Question 1

Which of the following is NOT characteristic of macroevolution?

Accepted Answer

The gradual adaptation of a population to its environment

Question 2

Which one of the following statements is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

The morphological species concept relies upon identifying genotypic diversity and comparing the nucleotides of genes.

Question 3

Speciation can occur as a result of reproductive isolation. Reproductive isolation can occur when individuals in two populations of organisms:

Accepted Answer

All of the choices are correct.

Question 4

Which of the following types of reproductive barriers separates two species that occasionally mate but in whom the sperm do not produce the right enzymes to enter the egg?

Accepted Answer

Gametic isolation

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT a type of postzygotic barrier?

Accepted Answer

Hybrid competition

Question 6

Two species interbreed occasionally and produce vigorous, fertile hybrids. When the hybrids breed with each other or with either parent species, however, the offspring are feeble or sterile. These species are separated by:

Accepted Answer

Hybrid breakdown

Question 7

Which of the following prevents closely related species from interbreeding even when their ranges overlap?

Accepted Answer

Reproductive barriers

Question 8

Which one of the following is an example of a hybrid that is both vigorous and sterile?

Accepted Answer

A mule

Question 9

The Monterey pine and Bishop's pine inhabit some of the same areas of central California. The Monterey pine releases pollen in February, while the Bishop's pine does so in April. This is an example of ________ isolation.

Accepted Answer

Temporal

Question 10

The likelihood of allopatric speciation increases when a population is ________ and ________ the broader range of the species.

Accepted Answer

Small ... isolated from

Question 11

An evolutionary event divides a freshwater snail species into two isolated populations. Erosion eventually lowers the range and brings the two populations together again, but when they mate, the resulting hybrids all produce sterile young. This scenario is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Allopatric speciation

Question 12

Which of the following situations would be most conducive to rapid speciation? (Assume the conditions described persist as long as necessary.)

Accepted Answer

D) Four circus wolves escape on Long Island. To everyone's surprise, they establish a small but viable population, coexisting successfully with humans in parks and suburban environments. The population is physically isolated from other wolves.

Question 13

Which of the following are examples of polyploid plants?

Accepted Answer

All of the choices are polyploid plants.

Question 14

Which one of the following is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

Bread wheat is the ancestral diploid wheat plant.

Question 15

The emergence of many diverse species from a common ancestor is called:

Accepted Answer

Adaptive radiation

Question 16

Which of the following statements about the Galápagos finches is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

Each island in the Galápagos chain has one and only one isolated, unique species of Darwin's finch.

Question 17

Sympatric speciation commonly occurs through ________ in plants, but is more likely to occur through ________ in animals.

Accepted Answer

Self-pollination ... polyploidy and other genetic mechanisms

Question 18

In a hybrid zone, ________ can occur if the reproductive barrier between two species is weak, as seen among cichlids in the murky waters of modern Lake Victoria.

Accepted Answer

Fusion

Question 19

Which of the following descriptions best represents the gradualism model of speciation?

Accepted Answer

Speciation occurs as a result of the accumulation of many small changes.

Question 20

The emergence of a new plant species over a brief period of time, followed by a long period of little change, is consistent with which of the following theories?

Accepted Answer

Punctuated equilibrium

Question 21

One of the key contributions of the punctuated equilibrium model is that it helps explain why transitional fossils are more common than Darwin would have predicted.

Accepted Answer

By suggesting that speciation tends to be rare and certain common fossil species remain unchanged for long time spans.

Speciation and Evolutionary Mechanisms: Study Guide

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