Mechanisms of Evolution

A physical trait favored by an environmental change can be called an

• adaptation

• extinction

• possibility

• mutation

According to the theory of natural selection, why are some individuals more likely than others to survive and reproduce?

• Some individuals pass on to their offspring new characteristics they have acquired during their lifetimes.

• Some individuals are better adapted to exist in their environment than others are.

• Some individuals do not pass on to their offspring new characteristics they have acquired during their lifetimes.

• Some individuals tend to produce fewer offspring than others in the same environment.

In natural selection, the selective agent is the

• humans
• mutations
• breeders
• environment

Mutations are important because they bring about

• death of the organism in which they develop

• genetic variation needed for a population to evolve

• benefits for the individual, not for the population

• Hardey-Weinberg equilibrium within a population

A few deer wander out of their native woods into a completely new park where no deer had ever been before. They go on to create an entirely new population.

• Genetic Drift
• Natural Selection
• Non-random mating
• Mutation

During gestation (pregnancy), a developing male pig had a change in his genetic code. The result was that he was able to walk and do karate.

• Genetic Drift
• Non-random mating
• Mutation
• Natural Selection

Five hundred years after the deer had established a flourishing population in the park, a few of them venture back to their original woods and have babies with the deer there.

• Genetic Drift
• Mutations
• Non-random mating
• Gene flow

Wolves from the Arizona mesa were transferred to the Colorado Rockies after a forest fire destroyed their habitat. They quickly became part of the local pack and had offspring.

• Mutation
• Natural Selection
• Genetic Drift
• Gene Flow

What does the image represent?

• Founder effect
• Bottleneck effect
• Natural Selection
• Mutations

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. This adaptation is becoming more frequent in the population. What mechanism of evolution is this?

• Natural Selection

• Non-random mating

• Gene Flow

• Genetic Drift