Chapter 5 - Evolution

Question 1

What are the two levels of biological diversity? What do they refer to?

Answer 1

The two levels of biological diversity are species diversity and genetic diversity.
Species diversity describes the number of different species to successfully mate and produce viable offspring.
Genetic diversity refers to the amount of variation in inherited traits between individuals of the same species.

Question 2

Define taxonomy.

Answer 2

Taxonomy is the science of classification according to the inferred (presumed) relationships among organisms.

Question 3

What are the levels (or taxa) of classification?

Answer 3

King Phillip Came Over From Great Spain.
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species

Question 4

What is binomial nomenclature? What language is used?

Answer 4

Binomial nomenclature was created by Carl Linnaeus (Swedish botanist). It is a method of naming organisms by using two names-the genus name and the species name. These create scientific names and are italicized. Latin (and sometime Greek) words are used for classification.

Question 5

Define species.

Answer 5

A species is a group of organisms that look alike and can interbreed under natural conditions to produce fertile offspring.

Question 6

What is the Five Kingdom System and who created it?

Answer 6

The five kingdom system was created by Robert Wittakerin in 1969 and it included Plantae, Animalia, Protista, Monera, and Fungi.

Question 7

What is the Six Kingdom System and who created it?

Answer 7

The six Kingdom System was created by Carl Woese and colleagues in the 1970s and it included Plantae, Animalia, Protista, Fungi, Eubacteria, and Archae-bacteria.

Question 8

What is the three domain system?

Answer 8

The three domain system includes Eubacteria, Eukaryota, and Archaebacteria. Plantae, animal is and fungi is found in the Eukaryota domain.

Question 9

What are eukaryotes? Which kingdom falls under this category?

Answer 9

A eukaryotes is a cell which contains a nucleus. Protista falls under this category.

Question 10

What are prokaryotes? Which kingdom falls under this category?

Answer 10

Prokaryotes are cores that lack a nucleus. Eubacteria and Archaebacteria falls under this category (aka monera).

Question 11

Define phylogeny.

Answer 11

Phylogeny is the history of the evolution of a species or a group of organisms.

Question 12

What is The Mastigophora?

Answer 12

The Mastigophora was the first simple cell.

Question 13

What is the dichotomous key?

Answer 13

The dichotomous key is a two-part key used to identify living things. Di means two.

Question 14

What is palaeontology?

Answer 14

Palaeontology is the study of fossils.

Question 15

What are the evidences for evolution?

Answer 15

1. Fossils
2. Anatomy
3. Biochemical evidence
4. Artificial selection
5. Biogeographical evidence

Question 16

How are fossils part of the evidence for evolution? Is it direct or indirect evidence?

Answer 16

Fossilized remains provide scientists with direct physical evidence of past life and evolution. The animals today are evolved species of the fossilized animals which palaeontologists find.

Question 17

What is radiometric dating? When is it used? What is the half life?

Answer 17

Radiometric dating is a technique used to determine the age of a rock or a fossil. It measures the rate of decay of radioactive isotopes of the rock. The half life is the amount of time it takes for half of a sample of the isotope to decay. The half life of any particular isotope is constant.

Question 18

How does biogeography provide evidence for evolution? What was Pangea?

Answer 18

Biogeography is the study of geographic distribution of life on Earth. Pangea was the huge island that all of Earth’s continents were a part of 225 million years ago. With continental drifting by the tectonic plates, this island separated. If fossils are found of the same species are found only in one continent, this indicates that the species evolved AFTER the breakup of planets.

Question 19

What are endemic species and why are these of great interest to biologists?

Answer 19

Endemic is a term used to describe a species that is found in one location only. These species suggest that they evolved in isolation, and scientists hypothesize that the ancestors of endemic species came from other land masses.

Question 20

What provides evidence of evolution from anatomy?

Answer 20

Homologous features, analogous features, and vestigial features provides evidence for evolution from anatomy.

Question 21

What are homologous features?

Answer 21

Homologous features are features with similar structures but different functions. They are characteristics which are shared by related species because they have been inherited in some way by a common ancestor. This provides evidence for evolution.
Ex: bones in the front fins of a whale, human arm and chimpanzee arm are homologous.

Question 22

What are analogous features?

Answer 22

Analogous features are features that are similar in appearance and function, but do not appear to have the same evolutionary origin.
Ex: insect wing and bird wing

Question 23

What are vestigial features? What is an explanation of these features?

Answer 23

Vestigial features are rudimentary structures with no useful function. A reasonable explanation for vestigial features is that they once have served some function in an ancient ancestor.

Question 24

What evidence of evolution is found from biochemistry?

Answer 24

Biochemistry can help find similarities in DNA molecules and specific proteins. Proteins make up many structures in organisms, and are made up of long chains of amino acids. These amino acids create a unique sequence. Over time, similar proteins of different species become increasingly different. The more differences there are in amino acid sequences, the less similar species are.

Question 25

What evidence of evolution does artificial selection provide?

Answer 25

Artificial selection is the process of humans selecting and breeding individuals with the desired traits. Since humans can use artificial selection to produce changes in different species in short periods of times this indicates that similar changes could occur in nature over millions of years and many generations.

Question 26

Who was Lamarck and what was his theory of evolution?

Answer 26

Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet Chevalier de Lamarck, a student created Lamarck’s Theory in the early 1800s. He believed that organisms had a “force” or “desire” that led them to change for the better. He reasoned that the use and disuse of certain structures could be passed on to the offspring. This is the concept of inheritance of acquired characteristics, which was a false concept.
Ex: Giraffe’s necks gradually grew through generations to reach higher leaves.

Question 27

Who was Charles Darwin and what did he do? Who was Thomas Malthus and what did he teach Darwin?

Answer 27

Charles Darwin was a naturalist who sailed around the world in 1831 to study organisms found in different locations. He was interested in artificial selection and thought that the environment could select wild species to do the same. Darwin was influenced by Thomas Malthus, who showed Darwin that all species produce more offspring than are able to survive.

Question 28

Who was Russell Wallace?

Answer 28

Alfred Russell Wallace was a naturalist who had independently came to the same conclusion as Darwin. He assisted Darwin and colleagues to create the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection.

Question 29

What is the first observation of the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection?

Answer 29

Observation #1: Individuals within any species exhibit many inherited variations.

Question 30

What was the second observation of the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection?

Answer 30

Observation #2: Every generation produces more offspring than can survive to reproduce.

Question 31

What was the third observation of the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection?

Answer 31

Observation #3: Populations of species tend to remain stable in size.

Question 32

What was the first inference in the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection?

Answer 32

Inference #1: Individuals of the same species are in a constant struggle for survival.

Question 33

What was the second inference in the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection?

Answer 33

Inference #2: Individuals with more favourable variations are more likely to survive and pass these variations on. Survival is not random. This is Natural Selection.

Question 34

What is the third inference in the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection?

Answer 34

Inference #3: Since individuals with more favourable variations contribute proportionately more offspring to succeeding generations, their favourable inherited variations will become more common. This is evolution.

Question 35

What is natural selection? What is an example of it?

Answer 35

Natural selection is the result of differential reproductive success of individuals caused by variations in their inherited characteristics.
Ex: Cheetahs increasing speed through generations.

Question 36

What are the 2 biological processes that variability arises from?

Answer 36

The two biological processes are mutation and sexual reproduction.

Question 37

What is a mutation? What are the 3 types of mutations?

Answer 37

A mutation is a change in the DNA sequence in a chromosome. Mutations are relatively rare.
One type of mutation is a neutral mutation which has no effect on an individual’s fitness (an organism’s reproductive success).
Harmful mutation is a mutation that reduces an organism’s mutation.
Beneficial mutation enhances an organism’s fitness.
Most mutations are neutral or harmful.

Question 38

What is asexual reproduction and how does it relate to variability?

Answer 38

Asexual reproduction is the production of offspring from a single parent. The offspring then receives an identical copy of its parent’s DNA. There is very little variability in asexually reproducing species and few traits that can be selected by natural selection.

Question 39

What is sexual reproduction and why are sexually reproducing species so variable?

Answer 39

Sexual reproduction includes two parents.
Reasons for variability:
1. Offspring has 2 copies of each gene from each parent. The offspring therefore has a combination of genes different from either parent, therefore will have its own unique sets of traits.
2. The assortment of genes that an offspring inherits from either parent is determined randomly, so siblings from S.R are not identical to each other.
3. Sexually reproducing species choose different mates so the new combinations will pass down through generations.

Question 40

What is speciation?

Answer 40

Speciation is the formation of new species.

Question 41

What is allopatric speciation? What is the 3-step process of it?

Answer 41

Allopatric speciation is speciation by reproductive isolation.
Process:
1. Physical barrier separates a single interbreeding species into two or more isolated groups. Any mutations that occur will not affect the other group.
2. Natural selection works on the separated groups independently, resulting in inherited differences in the two populations.
3. In time, the differences will become so pronounced that the groups can no longer mate and will create a new species.

Question 42

How can speciation occur in a population occupying only a single geographic region?

Answer 42

Sudden mutations that cause offspring to have double or more the normal number of chromosomes can cause speciation in a single geographic region. These individuals may be healthy and vigorous and can only reproduce with only other similar polyploids.

Question 43

What is the Theory of Gradualism? What is an example of this?

Answer 43

The idea that speciation takes place slowly and gradually. Ex: fossils with small changes over time.

Question 44

What is the Theory of Punctuated Equilibrium? What is an example of this?

Answer 44

The idea that species evolve rapidly, followed by a period of little or no change.
Ex: many species evolve rapidly in evolutionary time
- speciation usually occurs in small isolated populations, so no intermediate fossils are very rare.
- after an initial burst of Evolution, species are well adapted so do not change significantly over long periods of time.

Question 45

What is divergent evolution?

Answer 45

Divergent evolution is the evolution into many different species.

Question 46

What is convergent evolution?

Answer 46

Convergent evolution is when organisms that are not closely related independently evolve into similar traits in response to the need to adapt to similar environments.

Question 47

What does mya stand for?

Answer 47

Million years ago.

Question 48

What occurred 65 mya? What era was this the end and beginning of? What caused this event?

Answer 48

The mass extinction of dinosaurs occurred. It happened at the end of the Cenozoic Era and the beginning of the Mesozoic Era. The asteroid, Chicxulub Crater is thought to have been the impact site. The debris would have blocked out sunlight for a long time which effects photosynthesis.

Question 49

What occurred 245 mya? What Era was this? What happened and what caused it?

Answer 49

The Permian Extinction occurred, which was at the end of the Palaeozoic Era. 90% of marine species were eradicated. It is believed that this was due to the tectonic plate movements.

Question 50

What is embryology?

Answer 50

An evolutionary relationship among species that may be evidenced in embryologic development.

Question 51

What is “Lamarckism”?

Answer 51

Lamarckism is used to describe the concept of inheritance of acquired characteristics. Inheritance of acquired characteristics is the false concept of inheritance of features acquired DURING the life of an individual.