Mechanisms of Evolution

This term refers to the total genetic information found in a population; the complete collection of all the alleles found in a population

• Gene library

• Genome

• Gene pool

• Allele pool

This is one of the mechanisms of evolution; it occurs when individuals move into or out of a population, either by physically arriving or leaving, or by being born or dying

• Gene flow

• Founder effect

• Natural selection

• Microevolution

This is one of the mechanisms of evolution; it is a continuous process in which organisms with traits that make them better-adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce than organisms without such adaptations

• Directional selection

• Microevolution

• Gene flow

• Natural selection

This occurs when a large population is drastically reduced by an event such as a natural disaster; the population's new gene pool only contains alleles from the survivors

• Founder effect

• Bottleneck effect

• Meteor effect

• Natural selection

This is the process that ultimately creates new variations and changes in DNA; leads to the creation of new alleles

• Mutation

• Microevolution

• Natural selection

• Gene flow / genetic drift

Which of the following is an example of the bottleneck effect?

• Cheetah populations reach their lowest levels with reduced diversity and as they rebound are so genetically similar they appear to be inbred.

• Affected individuals with blue skin can trace their ancestry back to one of the first settlers in the region.

• The environment of a fox population changes and over time foxes who are white survive and pass on their genes to their offspring.

• Humans choose two dogs they like the characteristics of and breed them together.

Genetic drift is change in the allele frequency of a population due to...

• random chance

• natural selection

• non-random mating (sexual selection)

• artificial selection

Which of the following is an example of the founder effect?

• Bald Eagles are hunted until near extinction, population recovers.
• Small group of iguanas floats to an island, starts a new population.
• Red fox pups are more likely to survive in a snowy environment if they are born white.
• Farmer chooses seeds from largest apples to plant next year.  This results in larger apples from year to year.

Bahamian female birds preferred mating with white-feathered males and produces more white-feathered offspring than dark feathered offspring. Which process apples to this scenario?

• Gene Flow

• Natural Selection

• Mutation

• Non-Random Mating (Sexual Selection)

Bats are common in Texas, especially in rocky regions. Bats with longer hang claws have demonstrated higher fitness because of their ability to cling to rock while resting.

• Adaptation
• Non-random mating
• Gene Flow
• Mutation