WorksheetsSTAAR Review day 5 (Natural selection & Eco. Relationships)
Total questions: 17
Worksheet time: 25mins
Blue flying fish live in the upper layers of the ocean. Blue flying fish have enlarged pectoral fins that enable them to glide for 400 meters above the ocean surface and appear to fly. Which statement best describes how natural selection led to enlarged pectoral fins in blue flying fish?
Fish were able to glide out of the ocean and into other bodies of water to mate with other species.
Fish were able to live both on land and in the water as a result of
their larger pectoral fins.
Fish with enlarged pectoral fins were able to glide out of the ocean to escape predators, increasing their fitness.
Fish changed their DNA to express enlarged pectoral fins, changing
the allele frequency of the population.
What will most likely happen to a trait that has a high survival value in a population?
The trait will increase in frequency
The trait will not be inherited
The trait will decrease in frequency
The gene for the trait will mutate
Natural selection changes ____________, not individuals!
organisms
populations
communities
ecosystems
Organisms that are not well adapted to their environments will _______________
survive and reproduce
have more food
create new mutations
die
(STAAR) The green frog (Lithobates clamitans clamitans) is found in many parts of the United States. The table contains some information about this frog. Why does the ability to lay 1,000 to 5,000 eggs increase the fitness of the species L. clamitans clamitans?
It increases opportunities for offspring to compete for limited resources.
It increases the probability that some offspring will survive long enough to reproduce.
It increases the probability that moving water will promote gene flow from one population to another.
It increases the chance of the recombination of alleles, leading to genetic drift in the population.
(STAAR) Which condition is essential for natural selection to result in a new species?
Unlimited resources
An inherited variation
A static environment
A long life span
(STAAR) The diagram shows many finch species that originated from a single ancestral finch species in the Galapagos Islands. Which of the following statements best explains why many different finch species originated from the single ancestral species?
Populations adapted to environmental pressures.
Recessive traits in populations were eliminated over time.
Individuals acquired unique characteristics during their lifetimes.
Random mutation caused some individuals to have harmful traits.
Some species of millipedes will roll into a ball when threatened, while other species of millipedes can secrete noxious chemicals from their bodies.
These adaptations allow the millipedes to —
survive in different temperatures
avoid different types of predators
conserve different amounts of energy
blend into different types of environments
Adaptations that result from natural selection are expected to increase the fitness of an organism. In terms of natural selection, which of the following best describes fitness?
Being able to escape from predators
Being among the strongest organisms in a population
Being able to survive, find a mate, and produce offspring
Being able to survive long enough to reach the adult stage
The feeding niches of three bird species are shown in the diagram below.
What is the advantage of these different feeding niches for the birds?
Less energy available as the birds feed higher in the tree
Less competition for food
Fewer biotic resources for each bird species
Fewer abiotic resources for each bird species
Cattle egrets are birds that live near large grazing animals. They feed on insects that are exposed as the grazing animals walk through grass. A scientist theorizes that these species could eventually develop a mutualistic relationship. Which of the following situations, if observed, would support this scientist's theory?
Cattle are not affected by cattle egrets.
Cattle are seen feeding on cattle egrets.
Cattle egrets begin to eat ticks living on cattle.
Cattle egrets begin to draw nutrients from cattle.
The graph below shows the range of water conditions preferred by three species of fish in an Ozark stream.
Water with which of these conditions would cause the most competition for resources among ALL three species of fish?
Very warm, very clear, and very slow
Very cold, very clear, and very fast
Mild temperatures, some suspended particles, flows at medium speed
Mild temperatures, some suspended particles, flows very fast
Which situation best represents a mutualistic relationship?
An armadillo rooting in the soul at the base of an oak tree
An orchid being pollinated by a nectar collecting wasp
A tapeworm absorbing nutrients from the intestine of a frog
A human losing blood to a feeding mosquito
Some relationships between different organisms are shown in the table.
Which table correctly identifies each type of interaction described?
Fleas attach to the skin of warm-blooded animals like dogs. The fleas feed on the blood of dogs, and they cause the dogs to itch. What is the relationship between fleas and dogs?
Fleas are hosts, and dogs are their parasites.
Fleas are predators, and dogs are their prey.
Dogs are hosts, and fleas are their parasites.
Dogs are predators, and fleas are their prey.
Leaf-cutter ants harvest leaves and carry them to fungi that convert plant material into a usable form for the ants to digest. The fungi depend on the leaves for nutrients. The ants also produce an antibiotic on their bodies that helps protect the fungi from harmful bacteria.
Which of these explains the relationship between the leaf-cutter ants and the fungi?
Predation, because the ants feed on the fungi
Mutualism, because both the ants and the fungi benefit from each other
Competition, because both organisms consume the same resource for energy
Commensalism, because the ants receive energy from the fungi and the fungi are unaffected
A student performed an investigation in which two ivy plants were planted in two separate containers. One of the containers had earthworms mixed in with the soil, and the other container had soil and no earthworms. The plants were given the same amount of water and exposed to the same amount of sunlight. The student observed that after several weeks of growth, the plant exposed to earthworms appeared to be healthier and exhibited more growth. To conclude that the relationship between the plant and the earthworm is an example of mutualism, the student must perform follow-up investigations that do which of the following?
Determine whether the earthworms damage the soil in any way
Determine whether the earthworms benefit from being with the plant
Determine whether the water given to the plant is unpolluted
Determine whether the other plant in the investigation suffers as a result of not being exposed to earthworms
