Exam 23: The Evolution of Populations

In the wild, male house finches (Carpodus mexicanus) vary considerably in the amount of red pigmentation in their head and throat feathers, with colors ranging from pale yellow to bright red. These colors come from carotenoid pigments that are found in the birds' diets; no vertebrates are known to synthesize carotenoid pigments. Thus, the brighter red the male's feathers are, the more successful he has been at acquiring the red carotenoid pigment by his food-gathering efforts (all other factors being equal). -The situation as described in the paragraph above should select most directly against males that

There are 40 individuals in population 1, all of which have genotype A1A1, and there are 25 individuals in population 2, all of genotype A2A2. Assume that these populations are located far from one another and that their environmental conditions are very similar. Based on the information given here, the observed genetic variation is mostly likely an example of

Which statement about variation is True?

If neutral variation is truly "neutral," then it should have no effect on

If the original finches that had been blown over to the Galapagos from South America had already been genetically different from the parental population of South American finches, even before adapting to the Galapagos, this would have been an example of

The Darwinian fitness of an individual is measured most directly by

Use the following information to answer the questions below. In a hypothetical population of 1,000 people, tests of blood-type genes show that 160 have the genotype AA, 480 have the genotype AB, and 360 have the genotype BB. -If there are 4,000 children born to this generation, how many would be expected to have AB blood under the conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?

A trend toward the decrease in the size of plants on the slopes of mountains as altitudes increase is an example of

In the wild, male house finches (Carpodus mexicanus) vary considerably in the amount of red pigmentation in their head and throat feathers, with colors ranging from pale yellow to bright red. These colors come from carotenoid pigments that are found in the birds' diets; no vertebrates are known to synthesize carotenoid pigments. Thus, the brighter red the male's feathers are, the more successful he has been at acquiring the red carotenoid pigment by his food-gathering efforts (all other factors being equal). -During breeding season, one should expect female house finches to prefer to mate with males with the brightest red feathers. Which of the following is True of this situation?

There are those who claim that the theory of evolution cannot be True because the apes, which are supposed to be closely related to humans, do not likewise share the same large brains, capacity for complicated speech, and tool-making capability. They reason that if these features are generally beneficial, then the apes should have evolved them as well. Which of these provides the best argument against this misconception?

Arrange the following from most general (i.e., most inclusive)to most specific (i.e., least inclusive): 1. Natural selection 2) Microevolution 3) Intrasexual selection 4) Evolution 5) Sexual selection

A certain species of land snail exists as either a cream color or a solid brown color. Intermediate individuals are relatively rare. Which of the following terms best describes this?

Adult male humans generally have deeper voices than do adult female humans, as the direct result of higher levels of testosterone causing growth of the larynx. -Which addition to the information in the paragraph above would make more than one of the answers listed in the previous question correct?

Use the following information to answer the questions below. A large population of laboratory animals has been allowed to breed randomly for a number of generations. After several generations, 25% of the animals display a recessive trait (aa), the same percentage as at the beginning of the breeding program. The rest of the animals show the dominant phenotype, with heterozygotes indistinguishable from the homozygous dominants. -In a Hardy-Weinberg population with two alleles, A and a, that are in equilibrium, the frequency of allele a is 0.2. What is the frequency of individuals with Aa genotype?

Use the following information to answer the questions below. HIV's genome of RNA includes code for reverse transcriptase (RT), an enzyme that acts early in infection to synthesize a DNA genome off of an RNA template. The HIV genome also codes for protease (PR), an enzyme that acts later in infection by cutting long viral polyproteins into smaller, functional proteins. Both RT and PR represent potential targets for antiretroviral drugs. Drugs called nucleoside analogs (NA) act against RT, whereas drugs called protease inhibitors (PI) act against PR. -Within the body of an HIV-infected individual who is being treated with a single NA, and whose HIV particles are currently vulnerable to this NA, which of these situations can increase the virus' relative fitness? 1) mutations resulting in RTs with decreased rates of nucleotide mismatch 2) mutations resulting in RTs with increased rates of nucleotide mismatch 3) mutations resulting in RTs that have proofreading capability

Natural selection is most nearly the same as

Sparrows with average-sized wings survive severe storms better than those with longer or shorter wings, illustrating

About which of these did Darwin have a poor understanding?

Adult male humans generally have deeper voices than do adult female humans, as the direct result of higher levels of testosterone causing growth of the larynx. -If the fossil records of apes and humans alike show a trend toward decreasing larynx size in adult females, and increasing larynx size in adult males, then

Rank the following 1-base point mutations (from most likely to least likely)with respect to their likelihood of affecting the structure of the corresponding polypeptide: 1. insertion mutation deep within an intron 2) substitution mutation at the 3rd position of an exonic codon 3) substitution mutation at the 2nd position of an exonic codon 4) deletion mutation within the first exon of the gene