Exam 30: Plant Diversity II: The Evolution of Seed Plants

Use the information to answer the following question. Theobroma cacao (cacao) is the tree that produces seeds that are turned into chocolate. These trees provide many poor people in the tropics with some cash income. However, these farmers face many obstacles to production of their crop, including temperature and rainfall changes caused by atmospheric CO₂ increases, and many diseases and pests. Analysis of the cacao genome showed that there is some (but not a lot) of genetic variation in the 10 major varieties. Which of the following strategies would be most useful in the long term in reducing pressures faced by cacao farmers?

Arrange the following structures, which can be found on male pine trees, from the largest structure to the smallest structure (or from most inclusive to least inclusive).

In onions (Allium), cells of the sporophyte have 16 chromosomes within each nucleus. Match the number of chromosomes present in each of the following onion tissues. How many chromosomes should be in an embryo nucleus after fertilization?

Use the information to answer the following question. The cycads, a mostly tropical phylum of gymnosperms, evolved about 300 million years ago and were dominant forms during the age of the dinosaurs. Though their sperm are flagellated, their ovules are pollinated by beetles. These beetles get nutrition from the pollen and shelter from the microsporophylls. Upon visiting megasporophylls, the beetles transfer pollen to the exposed ovules. In cycads, pollen cones and seed cones are borne on different plants. Cycads synthesize neurotoxins, especially in the seeds, that are effective against most animals, including humans. Which feature of cycads makes them similar to many angiosperms?

Use the information to answer the following question. Oviparous (egg-laying) animals have internal fertilization (sperm cells encounter eggs within the female's body). Yolk and/or albumen is (are) provided to the embryo, and a shell is then deposited around the embryo and its food source. Eggs are subsequently deposited in an environment that promotes their further development, or are incubated by one or both parents. The shell of a fertilized animal egg has what type of analog in angiosperms?

Use the information to answer the following question. The Brazil nut tree, Bertholletia excels (n = 17), is native to tropical rain forests of South America. It is a hardwood tree that can grow to over 50 meters tall, a source of high-quality lumber, and a favorite nesting site for harpy eagles. As the rainy season ends, tough-walled fruits, each containing 8-25 seeds (Brazil nuts), fall to the forest floor. Brazil nuts are composed primarily of endosperm. About $50 million worth of nuts are harvested each year. Scientists have discovered that the pale yellow flowers of Brazil nut trees cannot fertilize themselves and admit only female orchid bees as pollinators. The agouti (Dasyprocta spp.), a cat-sized rodent, is the only animal with teeth strong enough to crack the hard wall of Brazil nut fruits. It typically eats some of the seeds, buries others, and leaves still others inside the fruit, which moisture can then enter and allow the remaining seeds to germinate. Ecologists often build models to depict the relationships between organisms. In such models, an arrow is used to link two organisms in a relationship. The arrowhead is next to the organism that is affected. If the effect is positive, the arrow is labeled with (+), and if negative, then the label is (-). Capuchin monkeys have been known to use rocks to smash open the fruits of Brazil nut trees. On the rare occasions when this has been observed, the monkeys consume all of the Brazil nuts. Thus, which of the following correctly depicts the direct relationship between capuchin monkeys and Brazil nut trees?

What adaptations should one expect of the seed coats of angiosperm species whose seeds are dispersed by frugivorous (fruit-eating) animals, as opposed to angiosperm species whose seeds are dispersed by other means?

Which of the following is a characteristic of all angiosperms?

Use the information to answer the following question. The Brazil nut tree, Bertholletia excels (n = 17), is native to tropical rain forests of South America. It is a hardwood tree that can grow to over 50 meters tall, a source of high-quality lumber, and a favorite nesting site for harpy eagles. As the rainy season ends, tough-walled fruits, each containing 8-25 seeds (Brazil nuts), fall to the forest floor. Brazil nuts are composed primarily of endosperm. About $50 million worth of nuts are harvested each year. Scientists have discovered that the pale yellow flowers of Brazil nut trees cannot fertilize themselves and admit only female orchid bees as pollinators. The agouti (Dasyprocta spp.), a cat-sized rodent, is the only animal with teeth strong enough to crack the hard wall of Brazil nut fruits. It typically eats some of the seeds, buries others, and leaves still others inside the fruit, which moisture can then enter and allow the remaining seeds to germinate. Ecologists often build models to depict the relationships between organisms. In such models, an arrow is used to link two organisms in a relationship. The arrowhead is next to the organism that is affected. If the effect is positive, the arrow is labeled with (+), and if negative, then the label is (-). Which of the following models best illustrates the direct relationships of the Brazil nut tree and the other organisms associated with it?

Stamens, sepals, petals, carpels, and pinecone scales are all ________.

Spruces and pines both have needlelike leaves, with the adaptive advantage of ________.

Within a gymnosperm megasporangium, which of the following developmental sequences is correct, assuming fertilization occurs?

Use the information to answer the following question. Scarlet gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata) usually has red flowers in an inflorescence of up to 250 flowers. In certain populations in the Arizona mountains, however, the flowers range from red to pink to white. In early summer, most (but not all) of the flowers were red. Six to eight weeks later, the same individual plants were still present; the flowers ranged from pink to white, and few red flowers were present. The major pollinators early in the season were two species of hummingbirds active during the day; they emigrated to lower elevations, and the major pollinator later in the season was a hawk moth (a type of moth). The hawk moth was most active at sunset and later, and it preferred light pink to white flowers after dark. When hummingbirds were present, more red flowers than white flowers produced fruit. When only hawk moths were present, more white flowers produced fruit. (K. N. Paige and T. G. Whitham. 1985. Individual and population shifts in flower color by scarlet gilia: A mechanism for pollinator tracking. Science 227:315-17). What is the significance of measuring fruit production?

With respect to angiosperms, which of the following is incorrectly paired with its chromosome count?

Use the information to answer the following question. Oviparous (egg-laying) animals have internal fertilization (sperm cells encounter eggs within the female's body). Yolk and/or albumen is (are) provided to the embryo, and a shell is then deposited around the embryo and its food source. Eggs are subsequently deposited in an environment that promotes their further development, or are incubated by one or both parents. The yolk of an animal egg has what type of analog in angiosperms?

Arrange the following in the correct sequence, from earliest to most recent, in which these plant traits originated.

Use the information to answer the following question. The Brazil nut tree, Bertholletia excels (n = 17), is native to tropical rain forests of South America. It is a hardwood tree that can grow to over 50 meters tall, a source of high-quality lumber, and a favorite nesting site for harpy eagles. As the rainy season ends, tough-walled fruits, each containing 8-25 seeds (Brazil nuts), fall to the forest floor. Brazil nuts are composed primarily of endosperm. About $50 million worth of nuts are harvested each year. Scientists have discovered that the pale yellow flowers of Brazil nut trees cannot fertilize themselves and admit only female orchid bees as pollinators. The agouti (Dasyprocta spp.), a cat-sized rodent, is the only animal with teeth strong enough to crack the hard wall of Brazil nut fruits. It typically eats some of the seeds, buries others, and leaves still others inside the fruit, which moisture can then enter and allow the remaining seeds to germinate. The harpy eagle, Harpia harpyja, is the largest, most powerful raptor in the Americas. It nests only in trees taller than 25 meters. It is a "sloth specialist," but will also take agouti. Thus, if these eagles capture too many agoutis from a particular locale, they might contribute to their own demise by ________.

One day, you go outside and see that the cars on the street are covered in a yellow "dust." Which of the following statements can be correctly applied to this "dust"?

Which of the following lines of evidence would best support your assertion that a particular plant is an angiosperm?

In onions (Allium), cells of the sporophyte have 16 chromosomes within each nucleus. Match the number of chromosomes present in each of the following onion tissues. How many chromosomes should be in a tube cell nucleus?