the same as the background extinction rate
B) no, because animals are going extinct, but we cannot calculate the rate
C) yes, because animals are going extinct
D) yes, because the number of animals going extinct is eclipsing the background extinction rate

Question 21

Which of the following mass extinctions was the largest?

A) Permian
B) Cretaceous
C) Ordovician
D) Triassic
E) Devonian

Question 22

New ecological niches may become available when

A) a new island, or chain of islands, emerges, like the Galápagos Archipelago.
B) a clade goes extinct, like the non-avian dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period.
C) a new lake emerges, like the Great Lakes of East Africa.
D) all of the above

Question 23

When evolutionary biologists adapt population growth models to measure diversity, death rate is substituted for

A) origination rate.
B) emigration rate.
C) extinction rate.
D) turnover rate.

Question 24

Which country is incorrectly matched to its respective biogeographic province?

A) Peru-Neotropical region
B) Ethiopia-African region
C) United States-Nearctic region
D) Russia-Palearctic region

Question 25

How have human emissions of greenhouse gases affected Earth's global energy budget?

A) They have caused a net imbalance of 6 watts/m² causing global warming.
B) They have caused a net imbalance of 0.6 watts/m² causing global warming.
C) They have caused a net imbalance of 0.06 watts/m² causing global warming.
D) They have caused a net imbalance of 6 watts/m² causing global cooling.

Question 26

What is an example of how we depend on biodiversity?

A) Bees and other insects pollinate our crops.
B) Wetlands purify water.
C) Coral reefs support fish needed for food or income.
D) all of the above

Question 27

How have plants and animals already responded to climate change?

A) The brown argus butterfly has expanded its range 40 miles northward in the last 20 years.
B) Bull sharks, once limited to tropical waters, are now frequently found off the Atlantic Coast of North Carolina.
C) Some mountain species are shifting to higher elevations.
D) all of the above

Question 28

Which is the correct pairing of increased CO₂ emissions and cause of mass extinctions?

A) increased CO₂-decreased global temperature
B) increased CO₂-reduced acidification of freshwater
C) increased CO₂-continental weathering-ocean anoxia
D) increased CO₂-acid rain

Question 29

What is silicoclastic rock?

A) rock that forms from the cooling and solidification of magma
B) rock that forms from the transformation of other rock types
C) rock that forms from sediments
D) rock that forms from the bodies of microscopic organisms that settled to the seafloor

Question 30

How might the Siberian Traps have led to mass extinctions?

A) CO₂ emissions led to ocean acidification, which led to marine species extinctions.
B) Toxic metal emissions led to toxic metal poisoning, which led to marine and terrestrial species extinctions.
C) SO₂ emissions led to acid rain, which led to marine species extinctions.
D) a and b
E) a, b, and c

Question 31

Wings may not necessarily be a key innovation for Insecta, but rather a key innovation for lineages within Insecta. For example, Coleoptera, the most diverse group of insects, have forewings that are modified as a hardened elytra and membranous hindwings for flight. How might wings have increased the success of Coleoptera?

A) The elytra protect the hindwings from desiccation and cold temperatures.
B) The elytra protect the hindwings from abrasion and tearing.
C) The elytra protect the beetle from predation.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 32

From which biogeographic province do fossils of the closest ancestors of marsupials appear to originate?

A) Palearctic region
B) Ethiopian region
C) Australian region
D) Nearctic region

Question 33

How can evolutionary biologists calculate α and Ω?

A) by examining the fossil record
B) by examining molecular phylogenies
C) by examining a combination of fossils and molecular phylogenies
D) a, b, and c
E) It is not possible to calculate α and Ω.

Question 34

Which of the following may have contributed to the profusion of animal diversity during the Cambrian?

A) acidification of the ocean
B) oxygenation of the ocean
C) extinction of dinosaurs
D) a and c
E) b and c

Question 35

Which of the following factors contribute(s) to species diversity observed at a particular point in time?

A) extinctions
B) originations
C) initial diversity
D) all of the above

Question 36

Based on the figure below, what is the number of turnovers in stage B?

A) 34
B) 24
C) 16
D) 4

Question 37

The Cambrian period began

A) 720 million years ago.
B) 635 million years ago.
C) 541 million years ago.
D) 252 million years ago.

Question 38

Which of the following is not one of the three great "evolutionary faunas" described by Sepkoski?

A) Cambrian
B) Permian
C) Paleozoic
D) Modern

Question 39

Which of the following is true of arthropods?

A) Synapomorphies among arthropods include exoskeletons made of chitin and a jointed body plan.
B) Some early Cambrian fossils share some synapomorphies with arthropods.
C) Arthropods probably came to existence in the Cambrian fully formed.
D) a and b
E) a, b, and c

Question 40

Based on the history of marsupial colonization, extinction, and vicariant events, which of the following should be true of currently existing marsupials?

A) A phylogenetic tree should demonstrate that North American marsupials are the closest living relatives to Australian marsupials.
B) South American marsupials should be the closest living relatives to Australian marsupials.
C) South American marsupials should be the closest living relatives to North American marsupials.
D) none of the above

Question 41

How did an increased understanding of plate tectonics help biogeographers better understand the distribution of species?

Question 42

Why did paleobiologist David Raup use marine invertebrate fossils to calculate changes in biodiversity through time?

A) They made mineralized tissue that fossilized easily.
B) They were soft-bodied organisms that fossilized easily.
C) Many species had large populations that left an abundant fossil record.
D) a and c
E) b and c

Question 43

Please describe evidence suggesting potential causes of the Permian extinction.

Question 44

Why are scientists particularly concerned about the impact of rising carbon dioxide levels on marine diversity?

Question 45

Describe lines of evidence suggesting that an asteroid impact may have contributed to the end-Cretaceous extinction.

Question 46

What is carbonate rock?

A) rock that forms from the bodies of microscopic organisms that settled to the seafloor
B) rock that forms from the cooling and solidification of magma
C) rock that forms from the transformation of other rock types
D) rock that forms from the sediments carried to the ocean by rivers

Question 47

Assume that the following figure represents a particular clade of organisms in the geological record. Use the figure to tell the history of diversity of the clade at each stage. Be sure to include the standing diversity and whether it was increasing or decreasing during each stage. Also include the average turnover in originations and extinctions.

Question 48

Assigning the label of "mass extinction" to an extinction event requires

A) a large number of extinctions.
B) a reduced origination rate.
C) a significant increase over the background extinction rate.
D) all of the above

Question 49

Discuss the current distribution of marsupials in comparison to where they are thought to have originated. A complete answer should include the terms molecular phylogeny, morphological phylogeny, and historical distribution.

Question 50

Explain the greenhouse effect and the path of solar radiation once it enters Earth's atmosphere. How might Earth's dynamic climate drive macroevolution?

Question 51

In which of the mass extinctions did the non-avian dinosaurs go extinct?

A) Permian
B) Cretaceous
C) Ordovician
D) Triassic
E) Devonian

Question 52

Why do scientists argue that climate change may be leading to a mass extinction?

Question 53

Which of the following contributed to the terrestrial mass extinctions during the end-Permian extinction?

A) global warming caused by CO₂ emissions from volcanic activity
B) toxic metal poisoning caused by toxic metal emissions from lava flow
C) increased UV-B radiation from ozone depletion by Cl, F, and NOx emissions
D) acid rain caused by Cl, F, NOx, and SO2 emissions
E) all of the above

Question 54

Discuss two factors that may trigger an adaptive radiation and provide an example of each.

Question 55

What is the tempo of evolutionary change? A complete answer will explain both theories.

Question 56

Describe two factors that may contribute to the extinction of a species.

Question 57

Please discuss two abiotic factors that may have contributed to the profusion of animal diversity during the Cambrian.