Deck 16: Evolution on a Large Scale

Question 1

Which of the following is not a prezygotic isolating mechanism for two species found in the same geographical location?

A) The two species occupy different habitats.
B) The two species are active during different parts of the day.
C) The two species mate during different times of the year.
D) The two species have incompatible genitalia.
E) The two species can mate, but the offspring are sterile.

Answer 1

E
Explanation: The instance where the two species are capable of mating, but produce sterile offspring, is an example of a postzygotic isolating mechanism, since the event that prevents the two species from interbreeding occurs when the offspring are unable to reproduce.

Question 2

Which of the following correctly reflects the division of the history of life on Earth, from most inclusive to least inclusive?

A) Era - Period - Epoch
B) Epoch - Period - Era
C) Era - Epoch - Period
D) Epoch - Era - Period
E) Period - Epoch - Era

Answer 2

A
Explanation: An era is composed of two or more periods, and a period is composed of two or more epochs.

Question 3

Which of the following is an example of sympatric speciation?

A) two populations of salamanders that live on isolated islands and eventually become separate species, unable to interbreed
B) different breeds of dog, which live in different areas of the world, but are able to produce fertile offspring
C) a horse and a donkey, which may interbreed to produce a mule, which is sterile and unable to reproduce
D) two related plant species living in the same area that hybridize, then undergo chromosome doubling, which results in the creation of a third species of plant that is unable to reproduce with either of the two original species
E) three species that evolve from a common ancestral species due to reproductive isolation, and adaptation to different habitats

Answer 3

D
Explanation: Sympatric speciation refers to populations that develop into two or more new species without prior geographic isolation. Hybridization followed by polyploidy in plants is an excellent example of this type of speciation mechanism.

Question 4

The pollen from a red maple is unable to fertilize the eggs from a sugar maple. This is an example of what type of isolating mechanism?

A) mechanical isolation
B) habitat isolation
C) temporal isolation
D) hybrid sterility
E) gamete isolation

Question 5

All of the following are criteria by which a species may be defined except

A) the ability to reproduce.
B) possession of a shared gene pool.
C) ability to hybridize through interbreeding.
D) reproductive isolation.
E) the ability to produce fertile offspring.

Question 6

Which of the following is not part of the punctuated equilibrium model?

A) There is a period of no change interrupted by speciation.
B) Transitional fossils are less likely to be found.
C) It is difficult to determine when speciation occurred.
D) It often involves an isolated subpopulation.
E) Speciation often occurs rapidly.

Question 7

Which of the following is not thought to have contributed to the many mass extinction events that have occurred through Earth's history?

A) plate tectonics
B) habitat loss
C) meteorite impacts
D) continental drift
E) punctuated equilibrium

Question 8

A major difference between allopatric and sympatric speciation is whether

A) resulting species are reproductively isolated or not.
B) gene flow continues to occur or not.
C) two or three species result.
D) geographic isolation is required or not.
E) the new species are separated by a prezygotic or postzygotic isolating mechanism.

Question 9

Sympatric speciation occurs more commonly in which types of organisms?

A) plants
B) humans
C) birds
D) fish
E) insects

Question 10

Two species are said to be closely related if they

A) possess a common ancestor.
B) can interbreed, but not produce fertile offspring.
C) are reproductively isolated from each other.
D) have a shared gene pool.
E) can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.

Question 11

Significant mass extinctions occurred during which of the following epochs?

A) Pleistocene, Ordovician, and Triassic
B) Ordovician, Triassic, and Jurassic
C) Triassic, Permian, and Cretaceous
D) Triassic, Permian, Cretaceous, Pleistocene, Ordovician, and Devonian
E) Ordovician, Triassic, Jurassic, Silurian, Eocene, and Oligocene

Question 12

Which of the following correctly shows a possible order of events resulting in allopatric speciation?

A) postzygotic reproductive isolation - geographic isolation - natural selection
B) geographic isolation - prezygotic reproductive isolation - genetic drift
C) geographic isolation - natural selection - prezygotic reproductive isolation
D) natural selection - postzygotic reproductive isolation - geographic isolation
E) natural selection - prezygotic reproductive isolation - postzygotic reproductive isolation

Question 13

Most dinosaurs became extinct at the end of which of the following periods of the Mesozoic?

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

Question 14

The finches of the Galápagos islands evolved as a result of what type(s) of speciation?

A) allopatric speciation
B) adaptive radiation
C) sympatric speciation
D) both allopatric speciation and adaptive radiation
E) both sympatric speciation and adaptive radiation

Question 15

The fossils of a new species of reptile are found in deposits dating to the Permian period. Later, scientists discover that fossils of the species changed somewhat over time, and can be found in deposits dating from the Permian period all the way up to the Cretaceous period. The fossils vary from one continent to another, but many seemingly intermediate forms are found, and the fossils are spread over most continents. The scientists' observations most strongly support which evolutionary models?

A) allopatric speciation
B) punctuated evolution
C) adaptive radiation
D) both allopatric speciation and adaptive radiation
E) gradualistic evolution

Question 16

A reproductive barrier that prevents interbreeding because the two species mate during different times of the year is called a

A) hybrid sterility isolation.
B) postzygotic isolating mechanism.
C) F₂ fitness isolation.
D) temporal isolation.
E) behavioral isolation.

Question 17

The punctuated equilibrium model of evolution suggests that new species appear

A) gradually; as groups become isolated, they slowly evolve through their own individual pathway.
B) only after older species disappear from the fossil record.
C) suddenly after long periods of time with little to no change.
D) gradually after long periods of time with little to no change; as groups become isolated, they slowly evolve through their own individual pathway.
E) gradually, but over very short periods of time, so that intermediate species are often observed in the fossil record.

Question 18

A zygote fails to undergo mitosis because of a mismatched numbers of chromosomes. This is an example of

A) hybrid sterility.
B) zygote mortality.
C) prezygotic isolation.
D) temporal isolation.
E) allopatric speciation.

Question 19

Which of the following would be considered a separate species as defined by the biological species concept?

A) the red maple and the sugar maple, which are found throughout large parts of North America, but rarely hybridize
B) two populations of fox squirrels, one that lives on a hillside, and one that lives in the river valley
C) two populations of North American orioles, one that lives on the east coast, and one that lives on the west coast
D) separate populations of bobcats, one that lives on a rocky slope, and one that lives in an upland forest several miles distant
E) the Chihuahua and the Siberian husky, two different breeds of dog

Question 20

Elaborate courtship behaviors in animals, such as the blue-footed booby of the Galápagos islands, is an example of which of the following reproductive barriers?

A) behavioral isolation
B) mechanical isolation
C) temporal isolation
D) postzygotic isolation
E) hybrid sterility

Question 21

The term parsimony implies that

A) the three domain system is superior to the five kingdom system of classification.
B) molecular data are more accurate in implying evolutionary relationships than homology.
C) the fewer assumptions that are made, the more probable the conclusion.
D) smaller clades are more accurate than larger clades.
E) shared derived traits shared by fewer organisms are more correct than those shared by more organisms.

Question 22

A clade includes which of the following?

A) an outgroup and an ingroup
B) a common ancestor and all its descendant species
C) one taxa with shared derived characters
D) both an ancestor and all its descendant species, and taxa with shared derived characters
E) the ingroup only

Question 23

In the three domain system of classification,

A) eukaryotes are more similar to the prokaryotes now classified into domain Bacteria than to those now classified into domain Archaea.
B) animals and plants are less similar to each other than to the prokaryotes now classified into domain Archaea.
C) prokaryotes are classified into two domains, with the organisms in domain Archaea more similar to eukaryotes than to the prokaryotes in the domain Bacteria.
D) cladistics alone were used to formulate the new phylogenetic tree of life.
E) by the principle of parsimony, it required fewer assumptions to divide the prokaryotes into two domains than it did to put them into a single domain.

Question 24

Figure:
In the figure shown here, which of the following organisms would have the same shared derived trait?

A) W, Y, and Z
B) W, X, Y, and Z
C) V, W, X, and Y
D) X, Y, and Z
E) U, V, W, and Z

Question 25

Homologous structures

A) have identical functions.
B) have fully divergent functions.
C) are also called analogous structures.
D) are shared by organisms of the same genus.
E) are often shared by organisms in the same line of descent.

Question 26

Which of the three domains contain prokaryotic organisms?

A) Bacteria
B) Archaea
C) Eukarya
D) Bacteria and Archaea
E) Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya

Question 27

A phylogenetic tree

A) indicates common ancestors.
B) indicates the organism's taxon.
C) uses only derived characters.
D) indicates common ancestors for each family.
E) also includes the organism's order and class.

Question 28

Figure:
In the figure shown here, ___ and ___ have a common shared derived trait that is not possessed by ____.

A) X; Y; Z
B) Y; Z; X
C) Y; Z; W
D) X; Z; W
E) Y; W; Z

Question 29

Which of the following statements is true about the previous cladogram and the characters used to derive it?

A) Three-chambered heart is the most inclusive character on the cladogram.
B) The snake and lizard share a common ancestor that does not have the characters internal fertilization or amniotic membrane in egg.
C) The character notochord in embryo is shared by the common ancestor to all of the organisms on the cladogram.
D) The two organisms furthest from each other on the cladogram share only two common characters.
E) The character long cylindrical body is useful in placing the snake and eel into the cladogram.

Question 30

Figure:
Which of the following statements is true about the phylogenetic tree shown here?

A) The gibbon is more closely related to the rhesus monkey than to the chimpanzee.
B) The galago is more closely related to the green monkey than to the capuchin.
C) The green monkey and rhesus monkey share a common ancestor with the gibbon and chimpanzee.
D) The gibbon does not share a common ancestor with the chimpanzee or human.
E) The green monkey and rhesus monkey share a more recent common ancestor than do the chimpanzee and human.

Question 31

Figure:
In the figure shown here, the letter W represents which of the following?

A) the common ancestor for Y and Z
B) the common ancestor for U
C) the ancestor for Z
D) the common ancestor for X and Y
E) the common ancestor for X, Y, and Z

Question 32

A shared ancestral characteristic used in cladistics is found

A) in only the two most recent ancestors.
B) only among the members of the ingroup.
C) in both the outgroup and the ingroup.
D) in two of the outgroups.
E) only in the most distant ancestor.

Question 33

Similarities due to convergent evolution are called __________.

A) analogy
B) homology
C) taxonomy
D) phylogeny
E) cladistics

Question 34

Which of the following would be considered analogous structures?

A) the forelimb of a bat and the forelimb of a horse
B) the wings of a fly and the wings of a sparrow
C) the pelvis of a human and the pelvis of a whale
D) the flipper of a dolphin and the arm of a human
E) the wings of a bird and the forelimb of a reptile

Question 35

Shared derived traits

A) are shared only by common ancestors.
B) are shared by all organisms on the cladogram.
C) are found within members of the outgroup.
D) are homologies found in only certain members of the ingroup.
E) are homologies found between the ingroup and the outgroup.

Question 36

Pinus strobus is the scientific name for the white pine. Pinus is the ________.

A) specific epithet
B) genus
C) binomial name
D) family name
E) order name

Question 37

Evolutionary relationships between organisms are determined by

A) molecular evidence and anatomical homologies.
B) molecular evidence, anatomical homologies, and fossil records.
C) molecular evidence, anatomical analogies, and fossil records.
D) molecular evidence and fossil records.
E) molecular evidence, anatomical homologies, anatomical analogies, and fossil records.

Question 38

Linnaean classification sometimes does not reconcile with cladistics because

A) some organisms in the same clade do not have a shared derived trait.
B) some organisms in the same taxon are not in the same clade.
C) all organisms with a shared derived trait are in the same taxon.
D) larger clades include more than one taxon.
E) Linnaean classification does not follow the principle of parsimony.

Question 39

Which of the following lists the levels of taxonomic classification in order from the most inclusive to the least inclusive?

A) genus - family - order - class - phylum
B) phylum - order - class - family - species
C) genus - order - family - class - phylum
D) family - order - class - phylum - kingdom
E) domain - kingdom - phylum - class - order

Question 40

Figure:
Which of the following statements is true about the phylogenetic tree shown here?

A) A combination of molecular data, fossil records, and anatomical homologies show the human is more closely related to the chimpanzee than to the green monkey.
B) The green monkey and rhesus monkey cannot reproduce with each other because of a postzygotic isolating mechanism.
C) The chimpanzee and human must have evolved as a result of allopatric speciation.
D) There is no single common ancestor to all of the organisms displayed on this phylogenetic tree.
E) The gibbon and human are no more closely related than the green monkey and human are.

Question 41

Geographic isolation is not a factor in sympatric speciation.

Question 42

Shared derived traits are found in all members of the ingroup of a clade.

Question 43

Allopatric speciation is compatible with both the gradualistic and punctuated equilibrium models of evolution.

Question 44

Convergent evolution gives rise to analogous structures in unrelated taxa.

Question 45

Members of two different species are never capable of mating.

Question 46

Use of chemical signals in mate recognition is a type of postzygotic isolating mechanism.

Question 47

Three species that arose as a result of adaptive radiation are organized on a cladogram. On this cladogram, two of the species would likely share several characters not present in the third.

Question 48

Cladograms show the sequence of evolution of characters in a clade.

Question 49

The ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes of different organisms are often compared as a means to classify them because rRNA genes evolve much more slowly than other genes.

Question 50

Two organisms present in the same genus are usually more closely related to each other than to organisms in other genera.