BIOB51 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS
WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
why is the identification of species of asesxual species/prokaryotes challenging? -
Answer- -they share genetic info across diff lineages (horizontal gene transfer)
- makes classification difficult
-horizontal gene transfer is common
-ex. In E coli
Microevolution - Answer- evolutionary change within populations, especially over a short
period.
-adaptive and neutral changes in allele frequency
Macroevolution - Answer- evolution above the species level, large-scale evolutionary
changes that take place over long periods of time
- origination, diversification, extinction of species over time
Some lineages have experienced 'explosive' adaptive radiations - Answer- - Vangas in
Madagascar
- 1.5 million species of beetles
Patterns of species diversity - Answer- -Most diversity in the tropics (near equator)
-Nearly all marsupials are in Australia
-Near the equator there is also a high vertebrate diversity
-The further we go from the equator the lower the vertebrate diversity becomes
Biogeography - Answer- study of the distribution of species across space and time
Calculating rates of origination and extinction - Answer- α = origination rate (new
species)
Ω = extinction rate
Turnover = number of species eliminated and replaced per unit time
fauna - Answer- animals of a particular region, habitat, or geological period
Anagenesis - Answer- wholesale transformation of a lineage from one form to another
- An alternative to splitting lineage or speciation
Punctuated equilibria - Answer- periods of stasis punctuated by brief periods of rapid
change - Often associated with speciation events
,Gradualism - Answer- Slow, gradual morphological changes over time - Can include
speciation events; traditional view
Adaptive radiation - Answer- when α > Ω
α is origination and Ω is extinction
Adaptive radiations can occur when populations evolve to occupy ecological niches in
the absence of competition.
- Recent adaptive radiation as cichlids colonized African Great Lakes
background extinction - Answer- - the normal rate of extinction for taxa or biota
- rather predictable and steady rate
Mass extinction - Answer- - a statistically significant increase above background
extinction rates
How many mass extinctions have there been? - Answer- 5 mass extinctions
Extinctions are often followed by adaptive radiations
The Permian extinction - Answer- - The largest occurred at the end of Permian where
96% of species were gone
- It lasted over 60,000 years
- In middle of a 500,000 year period of volcanic activity in Siberia (Siberian traps)
K-T extinction - Answer- The K-T boundary; layer contains a high level of iridium,
suggests asteroid impact occurred about 65 mya near cost ofMexico
-Cascade of earthquakes and tsunamis
- Increase in carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere (there was little
oxygen for respiration; ocean acidification)
-Dinosaurs went extinct
-plant diversity was also drastically impacted
Why are current species going extinct? - Answer- -Increase in carbon dioxide leads to
warming temperature
-Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide lowered the pH of the ocean (killing coral reefs)
-We are on a path towards Earth's 6th Mass extinction
Coevolution - Answer- reciprocal evolutionary change between interacting species,
driven by natural selection
Mutualism (with example) - Answer- a positive/positive relationship between species
that raises each other's fitness
- The acacia trees produce specialized
structures to shelter and feed the ant colony, and the ants, in turn, defend the tree
against herbivores.
-Ants and Aphids
, Commensalism - Answer- a positive/neutral relationship that benefits one species but
has neutral effect on other
Woolly rambutan (aka soapberry) vs. Balloon vine - Answer- Example of Genetic
variation fuelling rapid evolution
Wolly rambutan is a native species in Australia
Balloon vine is a non-native species in Australia
-bug used to feed on soapberry
- After balloon vines were introduced, bug beak length has evolved to equal radius of
balloon vine
Hotspot - Answer- selection is strong on both species
Explain the relationship between Rough skinned newt and garter snakes - Answer- -
Newts are toxic
-TTX binds to sodium channels leading to fatal paralysis
- Garter snakes evolved resistance to TTX through amino acid changes in the sodium
channel
Toxicity and resistance are geographically matched
Too much TTX = Safe but Fewer offspring
Too much TTX resistance = Able to eat toxic newts but lower crawling speed
Coevolution can lead to cospeciation (give example) - Answer- Pocket gopher vs.
Chewing louse
-As gophers evolve into new species, their lice also do
-If a lice species becomes extinct, a lice colonizes a new host
Extinction and host colonization can make phylogenies mismatched
attenuated coevolution example - Answer- Less virulent strains of the myxoma virus
were able to spread more effectively than the more virulent ones
Müllerian mimicry - Answer- several harmful or distasteful species resemble each other
in appearance; this facilitates the learned avoidance of predators
- Both toxic, similar appearance to 'team up' against predators
Batesian mimicry - Answer- harmless species resemble harmful or distasteful species
for protection against predators
Müllerian mimicry in Heliconius butterflies - Answer- - Toxic to birds
- Bright warning colouration
- Local subspecies pairs coevolved
- Diversified in tandem
- Parallel phylogenies!
WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
why is the identification of species of asesxual species/prokaryotes challenging? -
Answer- -they share genetic info across diff lineages (horizontal gene transfer)
- makes classification difficult
-horizontal gene transfer is common
-ex. In E coli
Microevolution - Answer- evolutionary change within populations, especially over a short
period.
-adaptive and neutral changes in allele frequency
Macroevolution - Answer- evolution above the species level, large-scale evolutionary
changes that take place over long periods of time
- origination, diversification, extinction of species over time
Some lineages have experienced 'explosive' adaptive radiations - Answer- - Vangas in
Madagascar
- 1.5 million species of beetles
Patterns of species diversity - Answer- -Most diversity in the tropics (near equator)
-Nearly all marsupials are in Australia
-Near the equator there is also a high vertebrate diversity
-The further we go from the equator the lower the vertebrate diversity becomes
Biogeography - Answer- study of the distribution of species across space and time
Calculating rates of origination and extinction - Answer- α = origination rate (new
species)
Ω = extinction rate
Turnover = number of species eliminated and replaced per unit time
fauna - Answer- animals of a particular region, habitat, or geological period
Anagenesis - Answer- wholesale transformation of a lineage from one form to another
- An alternative to splitting lineage or speciation
Punctuated equilibria - Answer- periods of stasis punctuated by brief periods of rapid
change - Often associated with speciation events
,Gradualism - Answer- Slow, gradual morphological changes over time - Can include
speciation events; traditional view
Adaptive radiation - Answer- when α > Ω
α is origination and Ω is extinction
Adaptive radiations can occur when populations evolve to occupy ecological niches in
the absence of competition.
- Recent adaptive radiation as cichlids colonized African Great Lakes
background extinction - Answer- - the normal rate of extinction for taxa or biota
- rather predictable and steady rate
Mass extinction - Answer- - a statistically significant increase above background
extinction rates
How many mass extinctions have there been? - Answer- 5 mass extinctions
Extinctions are often followed by adaptive radiations
The Permian extinction - Answer- - The largest occurred at the end of Permian where
96% of species were gone
- It lasted over 60,000 years
- In middle of a 500,000 year period of volcanic activity in Siberia (Siberian traps)
K-T extinction - Answer- The K-T boundary; layer contains a high level of iridium,
suggests asteroid impact occurred about 65 mya near cost ofMexico
-Cascade of earthquakes and tsunamis
- Increase in carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere (there was little
oxygen for respiration; ocean acidification)
-Dinosaurs went extinct
-plant diversity was also drastically impacted
Why are current species going extinct? - Answer- -Increase in carbon dioxide leads to
warming temperature
-Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide lowered the pH of the ocean (killing coral reefs)
-We are on a path towards Earth's 6th Mass extinction
Coevolution - Answer- reciprocal evolutionary change between interacting species,
driven by natural selection
Mutualism (with example) - Answer- a positive/positive relationship between species
that raises each other's fitness
- The acacia trees produce specialized
structures to shelter and feed the ant colony, and the ants, in turn, defend the tree
against herbivores.
-Ants and Aphids
, Commensalism - Answer- a positive/neutral relationship that benefits one species but
has neutral effect on other
Woolly rambutan (aka soapberry) vs. Balloon vine - Answer- Example of Genetic
variation fuelling rapid evolution
Wolly rambutan is a native species in Australia
Balloon vine is a non-native species in Australia
-bug used to feed on soapberry
- After balloon vines were introduced, bug beak length has evolved to equal radius of
balloon vine
Hotspot - Answer- selection is strong on both species
Explain the relationship between Rough skinned newt and garter snakes - Answer- -
Newts are toxic
-TTX binds to sodium channels leading to fatal paralysis
- Garter snakes evolved resistance to TTX through amino acid changes in the sodium
channel
Toxicity and resistance are geographically matched
Too much TTX = Safe but Fewer offspring
Too much TTX resistance = Able to eat toxic newts but lower crawling speed
Coevolution can lead to cospeciation (give example) - Answer- Pocket gopher vs.
Chewing louse
-As gophers evolve into new species, their lice also do
-If a lice species becomes extinct, a lice colonizes a new host
Extinction and host colonization can make phylogenies mismatched
attenuated coevolution example - Answer- Less virulent strains of the myxoma virus
were able to spread more effectively than the more virulent ones
Müllerian mimicry - Answer- several harmful or distasteful species resemble each other
in appearance; this facilitates the learned avoidance of predators
- Both toxic, similar appearance to 'team up' against predators
Batesian mimicry - Answer- harmless species resemble harmful or distasteful species
for protection against predators
Müllerian mimicry in Heliconius butterflies - Answer- - Toxic to birds
- Bright warning colouration
- Local subspecies pairs coevolved
- Diversified in tandem
- Parallel phylogenies!
