Eco & Evo Test 2

What environmental condition did Rosemary and Peter Grant determine is responsible for forcing medium ground finches to become seed specialists on Daphne Major Island in the Galapagos Islands?

• prolonged drought during the dry season

What is the most likely explanation for why mice on both the Atlantic Coast and Gulf Coast of Florida have lighter fur than mainland mice?

Selection pressures on coat color are similar on both coasts.

What characteristics of stickleback fish make them ideal for studying natural selection in the wild?

Stickleback populations are in environments with or without predators.

Some stickleback populations are isolated in closed environments.

Heritable variation in armor directly affects the fitness of sticklebacks.

Select each statement that provides evidence that artificial selection has occurred.

Livestock are less aggressive and more tolerant of penning than their wild counterparts.

Harvested wheat plants have traits that make them easier to gather than wild wheat plants.

Kale, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli are the same species, Brassica oleracea.

What part of the phylogenetic tree is this?

Root

Classify the following tables

Monophyletic, Polyphyetic, Paraphylic

What part is this?

Node

What part is this?

Branch

Classify each scenario as describing convergent evolution, evolutionary reversal, or a synapomorphy.

Convergent evolution

Classify each scenario as describing convergent evolution, evolutionary reversal, or a synapomorphy.

Evolutionary reversal

Classify each scenario as describing convergent evolution, evolutionary reversal, or a synapomorphy.

Synapomorphy

What pieces of evidence support the hypothesis that tetrapods evolved from lobe-fin fish?

• The long bones in tetrapod arms and legs are homologous with bones in the fins of lobe-fins.

• Fossils of lobe-fins show the development of the tetrapod shoulder girdle, arm bones, wrist bones, and digits over time.

This is a question, but I’ll use it as a definition and example of the following: root, branch, node, tip

A phylogenetic tree visually depicts the history of the evolution of species, populations, or genes. It is especially useful for studying the lines of descent and relationships among groups.

The ROOT represents the common ancestor of all the species included in the phylogenetic tree.

When a population or species diverges, the newly formed species or subspecies is represented by a BRANCH

The NODE is the point at which the lineage splits.

The TIP is the terminal end of each branch and represents the species, populations, or genes being studied.

In what ways would an outgroup be helpful in determining how the bones of the mammalian middle ear evolved?

Using the snowy owl as an outgroup would give scientists a way to infer whether the characters of the middle ear bones are ancestral or derived.

Using an existing reptile species as an outgroup would permit scientists to compare bone structures inside and outside the clade.

Determine whether the shared rait is a synapomurphy or a hooplasy.

Octopuses, mammals, and some jellyfish have eyes that contain a lens for focusing light. Eyes with a lens were not present in the common ancestor of these animals. Is an eye with a lens a synapomorphy or a homoplasy?

Homoplasy

Determine whether the shared rait is a synapomurphy or a homoplasy

Most land plants contain the light-capturing pigment chlorophyll a. Chlorophyll a is thought to have evolved a single time in the green algae that ultimately gave rise to all land plants. Is chlorophyll a in land plants a synapomorphy or a homoplasy?

Synapomorphy