Reproduction

Question 1

in evolutionary language, what is fitness described as

Answer 1

the ability of an organism to produce viable offspring that can reproduce viable offspring

Question 2

what is fitness a function of

Answer 2

a broad range of evolutionary pressures

Question 3

what is sex

Answer 3

gene recombination

Question 4

what are the 2 main considerations of sex

Answer 4

the origin of sex

the maintenance of sex

Question 5

what does each individual sperm contain

Answer 5

a unique set of genes derived from the father

half the genetic info required to make a new human being

Question 6

what does each individual egg contain

Answer 6

a unique set of genes derived from the mother

half the genetic info required to make a new human being

Question 7

when sperm and egg fuse the zygote is

Answer 7

diploid

Question 8

describe sexual reproduction using cells

Answer 8

2 cells make 1

Question 9

describe asexual reproduction using cells

Answer 9

1 cell makes 2

Question 10

why should populations of female clones outcompete sexually reproducing males and females

Answer 10

males don’t produce off spring

Question 11

what is the term for the way organisms reproduce without sex

Answer 11

clones

Question 12

in organisms that can reproduce both sexually and asexually, what determines what strategy they use

Answer 12

evolutionary pressures

Question 13

what may play a major role in sex

Answer 13

parasites

Question 14

what does sex create

Answer 14

new combinations of genes which may or may not have elevated fitness compared to the parents

Question 15

how has the sickle cell trade evolved

Answer 15

under the constant evolutionary pressure of malaria

Question 16

what does the malaria parasite invade

Answer 16

red blood cells

Question 17

how does sickle cell haemoglobin differ from normal haemoglobin

Answer 17

it becomes solid when O2 is removed, changing the shape of the red blood cell

Question 18

is it more costly to produce males or females

Answer 18

males

Question 19

what are the 2 Important factors in sex

Answer 19

group selection

selfish gene

Question 20

what is Mullers’ Ratchet

Answer 20

a powerful reason why reproducing clonal may not be a good idea in populations

Question 21

what are the 3 main ideas of mullers ratchet that support clonal reproduction

Answer 21

deleterious mutations will simply happen by chance
back mutation is rare
one round of sex can remove harmful material

Question 22

why is parasitism a strong selective pressure in sex

Answer 22

most organism are infested with parasites

Question 23

why do parasites and pathogens have a reproductive advantage

Answer 23

short generation times

Question 24

why are smaller populations more vulnerable to disease and environmental change

Answer 24

they lack genes

Question 25

what is the bottleneck effect

Answer 25

if a large population crashes, it will loose some of its genetic material. even if it recovers in a short time it will have lost many genes

Question 26

why are large, stable populations less vulnerable to extinction

Answer 26

they have genetic diversity

Question 27

what happens when populations crash

Answer 27

they loose genes and therefore alleles which could be critical to survival

Question 28

what can be worse than harmful mutations in clones

Answer 28

beneficial ones

Question 29

what is selective interference

Answer 29

the effects clones have on each other

Question 30

what is the selfish gene all about

Answer 30

an Individual getting their genes to the next generation

Question 31

what determines the level of intraspecific sperm competition

Answer 31

female mating frequency

Question 32

what do males prefer to mate with

Answer 32

non-mated females