Speciation and Adaptation
Midterm Exam
Course Introduction
This course explores the mechanisms and processes underlying the formation of new species and the ways in which organisms adapt to their environments. Students will examine the genetic, ecological, and evolutionary factors driving speciation, as well as the role of natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow in shaping adaptive traits. Through the study of case examples from diverse taxa, the course highlights both classical and contemporary perspectives on how speciation occurs and how adaptations enable species to survive and thrive in changing environments. Emphasis is placed on current research methodologies, the interpretation of empirical data, and the broader significance of speciation and adaptation in biodiversity and conservation efforts.
Recommended Textbook
Evolution 1st Edition by Carl T. Bergstrom
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Chapter 1: An Overview of Evolutionary Biology
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Q1) Manipulative experiments
A)allow scientists to directly assess how changes in one component of a system influence the other components.
B)allow scientists to examine not only correlations among data, but also causality.
C)ideally alter only one variable at a time.
D)All of the above
Answer: D
Q2) 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?
A)Wolbachia lost the ability to kill male butterflies.
B)Evolutionary changes in the butterflies allowed the butterflies to suppress the male-killing effect of Wolbachia.
C)All of the above
D)None of the above
Answer: B
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Chapter 2: Early Evolutionary Ideas and Darwins Insight
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Q1) James Hutton,a Scottish geologist and naturalist,argued that the geological processes of erosion and sedimentation suggested that the world was created
A)on exactly October 23, 4004 B.C.
B)in 3998 B.C.
C)between 75,000 and 2-3 million years ago.
D)an inconceivably long time ago.
Answer: D
Q2) After Aristotle,one advance in scientific methodology came through the use of logic.This allowed thinkers to
A)formulate and test hypotheses based on evidence.
B)recognize the significance of testing one's hypotheses.
C)move carefully from facts to general principles.
D)B and C
E)All of the above
Answer: C
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Chapter 3: Natural Selection
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Q1) The formal definition of "fitness" in evolutionary biology
A)pertains to relative reproductive success.
B)implies something is well matched or fit.
C)Both of the above
D)None of the above
Answer: A
Q2) Natural selection is a process by which
A)the characteristics of individuals change over time.
B)the characteristics of populations change over time.
C)Both of the above
D)None of the above
Answer: B
Q3) A trait that serves one purpose today but evolved under different selective conditions is
A)called an exaptation.
B)called an adaptation.
C)not favored by natural selection
D)A and C
E)B and C
Answer: A
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Chapter 4: Phylogeny and Evolutionary History
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Q1) Suppose a population splits into two descendant populations prior to the evolution of dark coloration,then splits again after the evolution of dark coloration.Which of the following terms best describes the dark coloration trait in this situation?
A)Homoplasy
B)Analogy
C)Synapomorphy
D)Symplesiomorphy
Q2) The study of phylogeny rests on our observation of traits,which may include A)anatomical features.
B)genetics sequences.
C)embryological processes.
D)All of the above
Q3) Assume you are an evolutionary biologist who is using coat coloration in several closely related species to reconstruct their evolutionary history.If you find that the coat color trait is symplesiomorphic,what can you do to resolve the species' evolutionary relationships?
Q4) What are the differences between rooted and unrooted phylogenetic trees?
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Chapter 5: Inferring Phylogeny
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Q1) While both parsimony methods and distance methods can be quite effective in inferring evolutionary history,both use tricks of sorts.Compare the assumptions,shortcomings,and methods of each.
Q2) Parsimony has the disadvantage of
A)being an inconsistent estimator.
B)conceptual complexity.
C)long-branch attraction.
D)A and B
E)A and C
Q3) Why is phylogenetic inference a difficult and computationally intensive problem? What solution do evolutionary biologists use to address this problem?
Q4) Parsimony analysis offers the advantage of A)being a consistent estimator.
B)conceptual simplicity.
C)ensuring that we get the right answer, given enough data.
D)All of the above
E)None of the above
Q5) Why do some evolutionary biologists have philosophical concerns about using distance methods to construct evolutionary trees?
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Chapter 6: Transmission Genetics and the Sources of
Genetic Variation
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Q1) Stretches of a gene that code for protein products are known as A)mRNA.
B)introns.
C)exons.
D)codons.
E)None of the above
Q2) If the wrong protein is produced,it may
A)affect DNA expression.
B)alter cellular structure.
C)influence development.
D)A and B
E)All of the above
Q3) Regulatory elements
A)are always found close to the gene they regulate.
B)control the rate of mRNA production.
C)are only found in animals.
D)can be found using a Punnett square.
E)have no effect on the phenotype.
Q4) Because RNA is a _________,it is more likely than DNA to get damaged during chemical reactions.
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Chapter 7: The Genetics of Populations
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Q1) Many early evolutionary biologists rejected Mendel's ideas because A)they were not interested in peas.
B)Punnett's conclusions contradicted Mendel's.
C)heterozygote crosses yield a 2:2 ratio of genotypes.
D)Hardy's conclusions contradicted Mendel's.
E)None of the above
Q2) If we follow a population through time and observe that allele frequencies change or genotypic frequencies change in this population,this may be because
A)the population size is small.
B)mating is non-random.
C)selection is operating on the locus.
D)Any of the above
Q3) Hardy and Punnett were two of the founders of which biological field of study?
A)Quantitative genetics
B)Qualitative genetics
C)Population genetics
D)Molecular genetics
E)None of the above
Q4) List five assumptions of the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
Q5) Name three predictions generated from the Hardy-Weinberg model.
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Chapter 8: Evolution in Finite Populations
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Q1) Population bottlenecks occur when
A)a large number of genetically diverse individuals found a new population.
B)population size dramatically increases.
C)a consistently large population experiences a brief period of small size.
D)drift in consistently small populations become fixed for a single allele.
E)inbreeding is high.
Q2) A population of fruit flies is maintained at 4000 individuals for 10 generations.During the 11 generation,the professor in charge of the flies forgot to buy fly food and only 100 flies survived.Estimate the effective population size of this population over the first 11 generations.
Q3) The variable F is
A)the probability of two alleles being identical by descent.
B)a measurement used to quantify the loss of variation due to drift over time.
C)a measure of the degree of inbreeding.
D)A and B
E)All of the above
Q4) How are the neutral theory of molecular evolution and the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium similar?
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Chapter 9: Evolution at Multiple Loci
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Q1) If recombination between locus A and locus B is 0.15,and the initial value of linkage disequilibrium is 0.20,what will the value of linkage disequilibrium be after one generation of recombination? Show your work.
Q2) Consider a population with two loci (A,B),each with two alleles (A,a; B,b).What are the haplotype frequencies in this population if the allele frequencies are A = 0.5,a = 0.5,B = 0.7,b = 0.3?
A)AB = 0.35, Ab = 0.15, aB = 0.35, ab = 0.15
B)AB = 0.45, Ab = 0.05, aB = 0.25, ab = 0.25
C)AB = 0.4, Ab = 0.1, aB = 0.3, ab = 0.2
D)AB = 0.125, Ab = 0.25, aB = 0.25, ab = 0.125
E)Cannot be determined based on the information provided
Q3) In quantitative genetic terms,a phenotypic value can be expressed as
A)dominance and recessiveness.
B)epistasis and pleiotropy.
C)genotypic value and environmental deviation.
D)A and B
E)All of the above
Q4) Explain why one cannot compare the estimated heritability of intelligence tests from different populations from the United States.
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Chapter 10: Genome Evolution
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Q1) When comparing recombination rates between a dog,with a genome size of 2410 Mb,and a mustard weed,with a genome size of 100 Mb,which would you expect to have a larger recombination rate per kilobase? Explain your answer.
Q2) Recombination rates across a chromosome
A)are highly variable.
B)are large in recombination hotspots.
C)are nearly equal.
D)A and B
E)None of the above
Q3) Transposons
A)move within a genome without making duplicates.
B)move within a genome while making duplicates.
C)use an RNA intermediate.
D)use a DNA intermediate.
E)All of the above
Q4) What are transcription factors and how do they address the G-value paradox?
Q5) While sequencing a bacterial genome,a researcher notes that G is more common on the leading strand than the lagging strand.This is an example of what phenomenon?
Q6) Describe a haplotype block.
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Chapter 11: The Origin and Evolution of Early Life
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Q1) Why might life be much older than LUCA?
Q2) Why is DNA favored over RNA as genetic material?
A)DNA is more stable and thus is a more efficient transmission system.
B)DNA can self-replicate.
C)DNA makes chromosomes.
D)DNA mutates more readily, with a weaker repair machinery.
E)DNA has a more limited information storage capacity.
Q3) The Miller-Urey experiment is significant because it produced evidence that
A)conditions on Earth 4 billion years ago could produce RNA.
B)it is possible to produce LUCA in the laboratory.
C)conditions on Earth 4 billion years ago could in principle produce amino acids.
D)it is possible to produce DNA under the same conditions as on Earth 4 billion years ago.
Q4) A phylogenetic event horizon is
A)a point in the future in which species will diversify.
B)a phylogeny based on extinct species.
C)the point at which life started.
D)a point in the history of life beyond which phylogenetic analysis cannot see.
Q5) Give an example of a modern hypercycle.
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Chapter 12: Major Transitions
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Q1) Which of the following is an advantage of the economy of scale?
A)Division of labor
B)Sexual reproduction
C)More individuals per group
D)Multicellularity
Q2) Draw a graph that illustrates the relationship between foraging ability and group size where group living is beneficial.On the same graph,draw a line of the relationship if group living was not beneficial.
Q3) Consider a slime mold slug and a colony of Volvox carteri,both of which contain both soma and germ cells.Is a slug or a volvox colony an individual? Explain.
Q4) Which of the following is a benefit of multicellularity for slime mold amoebas?
A)Self-sacrifice for other amoebas
B)Ability to move quickly
C)Sexual reproduction
D)Ability to feed on bacteria
Q5) Give an example of differentiation of tasks at the individual level and an example at the group level.
Q6) Why does genetic imprinting inhibit parthenogenesis?
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Chapter 13: Evolution and Development
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Q1) By transferring neural crest cells from a duck to a quail and vice versa,Schneider and Helms demonstrated that
A)neural crest cells influence the development of beaks.
B)beaks influence fitness traits.
C)homeobox genes are conserved across species.
D)gene duplication causes a difference in beak shape.
Q2) How does facultative neoteny in other species support the paedomorph advantage hypothesis for axolotls?
Q3) Parallelism in development
A)was advocated by von Baer.
B)was the idea that developmental stages progress from the simple to the complex, reflecting the scala naturae.
C)refers to the colinearity of Hox genes.
D)is a method of gene duplication.
Q4) A pseudogene is a
A)nonfunctional copy of another gene.
B)MADS-box gene.
C)homeobox gene.
D)subfunctional paralog.
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Chapter 14: Species and Speciation
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Q1) Which of the following statements describes a problem with applying the phenetic species concept?
A)One must construct a phylogenetic tree.
B)Character weighting is ambiguous.
C)Gene flow must be measured.
D)The concept only works with sexual species.
Q2) When are hybrid zones expected to disappear and complete the speciation process?
A)When hybrids are at a selective disadvantage
B)When hybrids have a selective advantage and will replace parents
C)When hybrids are found in ring species
D)When hybrids mate assortatively
Q3) How might secondary contact result in a cline?
A)Reproductive character displacement completes the speciation process.
B)Hybrid matings may have low fitness.
C)Reproductive isolation is partially complete and a spatial gradient of hybrids forms.
D)Reproductive isolation is incomplete and the two populations form a single species without spatial variation.
Q4) In which model of allopatric speciation is genetic drift a larger factor,and why?
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Chapter 15: Extinction and Evolutionary Trends
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Q1) Data on extinction rates pre- and post-mass extinction rates suggest that the extinction rate remains elevated for some time after the mass extinction event.Which of the following statements is a plausible explanation for this observation?
A)The negative effects of the original cause for the mass extinction persist after the original event.
B)Although not completely extinct, many surviving species are confined to small geographic ranges that make them vulnerable to local extinction events.
C)High mortality led to the loss of genetic diversity in survivors.
D)Adaptive radiations after mass extinctions produce new predators and competitors that led to the extinction of mass extinction survivors.
E)All of the above
Q2) What is the hallmark trait of aquatic organisms that survived the Permian extinction?
A)They lived in shallow seas.
B)They were exceptionally small.
C)None of them inhabited reefs.
D)They were able to withstand anoxic conditions.
E)All of the above
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Chapter 16: The Evolution of Sex
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Q1) Some mammals have demonstrated preferential attraction to individuals that carry immune system alleles that are complementary to their own.Which hypothesis does this observation support?
A)The Red Queen hypothesis
B)Muller's ratchet
C)The Fisher-Muller hypothesis
D)The Attribution Bias hypothesis
Q2) Why is the cost of sex sometimes referred to as the "cost of males"?
A)Males do not contribute genes to the next generation.
B)Males do not produce new offspring.
C)With finite resources, males take the place of offspring-producing females.
D)Sperm cells do not contribute any substantial energy resources to the eggs they fertilize.
E)B, C, and D
Q3) Why do pathogens tend to evolve faster than their hosts?
Q4) Do each of the following forms of reproduction represent asexual or sexual reproduction?
A.Amphimixis
B.Automixis
C.Apomixis
Page 18
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Chapter 17: Sexual Selection
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Q1) To study sperm competition in beetles,you sample a population that is effectively monogamous,as chances of meeting more than one mating partner in nature are extremely low.In the lab,you pair multiple individuals to create a polygamous mating system,but you also maintain a monogamous control line.Would you expect sperm competition in the polygamous line to increase,decrease,or remain the same relative to the monogamous control line (assuming there was heritable variance for this trait in the population)?
Q2) What prediction of the runaway model that is never predicted for the good genes model may help to distinguish between the models in natural populations?
Q3) The red deer population on the Isle of Rum off Scotland has been extensively studied over several decades.One of the findings was that the variance of breeding success in males was much higher than the variance of breeding success in females.Which of the following statements explains this difference in variance?
A)Average male breeding success was higher than average female breeding success.
B)Red deer have a polygynous harem mating system.
C)Female access to nutrient resources is more reliable.
D)Males show a greater variance in fertility than females.
Q4) Why is there a correlation between testis size and sperm competition in beetles?
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Chapter 18: The Evolution of Sociality
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Q1) You want to study whether reciprocity explains the evolution of mobbing behavior in birds.You have two sources of birds to choose from: (A)a group of birds from your lab that all originated from the same mating pair,and (B)a group of presumably unrelated birds from the wild.Which choice would you prefer? Briefly justify your answer.
Q2) In order for a game to be a true prisoner's dilemma,which of the following conditions must be met? P = Punishment for mutual defection,R = Reward for mutual cooperation,S = "Sucker's" payoff,T = Temptation to defect
A)T > R > P > S
B)R > P > S > T
C)S > P > T > R
D)R > P > T > S
Q3) Compared to most physical resources,how is information unique?
A)There is no cost associated with sharing information.
B)The production and sharing of information does not require energy.
C)Because information is not a tangible physical entity, it does not affect an individual's fitness.
D)Information does not become depleted by sharing.
Q4) Name the three familial conflicts.
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Chapter 19: Coevolution
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Q1) When researchers examined the effects of withholding nitrogen from Bradyrhizobium japonicum,they used a "split root" treatment in which half of a soybean plant's root mass received gaseous nitrogen,whereas the other half did not.Why did the researchers use this split root treatment?
A)They were economizing on experimental soybean plants.
B)They were testing whether different parts of the root react differently to the absence of nitrogen.
C)They were testing the range of nitrogen in which soybean plants can thrive.
D)They were testing whether the potential "retaliation" against cheating symbionts was specific to root nodules that did not fix nitrogen.
Q2) Define "cultural transmission" in one sentence.
Q3) How can cultural transmission of male songs facilitate the early stages of species formation in Darwin's finches?
Q4) Some species of tropical fireflies mimic the luminescent mating signals of females of a related species and will prey upon the males that have been attracted by the fake signal.How would you classify this behavior? Is it Batesian mimicry,Müllerian mimicry,a third form of mimicry,or no mimicry at all? Briefly justify your answer.
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Chapter 20: Evolution and Medicine
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Q1) Individuals of a certain tree species experience a markedly higher mortality rate at age 200 and beyond.Name two other changes you would expect in 200-year-old trees if this increase in mortality was accompanied by senescence.
Q2) Which of the following represents a similarity between the evolution of tumors and the vertebrate immune response?
A)Both involve somatic mutations.
B)Both involve sexual reproduction.
C)Both can be examined using the Hardy-Weinberg principle.
D)Genetic drift is negligible in both systems.
Q3) What combination of the characteristics of Huntington's disease puzzled J.B.S.Haldane?
Q4) Which part of the immune system's "learning system" is responsible for maintaining life-long immunity against measles after a measles infection?
A)Somatic recombination
B)Affinity maturation
C)Clonal expansion
D)Retention of responding cells
Q5) Name three methods that pathogens use to subvert their host's immune system.
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