Evolutionary Bio Test 1

What does the term 'evolution' mean?

To change over time; derived from the Latin meaning to 'unroll' or 'unfold.'

What is biological evolution?

The change in the properties of populations of organisms over time.

At what level do we begin looking at evolution?

At the population level.

What are the four common misconceptions about evolution?

1. Morphological change occurs with evolution. 2. Evolution is progress. 3. Organisms are passive targets of their environment. 4. Evolution cannot use the scientific method.

What are the two major areas of evolutionary study?

1. Evolutionary Process - causes and mechanisms of evolution. 2. Evolutionary Pattern - history and diversity of life.

What does the evolutionary process focus on?

The causes of evolution and the mechanisms involved.

What does the evolutionary pattern focus on?

The history of life and how diversity has developed.

What is meant by 'scalable' in the context of evolution?

What occurs at one level can impact another level.

What does 'continuity' refer to in evolutionary biology?

Changes at one level affect multiple levels of organization.

What is the significance of two-way effects in evolution?

Higher levels can affect lower levels and vice versa.

What are the two central principles of biology related to evolution?

1. All life processes have a physical and chemical basis. 2. All organisms and their characteristics are products of evolution.

Why is evolution considered a dynamic science?

Because it involves ongoing debates and research on various topics.

What is Hamilton's Rule?

The idea that natural selection favors genetic success rather than reproductive success.

What role does epigenetics play in evolution?

It is a topic of ongoing research regarding its influence on evolutionary processes.

What is the unifying theory of biology?

Evolution.

What is a clade in evolutionary biology?

A group of taxa that share a single common ancestor.

What is the paradox of diversity in evolution?

Why life on Earth is diverse yet all life is related at various levels of organization.

Why is the use of terms important in evolutionary biology?

To avoid ambiguity and ensure clarity in communication.

What should we avoid when using the term 'organism'?

Referring to it as a species or population.

Who proposed evolution by natural selection?

Charles Darwin

What influenced evolutionary thinking significantly?

The science of geology

What were early religious beliefs that influenced pre-Darwinian thinking?

Aminism, Animatism, and totemism

What was the focus of natural philosophy in Classical Greece and Rome?

The objective study of nature and the physical universe

What was the method of learning emphasized during the Dark and Middle Ages?

Scholasticism, which emphasized dialectical reasoning

What common theme is found in many creation myths?

God(s) created the world and man was often considered a special creation

Who is considered the first recorded systematist?

King Solomon

What did Aristotle suggest about the changes in the earth?

They occur gradually and follow an order and cycle

What did Leonardo da Vinci recognize about the stratified stones of mountains?

They are layers of clay deposited by floods, indicating a history of sea beds

What did Georgius Agricola emphasize in modern scientific thinking?

The particular rather than the general, observable facts, and empiricism

What was the Church's explanation for the origins of life?

Special Creation and the belief that the Earth was only 6,000 years old

What is John Ray's Species Concept?

Species are defined by distinguishing features that perpetuate themselves in propagation

What does Nicholas Steno's Law of Superposition state?

In undisturbed rock layers, the youngest rocks are on top and the oldest on the bottom

What did Carl Linnaeus contribute to biology?

Hierarchical classification of organisms and binomial nomenclature

What did Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon suggest?

A possible common ancestry between humans and apes

What was Jean-Baptiste Lamarck known for?

His theory of evolution and the concept of inheritance of acquired characters

What is the Transformational Theory of Change?

A change in the environment causes an organism to change its behavior, leading to heritable changes

What major social changes occurred during the 19th century?

Rapid growth of commerce, science, and technology

What did many classical thinkers challenge during the Renaissance?

Man's place in the Universe, which conflicted with Church teachings

What did the Industrial Revolution overlap with?

The Age of Enlightenment

What did Aristotle observe about the earth's changes?

They take place gradually over immense periods of time

What did Leonardo da Vinci conclude about fossils found in mountains?

They indicate that the area was once part of a sea bed

What did Buffon theorize about evolution?

Change occurred based on migration and correlation between organisms and their environment

What did Lamarck believe about changes in behavior?

They lead to over-use or under-use of structures, which are then inherited

What is Scala Naturae?

The Great Chain of Life, where all life is arranged in linear order from simple to complex.

Who proposed the transformational theory of evolution?

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck.

What did Thomas Malthus theorize about populations?

Populations produce more offspring than can survive due to limited resources, leading to potential disasters.

Who is known as the father of Paleontology?

Georges Cuvier.

What concept did Charles Lyell introduce?

Uniformitarianism, which states that current processes are the keys to understanding the past.

What is homology according to Richard Owen?

The same organ in different animals under various forms and functions.

What was one of Richard Owen's arguments against Darwin's theory?

Adaptation could not explain homologous structures; differences were due to a common structural plan created by God.

What are the basic tenets of Darwin's ideas?

1. Evolution occurs. 2. Common descent. 3. Gradual change over time. 4. Natural selection.

What is natural selection?

The mechanism that drives descent with modification, where advantageous traits become more common in a population.

Who independently proposed a theory of evolution similar to Darwin's?

Alfred Russel Wallace.

What was a major problem with Darwin's theory?

It was not known how variations were passed on from generation to generation.

Who is known for the rediscovery of Mendel's work?

Gregor Mendel.

What is the Modern Evolutionary Synthesis?

A theory that reconciles natural selection with genetics, reigniting the study of evolutionary biology.

What did Sewall Wright contribute to evolutionary biology?

He applied population genetics to explain the genetic basis for evolution.

What is the Biological Species Concept?

A concept by George Gaylord Simpson stating that reproductive isolating mechanisms cause new species to form over time.

What are the different events that can cause speciation?

Allopatric, parapatric, and sympatric speciation.

What did Theodosius Dobzhansky study?

The relationship between macroevolutionary questions and microevolutionary processes.

What does the term 'polymorphisms' refer to in a population?

Variations in characteristics exhibited by individuals.

What is the significance of advantageous characters in a population?

Individuals with advantageous characters are more likely to survive and reproduce, leading to changes in the population over time.

What did Darwin learn from agricultural practices?

The concept of selecting favorable traits for specific outcomes.

What is the role of environmental pressures according to Wallace?

Environmental pressures influence the survival of individuals with advantageous traits.

What did the New Synthesis contribute to evolutionary biology?

It founded population genetics and introduced concepts like genetic drift and adaptive landscapes.

What did R. A. Fisher contribute to the understanding of inheritance?

He studied the correlation between relatives under the assumption of Mendelian inheritance.

What is the significance of the year 1915 in evolutionary biology?

T. H. Morgan and others published work on the mechanism of Mendelian inheritance.

What did the rediscovery of Mendel's work in 1900 lead to?

A resurgence of interest in evolutionary biology and genetics.

What is the main idea behind mutation theory?

Mutations occur without a mechanism needed to drive the proliferation of changes.

What is ecology?

The interaction of organisms with their environment.

What are biotic interactions?

Interactions between members of the same species or with other species.

What are abiotic interactions?

How an organism responds or interacts with physical elements of the environment, such as temperature and humidity.

What is a biome?

A major regional group of distinctive plant and animal communities best adapted to the region's climate, latitude, elevation, and terrain.

What characterizes a community in ecology?

A group of plant and animal species living in a particular biotope, characterized by their dominant vegetation.

What is a habitat?

The characterizable place where a species lives.

Define microhabitat.

A very small habitat, such as a fallen log.

What is a niche?

The many factors and resources that an organism needs to survive in a particular habitat, including food, water, and shelter.

What is the Grinnellian niche concept?

The niche of a species is determined by the habitat in which it lives and its accompanying behavioral adaptations.

What does the Eltonian niche concept emphasize?

A species not only grows in and responds to an environment but may also change the environment as it grows.

What is the Hutchinsonian niche?

An 'n-dimensional hypervolume' defining the environmental conditions and resources required for a species to survive.

What is the difference between a fundamental niche and a realized niche?

The fundamental niche is the set of resources a population is theoretically capable of using, while the realized niche is the resources actually used, often smaller due to competition and predation.

What did Joseph Connell's experiments on barnacles demonstrate?

Competition occurs in nature and can explain the distinction between a fundamental niche and a realized niche.

What are the two types of competition in ecology?

Intraspecific (within the same species) and interspecific (between different species).

What is exploitation competition?

An indirect interaction where one species benefits by using resources more efficiently.

What is interference competition?

A direct interaction where one species actively prevents another from accessing resources.

What is the significance of niches in evolution?

Niches set parameters for selection to act on and are the basis for ecological interactions important for natural selection.

What is a biocoenose?

A community of plant and animal species that live in a particular biotope.

What is climax vegetation?

The final, stable community in a particular area, often used to identify a biome.

What are the main types of biomes mentioned?

Deciduous Forest, Steppe, Desert, Tundra.

What is the role of competition in ecological interactions?

Competition can have positive, negative, or neutral effects on one or both species involved.

What is interference in ecology?

Direct interaction where tall plants block sunlight from smaller plants.

What does the Competitive Exclusion Principle state?

No two species can coexist if they share the same limited resources; the one with a slight advantage will cause the other to go extinct.

What factors affect competitive exclusion?

1. The closeness of relatedness between species increases competition. 2. Higher reproductive rates often determine the winner.

What is niche partitioning?

A strategy to avoid competition by dividing resources among species.

What is the evolutionary significance of competition?

Competition can drive natural selection and lead to niche partitioning.

What are the types of ecological interactions?

Predation (+/-), Parasite/Host (+/-), Herbivore/Plant (+/-), Mutualism (+/+), Commensalism (+/0).

What is the significance of mutualism?

It can help avoid competition and may evolve from initially negative interactions.

What is a population in ecology?

A group of conspecific organisms occupying a defined geographic region and interbreeding more frequently with each other.

What is the equation for population size at time t (Nt)?

Nt = (Nt-1) + births (b) - deaths (d).

What does the net population growth rate (r) represent?

The per capita rate of increase, calculated as r = number of births - number of deaths.