Principles of Evolution
Final Test Solutions
Course Introduction
This course introduces students to the fundamental concepts and mechanisms that drive the evolution of life on Earth. Topics include the history of evolutionary thought, natural selection, genetic drift, mutation, speciation, and the evidence supporting evolutionary theory. Through a combination of lectures, discussions, and case studies, students will explore how evolutionary processes shape genetic diversity, population structure, adaptation, and the emergence of new species. The course also examines evolution's role in current issues such as antibiotic resistance, conservation biology, and the evolution of human traits.
Recommended Textbook
Evolutionary Analysis 5th Edition by Jon C. Herron
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20 Chapters
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Page 2
Chapter 1: A Case for Evolutionary Thinking: Understanding HIV
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Q1) In which of the following regions has AIDS killed the largest number of individuals?
A) India
B) Sub-Saharan Africa
C) United States
D) China
E) United Kingdom
Answer: B
Q2) The proteins that enable the HIV virus to bind to cells are typically CD4 and CCR5.On what type of cells are these proteins typically observed?
A) plasma cells
B) dendritic cells
C) effector helper T cells
D) memory helper T cells
E) both C and D
Answer: E
Q3) What viral coat protein typically binds first to the CD4 receptor on helper T cells?
Answer: gp120
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Page 3
Chapter 2: The Pattern of Evolution
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Q1) In response to environmental conditions,the average beak size in a population of birds may change between successive generations.This process of change is referred to as ________.
A) macroevolution
B) sequestration
C) speciation
D) coalescence
E) microevolution
Answer: E
Q2) The theory that species do not change over time,are created separately and independently,and that the Earth and life on Earth are young is called the ________.[four words]
Answer: theory of special creation.
Q3) Explain the significance of Archaeopteryx as a transitional fossil in our understanding of phylogenetic relationships.
Answer: Archaeopteryx shares a common ancestor with both dinosaurs and modern birds,and indicates that birds were derived from dinosaurs.Its phylogenetic position demonstrates that birds evolved feathers first,which was followed by muscular and skeletal modifications that enabled flight in modern birds.
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Evolution by Natural Selection
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Q1) Beginning around 1930,the ________ [two words] developed as a reformulation of Darwinian natural selection based on the ways in which knowledge in genetics has informed us about heredity.
Answer: modern synthesis
Q2) A trait that confers a greater level of fitness,relative to those who lack it,is called a(n)________.
A) adaptation
B) mutation
C) variation
D) allele
E) None of the above.
Answer: A
Q3) Which of the following statements best summarizes natural selection?
A) Organisms evolve in order to become better adapted to the environment.
B) Individuals who are most fit will survive.
C) Traits that promote survival and reproduction become more frequent in species from one generation to the next.
D) Organisms change in order to become adapted to new environments.
Answer: C
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Estimating Evolutionary Trees
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Q1) The wings of bats and birds and the streamlined body form of sharks and whales represent examples of ________.
A) convergence
B) reversal
C) outgroups
D) a clade
Q2) Which of the following phylogeny inference tools is the best at reconstructing the most accurate phylogenetic trees?
A) parsimony
B) maximum likelihood
C) Bayesian inference
D) All of these methods have pros and cons.
Q3) Convergence and reversal are two complications that can interfere with accurate reconstruction of phylogenies.Describe each one,using examples,and explain the common strategies used to overcome them.
Q4) A(n)________ [two words] is a novel feature that evolved in a lineage and may be unique to a species or shared among species.
Q5) Explain what parsimony is,and why it is preferred in constructing phylogenetic trees.
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Chapter 5: Variation Among Individuals
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Q1) Frequencies of inversions and/or allele frequencies often vary regularly when examined over a geographic area changing in either latitude or climate.This type of regular change is called a ________.
A) zonality
B) cline
C) gradient
D) biome
Q2) Daphnia pulex grows protective armor upon sensing chemicals produced by the predatory phantom midge by the process of ________.
A) barrier defense
B) inducible defense
C) stimulatory defense
D) predatory defense
Q3) The process of producing proteins from DNA involves two different steps.What is the term used to describe each step,and what happens during each of these steps?
Q4) What DNA modifications characterize epigenetic marks?
Q5) What does one call a mutation that occurs in a DNA sequence,but leaves the resulting amino acid sequence unchanged?
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Chapter 6: Mendelian Genetics in Populations I: Selection and Mutation
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Q1) Cystic fibrosis is caused by a recessive loss-of-function mutation that encodes a protein called the ________.
A) cystic fibrosis transmembrane ion channel
B) chloride ion transmembrane conductance regulator
C) cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator
D) cystic fibrosis ion channel regulator
Q2) Briefly describe the structure of compound chromosomes,and explain how their behavior during meiosis can be used to study underdominance.
Q3) The null hypothesis,which demonstrates that evolution is not occurring from generation to generation,is known as the ________ model.
A) Bateman
B) Hardy-Weinberg
C) Fisher stability
D) Mendelian stability
Q4) Chun-Hong Chen and colleagues (2007)designed a new gene that would carry a strong selective advantage and confer the resistance to malaria on free-living mosquitoes.What was the acronym given this gene,and what does the acronym stand for?
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Mendelian Genetics in Populations II: Migration, Drift, &
Nonrandom Mating
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Q1) Gene flow through migration ________.
A) has no effect on allele frequencies of populations
B) can go only in one direction
C) may have the largest impact on small populations, such as those on islands D) maintains the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
Q2) At present,the neutral theory of molecular evolution ________.
A) is strongly supported by significant amounts of empirical evidence
B) has been disproven, as neutral mutations have not been shown to have been fixed in populations
C) is inclusive, as enough data has not yet been evaluated D) seems to work in some species but not others
Q3) ________,the most common type of nonrandom mating,will not change allelic frequencies,but it will change genotypic frequencies toward homozygosity.
Q4) Suppose a large population exists on a continent,and a new population is formed by the migration of a few individuals to an island some distance away.The fact that the alleles being carried to this island are not going to be a complete and representative set,as compared to the continental population,is a case of genetic drift known as the ________.[two words]
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Chapter 8: Evolution at Multiple Loci: Linkage and Sex
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Q1) When genotypes at one locus of a chromosome are independent of genotypes at another locus of the same chromosome,the two loci are ________.
A) in linkage equilibrium
B) in linkage disequilibrium
C) nonrandomly associated
D) None of the above.
Q2) Research and analysis has documented that Muller's ratchet works ________. A) in mathematical modeling
B) in empirical studies
C) in a natural setting
D) All of the above.
Q3) The explanation for the accumulation of deleterious alleles in asexual populations over time,with the resulting genetic load,is known as ________.[two words]
Q4) If there is a nonrandom association between the genotypes at two loci on a chromosome,the loci are said to be in ________.[two words]
Q5) In terms of population genetics,sexual reproduction on a functional level involves two necessary conditions.What are these conditions?
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Page 10
Chapter 9: Evolution at Multiple Loci: Quantitative Genetics
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Q1) The abbreviation QTL stands for ________,[three words] which are those genes that influence nonqualitative traits.
Q2) To learn the location of and determine the role that QTLs have on phenotypes,researchers look for associations between a marker locus genotype and phenotype.Examples of research focusing on such methods have been conducted on
A) human personality traits
B) human diseases such as Crohn's disease
C) the speed of thoroughbred race horses
D) All of the above.
Q3) Estimating heritability using twin studies has been useful for certain human phenotypes,such as general cognitive abilities.Explain the logic behind this,and how such studies are performed.
Q4) It becomes possible to predict evolutionary changes in a population after we have measured two attributes affecting the population in question.What two measures allow us to make such predictions?
Q5) Some have proposed that where human IQ scores are concerned,heritability can tell us something about the causes of differences between population means such as ethnic groups.Explain why this perspective is erroneous.
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Chapter 10: Studying Adaptation: Evolutionary Analysis of
Form and Function
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Q1) Huey and colleagues (1989)performed experiments to examine thermoregulation in garter snakes.Explain the factors that were examined in their experiments,how the temperature of the snakes was monitored,and the specific details of how the snakes can regulate their temperature by selective movements.
Q2) To demonstrate the response of several Daphnia genotypes across a wide range of environments,Luc De Meester (1996)measured the change in phototactic behavior of Daphnia sampled from lakes that contained different numbers of predatory fish.Some genotypes altered their behavior in the presence versus absence of fish.The variation in response is termed ________.
A) phenotype-by-environment interaction
B) genotype-by-environment interaction
C) induced response interaction
D) reactive response interaction
Q3) To demonstrate the response of several Daphnia genotypes across a wide range of environments,Luc De Meester (1996)measured the change in phototactic behavior of Daphnia sampled from lakes that contained different numbers of predatory fish.The lines drawn between control and fish-induced water are termed ________.[two words]
Q4) What is the purpose of the null hypothesis in experimental design?
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Sexual Selection
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Q1) Provide an example from the text illustrating the following: If one parent invests in his or her offspring more than the other parent,the heavily investing parent is often limited by resources and time.Also,the lightly investing parent is limited by its access to mates.
Q2) The energy and time expended constructing and caring for offspring is known as ________.[two words]
Q3) Adam Jones and colleagues (2000)studied the mating behaviors of broad-nosed pipefish (Syngnathus typhle)in a laboratory situation.For which sex is sexual selection a more potent evolutionary force?
A) females
B) males
C) Both sexes are under equal sexual selection pressure.
D) Neither sex is under sexual selection pressure.
Q4) Describe the experiments performed by Steve Tanner and colleagues (2000)with gray tree frogs to demonstrate the sexual selection they observed.Be sure to comment on the sexual selection that occurs to favor longer male calls,and how the length of calls might indicate male body condition.
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Page 13
Chapter 12: The Evolution of Social Behavior
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Q1) Social behavior in which the "actor" benefits at the expense of the "recipient" is termed ________.
Q2) Multilevel selection/cooperation has been documented in ________.
A) bacteria
B) plants
C) humans
D) All of the above.
Q3) The form of natural selection that leads to an increase in the frequency of alleles which promote the fitness of genetic relatives is called ________.
A) direct selection
B) indirect selection
C) inclusive selection
D) kin selection
Q4) The descriptive term ________ was coined to refer to animals that have overlapping adult generations in which nonreproductive individuals cooperate to care for young.
Q5) Does kin selection also apply to humans? Use specific examples to support your case.
Q6) Explain Hamilton's Rule in the context of altruistic behavior.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Aging and Other Life-History Characters
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Q1) The hypothesis that predicts that parents will attempt to rear the number of offspring that maximizes the survival rates of offspring is known as ________.[two words]
Q2) Female sand crickets are known to produce two phenotypic variants: long-winged and short-winged.Moreover,these two variants have been shown to allocate different amounts of their energy budget to flight or ovary development,respectively.The development of female crickets into one or the other of these variants is due to
A) genetic mechanisms
B) developmental mechanisms
C) physiological mechanisms
D) All of the above.
Q3) Lack's hypothesis was first proposed by David Lack in 1947.Describe and explain the essence of this hypothesis,along with the major assumptions that go along with it.Are the assumptions warranted? Do research data support Lack's hypothesis?
Q4) The decline in an individual's fertility,with a corresponding decrease in the likelihood of survival,is known as ________.
Q5) Alleles that influence more than one trait are referred to as ________.
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Page 15
Chapter 14: Evolution and Human Health
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Q1) Analysis of the 1918 and 2009 flu epidemics reveals that the most likely scenario was that ________.
A) the virus causing these outbreaks were derived from a single strain within which significant mutations changed the protein hemagglutinin
B) these viruses switched from using RNA to using DNA
C) the virus ultimately arose in birds, jumped to pigs, and then was able to switch to humans
D) strong selection produces particularly virulent flu strains with predictable periodicity
Q2) The ________ [two words] hypothesis for the evolution of virulence states that pathogens may evolve traits that enhance their chances of survival within a host,but that decrease their chances of being spread to a new host.
Q3) An unusually dangerous strain of flu that infects humans was reported from China in the spring of 2013.The strain is called H7N9.In this coding scheme,H and N refer to ________ and ________ proteins.
Q4) The immune system recognizes and reacts to ________,[two words] specific parts of a foreign protein.
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Page 16
Chapter 15: Phylogenomics and the Molecular Basis of Adaptation
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Q1) Can mutation rates evolve in laboratory experiments? Briefly describe an experiment that researchers performed to investigate this,and state whether the mutation rate did evolve,and if so,whether it evolved to become higher or lower.
Q2) Briefly describe the three phases included in most evolutionary models for the preservation of duplicate genes,and the evolutionary processes involved.
Q3) Briefly describe the relationship between DNA methylation,small RNAs (also known as RNA interference),and mobile genetic elements.
Q4) What is the relationship between mobile genetic elements and DNA methylation?
A) DNA methylation is considered to be a defense against the spread of mobile genetic elements because it prevents transcription.
B) DNA methylation is reduced in regions of the genome associated with mobile genetic elements because methylation only targets protein-coding genes.
C) DNA methylation prevents RNA interference and therefore allows mobile genetic elements to spread.
D) DNA methylation is a form of post-transcriptional silencing of mobile genetic elements.
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Page 17
Chapter 16: Mechanisms of Speciation
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Q1) Suppose a bird population that qualifies as a single species according to the Biological Species Concept (BSC)is separated into two isolated populations by an advancing glacier during an Ice Age.What will happen when the glacier retreats,allowing the two populations to come back together (secondary contact)? Be sure to account for all possible outcomes.
Q2) Your textbook authors make the claim that "sympatric species with matching chromosome numbers are rare." Why is this?
A) because allopatric speciation is far more common
B) because sympatric speciation has only been hypothesized but not documented C) because coexisting populations need a boundary to gene flow before divergence can occur, and differences in chromosome numbers provide this D) because macroevolution is just a theory
Q3) The species concept based on analysis of character states that indicate the smallest monophyletic group is ________.
A) the morphospecies concept
B) the phylogenetic species concept
C) the biological species concept
D) the ecological species concept
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Chapter 17: The Origins of Life and Precambrian Evolution
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Q1) The Oparin-Haldane model of the origins of life on Earth can be concisely elucidated in three stages.Identify and describe each stage in the context of what is currently known,as well as what has been hypothesized,about the conditions of early Earth.
Q2) Estimates of the age of Earth,taken from meteorites,date our planet to be approximately ________ years old.The BEST estimate of when life emerged,based on extrapolation of known and verifiable fossils,is approximately ________ years ago.In essence,then,life emerged approximately ________ years after Earth formed.
Q3) The organisms formerly classified in the Kingdom Protista ________.
A) all contain chloroplasts
B) form a single monophyletic group
C) include the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) of life
D) are scattered throughout all branches of the eukaryote family tree
E) have a fossil record extending back 3.4 million years
Q4) Fossil evidence suggests that the latest possible date for root of the universal phylogeny predates the ________ billion-year mark.
Q5) The explanation linking viruses to the origin of the three domains,which includes the conversion of cellular genomes from RNA to DNA,is known as the ________.
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Chapter 18: Evolution and the Fossil Record
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Q1) Trace fossils record the behavior of ancient organisms,but not necessarily their form; it is often difficult or impossible to link a given trace fossil with the precise species that made it.Nonetheless,trace fossils provide valuable data for reconstructing the history of life.Your textbook mentions that dinosaur trackways can be used to estimate living dinosaurs' speed.Generate another way in which trace fossils could contribute to paleontological studies even if the identities of their makers are unclear.
Q2) David Jablonski and colleagues found that species of bivalves with which of the following trait(s)persisted longer,and were less likely to die out,during times of background extinction?
A) epifaunal, suspension-feeding lifestyle
B) wider geographic ranges
C) planktonic larval stages
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.
Q3) David Raup and Jack Sepkoski showed that rates of background extinction have been slowly declining in the animal kingdom throughout the Phanerozoic era.Compare and contrast two possible explanations as to why these rates are declining.
Q4) An exceptionally rich fossil deposit is known as a(n)________.
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Page 20
Chapter 19: Development and Evolution
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Q1) Libbie Hyman's comprehensive study of invertebrates,beginning in the 1940s,was noteworthy for being one of the few major works at the time to ________.
A) use Lamarckian evolution to explain the origins of animal phyla
B) use cladistics to resolve invertebrate relationships
C) integrate development with adult morphology to understand adaptation
D) propose gene regulation as an explanation for development
E) explain invertebrate evolution using "macromutations" with large effects
Q2) François Jacob and Jacques Monod discovered ________.
A) a mechanism for how proteins regulate gene activity
B) the degree of genetic similarity between humans and chimpanzees
C) the Hox cluster of homeotic genes
D) evolutionary changes in the timing and rate of developmental processes
E) the parallel between the order of regulatory genes on a chromosome and the location in the embryo where these genes are expressed
Q3) Despite a great deal of variation across the animal kingdom,Hox genes tend to appear along a chromosome or chromosomes in the same order that they are expressed in along the anteroposterior axis of an embryo.This pattern of Hox gene expression is called the ________.[four words]
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Chapter 20: Human Evolution
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Q1) The peoples of Africa have often been negatively stereotyped by Europeans and Americans as "primitive" and "less advanced" than other peoples.Recent genetic analyses show that Africans make up the earliest branches of the human family tree.But do these two statements mean the same thing? Does genetic research imply anything about the relative "advancement" (or lack thereof)of different human groups?
Q2) ________ are fragmentary hominids 30,000 to 50,000 years old,found in a Siberian cave,who astonishingly appear to have interbred with the ancestors of modern Melanesian human populations.
Q3) Judging by the nature of modern humans,chimpanzees,and bonobos,which of these traits did the last common ancestor of all three probably NOT show?
A) some form of culture
B) tool use to get and process food
C) a broad diet including plenty of fruit
D) strictly heterosexual mating patterns
E) some degree of hunting
Q4) In humans and possibly even in chimpanzees,there seems to be a neurological correlation between ________ and ________.
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