Question 1

Given the fact that humans are the ones producing and distributing pesticides,why do we call the development of pesticide resistance natural selection rather than artificial selection?

Accepted Answer

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Question 2

Fisher's sex ratio model was put to test with a species of blue moon butterflies on the Samoan islands of Upolu and Savaii.Which of the following statement regarding that study are true?

Accepted Answer

The study on blue moon butterflies on the Samoan islands of Upolu and Savaii found that originally, 99% of the butterflies were female and only 1% were male. However, by 2006, the male:female sex ratio had returned to the expected 1:1. Therefore, statement A and B are true. Additionally, the study found that by 2006, only the males were infected with the Wolbachia bacterium, which means statement C is false.

Question 3

Fisher developed his model partly because so much observational data suggested that the 1:1 sex ratio was common to nature and he wanted to understand why.Is there any natural ordering when it comes to empirical and theoretical approaches?

Accepted Answer

There is no strict ordering when it comes to empirical and theoretical approaches. Good theory can either precede or postdate data collecting, depending on the specific research question and the available resources. However, it is generally recommended that a good theoretical framework should guide the collection and analysis of data, as it helps to ensure that the research is relevant, coherent, and informative. Ultimately, the choice of approach depends on the specific goals and constraints of the research project.

Question 4

The archeological record indicates when people began using various grains and legumes and when these food plants were domesticated.Looking at the figure above,estimate how long humans have been selectively breeding grains.(Note that the gaps in the figure represent periods when no evidence of that crop was found.)

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Question 5

Describe an evolutionary arms race,other than the ones effecting the development of pesticides and antibiotic resistance,that has a practical application.

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Question 6

As conservation biologists try to slow the rate of human-caused extinctions,they often have to make hard choices about which habitats and species to save with their limited resources.The textbook presented the case of the cichlid fishes of Lake Victoria in Africa.Argue that the recent loss of 200 of the 400 species of recently evolved (during the last 14,000 years)fish due to the introduction of the Nile perch as a food fish is a minor phylogenetic loss or that it is a tragic loss at an evolutionary hotspot.

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Question 7

Good theory can either precede or postdate data collecting and hypothesis testing.Describe an example,from a discipline of your choice,in which observation or experiment prompted the development of a model,and provide a second example in which already existing theory encouraged experimental research.

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Question 8

During the observations of a species of blue moon butterflies on the Samoan islands of Upolu and Savaii,99% of the butterflies were originally female and only 1% were male,but in only five years the male:female sex ratio had returned to nearly the expected 1:1.What caused this?

Accepted Answer

This change in the sex ratio is most likely due to evolutionary changes in the butterflies which allowed them to suppress the male-killing effect of Wolbachia. This is supported by research on other insect species which have also evolved to overcome Wolbachia-induced sex ratio bias. Option A is incorrect because it implies that Wolbachia was actively killing male butterflies initially but lost this ability, whereas the more likely scenario is that female-biased sex ratio was due to male-killing by Wolbachia. Option C is incorrect because both options are not equally likely.

Question 9

The five photographs above illustrate some of the sources for the data that evolutionary biologists use to test their hypotheses.Make a short list of other types of data that would be useful for evolutionary biologists to use in their studies,and explain how they would be useful to evolutionary biologists.

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Question 10

Darwin's theory of natural selection is considered a paradigm shift-a theory that has wide-ranging effects.Describe another paradigm shift that has occurred in biology.Make a case for why this shift has fundamentally changed the way scientists see the world and the sorts of questions they ask.

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Question 11

How has artificial selection been used to shape the characteristics of food producing plants?

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Question 12

Darwin's theory of natural selection is considered a paradigm shift-a theory that has wide-ranging effects.Describe some of the advantages that this theory offered scientists once it was developed.

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Question 13

Artificial selection has been used to shape the behavior of farm animals such as the chicken and domestic animals such as the dog.Evolutionary behaviorists believe that natural selection also has affected the appearance and behavior of the domestic dog.Provide a short explanation of how this may have happened.

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Question 14

Sources for the data that evolutionary biologists use to test their hypotheses are derived from many subdisciplines of the biological sciences.Identify the five data sources illustrated in the photographs above.

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Question 15

Describe Darwin's theory of natural selection.

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Question 16

Suppose that you find the sex ratio in a population you are studying is different from what you predicted in your model.Using simple proportions of male and female offspring,show how natural selection should move the sex ratio to the value you predicted in your model over a few generations.

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Question 17

How does the sex ratio study on butterflies in the Samoan Islands demonstrate that important work in science often involves a sound theoretical base,good observational skills,good experimental design,and sometimes a bit of luck?

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Question 18

Fisher's sex ratio model predicts a 1:1 female:male sex ratio.Why has this ratio evolved?

Accepted Answer

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Question 19

Do you believe that natural selection could have affected the behavior of humans towards dogs over time? Why or why not? Provide a short explanation of how this might have happened.

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Question 20

Fisher's sex ratio model was put to test in a species of blue moon butterflies on the Samoan islands of Upolu and Savaii,where which of the following conditions existed?

Accepted Answer

The condition that existed was that 99% of the butterflies were female and only 1% were male, which was a deviation from the expected 1:1 sex ratio.

Quiz 1: An Overview of Evolutionary Biology