Natural Selection Semester Review

Average beak sizes of the seed-eating medium ground finch on one of the Galapagos Islands are shown in the diagram above. During wet years, all types of seeds are abundant. The medium ground finch prefers to eat small seeds that are easy to crush. However, during droughts (dry years), when small seeds are not as abundant, they eat the larger seeds on the island. How might an extended period of drought influence the ground finch population?

• The birds with smaller beaks would be more numerous.

• The birds with larger beaks would be more numerous.

• Drought decreases seed availability, but has no influence on the ground finch.

• Drought increases seed availability, and all ground finches would be more numerous.

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The Asian shore crab invaded parts of the eastern coast of the United States about 15 years ago. The Asian shore crab preys on clams. In the time since the Asian shore crab arrived, the average shell thickness has increased in the clam population. Which of the following is the most likely reason that this increase in shell thickness has occurred?

• Clams with thick shells attract more crabs than clams without thick shells.

• Clams with thick shells grow in larger colonies than clams without thick shells.

• Clams with thick shells survive and reproduce more successfully than clams without thick shells.

• Clams with thick shells catch more food per day than clams without thick shells.

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A population of mice is evenly divided into two groups, and each group is placed on an isolated island with no existing mouse population. Which statement best explains the difference in the mouse populations on Island A and Island B at the end of the 20 years?

• A. On Island A, the allele for gray fur was dominant, while on Island B, the allele for brown fur was dominant.

• Conditions on Island B favored the brown-furred individuals, while both fur colors were evenly advantaged on Island A.

• More brown mice were in the half of the original population that was sent to Island B than in the group sent to Island A.

• The recapturing of mice on Island A and Island B was done differently.

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Antibiotic resistance can vary within a population of bacteria. The diagram below represents the changes in a population of bacteria as a result of exposure to an antibiotic over time.

The changes in the population are most likely the result of which of the following?

• exponential growth

• genetic crosses

• immigration

• natural selection

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Thrips are insects that feed on the pollen and flowers of certain plants. The size of a thrip population depends on the number of flowers available. Which graph best represents changes in a population of thrips if winter was longer than usual and the summer was too cool and dry for many flowers to bloom?

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Use the graph to answer the question.

Which two frog species would be most likely to interbreed?

• Wood and pickerel

• Bullfrog and green

• Peeper and leopard

• Tree and pickerel

During the process of natural selection, a species that lacks the variations necessary to adapt to a changing environment will most likely

• become extinct

• mutate

• fossilize

• become dormant

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In order for a species to survive, it must be able to?

• reproduce sucessfully

• destroy competing species

• consume a wide variety of food

• maintain a constant body temperature

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