Natural Selection/Evolution, SSA Worksheet Review

What is Natural Selection?

• The process by which humans breed a species for certain traits

• The process in which inherited traits of a population change over many generations

• The process by which Charles Darwin noted the differences in finches while visiting the Galápagos Islands

• The process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce

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A scientist described two modern-day species as sharing a common ancestor. What does it mean when two species share a common ancestor?

• It means that the two species are actually the same species

• It means that one of the species evolved from other species

• It means that both species evolved from one species that lived in the past

• It means that the two species share all the same traits

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How does the anatomy and structure shown below provide evidence of evolution?

• Fossils are generally found in sedimentary layers formed from sediments of sand, dust, mud, soil and other particles formed at the bottom of water

• There are different types of fossils (petrified

  remains, molds, casts, frozen remains, footprints, and amber)

• Comparing the anatomy of different organisms reveals basic similarities even if their functions are different

• The bones in the pictures above were found in the same layer of rock and are assembled incorrectly

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Scientists are studying the effects of climate change on the Baltic Sea. Some scientists predict that if current trends continue, the Baltic Sea will become less salty, and it will contain less dissolved oxygen. Because of these changes, the Baltic Sea will have less biodiversity. The location of the Baltic Sea is shown on the map below.

Which statement best explains why biodiversity in the Baltic Sea could decrease if these changes occur?

• Fewer types of plants and animals are found in warm water than in cool water.

• Plant and animals adapted for living in saltwater will grow more slowly in water than has less salt

• Plants and animals adapted for living in saltier conditions will not be able to survive and reproduce

• Animals adapted for living in warm water will eat all the plants and animals adapted for living in cool water

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Which of the following is most likely to cause a change in the genetic traits in an isolated population of a ground-dwelling lizard species?

• The exposure of an individual lizard in the population to radiation that causes a mutation that is not passed on to the offspring

• An unusually dry summer in the lizard population’s ecosystem

• The introduction of an invasive predator that preys on the brightest-colored individuals in the lizard population

• A fast-moving wildfire that burns the canopy of the trees in the lizard population’s ecosystem

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The white-tailed ptarmigan lives at high elevations on mountains that receive a lot of snow in the winter. During the summer, the ptarmigans’ feathers are mottled brown. The birds lose the brown feathers and grow a new set of white feathers during the winter. Scientists are concerned that rising global temperatures will affect the white-tailed ptarmigan.

If global climate change leads to the elimination of snow in the habitat of the white-tailed ptarmigans, which adaptation is most likely to occur over many generations?

• Birds with white feather in areas without winter snow will be easier for predators to find. Over time this could lead to white-tailed ptarmigans that have brown feathers throughout the year

• Birds with brown feathers in areas without winter snow will be

  easier for predators to find. Over time this could lead to white-tailed ptarmigans that have white feathers throughout the year.

• Birds with white feathers will be easier to see on the ground in the summer. Over time this could lead to white-tailed ptarmigans that have white feathers throughout the year

• Birds with brown feathers will be easier to see on the ground in the winter. Over time this could lead to white-tailed ptarmigans that have brown feathers throughout the year

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Lake Victoria in East Africa is home to many species of fish called cichlids. In 1954 the predatory Nile perch was introduced to Lake Victoria. The Nile perch became the dominant fish species in the lake by the mid-1980s. The number of cichlid species in the lake decreased as the Nile perch population increased. The perch preyed heavily on the cichlid species that fed on the algae and debris on the bottom of the lake. Algae in the lake increased, and oxygen levels decreased. The surface area of the gills of some of the cichlid species has increased in just over 20 years.

Which statement explains the increase in gill surface area seen in some of Lake Victoria’s cichlids?

• Increased gill surface area has allowed the cichlids to change their diet and avoid competing with the Nile perch

• Increased gill surface has allowed the cichlids to be camouflaged and avoid being eaten by the Nile perch

• Increased gill surface has allowed the cichlids to leave Lake Victoria and establish populations in nearby bodies of water

• Increased gill surface has allowed the cichlids to better absorb the limited oxygen in the water

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The organism in this photo is a daphnia, or water flea. Daphnia are tiny aquatic organisms that live in most freshwater habitats. Adults range from less than 1 to 5 mm in length. They are good swimmers and eat mostly algae. Daphnia become mature at 5 to 10 days, and an adult female can produce up to 100 eggs every 3-4 days during its 2-month life span. When harmful algae rapidly increase in the daphnia’s environment, daphnia can develop adaptations to tolerate the negative effects of the algae within 10 years.

What characteristic of the daphnia allows the population to adapt to environmental change?

• Its small size

• Its short generation time.

• Its freshwater environment

• Its herbivorous diet.

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A group of scientists studied some trees in a pine forest. In the densely forested areas, the trees were within 1 m of each other. The scientist observed that these trees had dead branches near the ground. They measured the height above the ground at which the first living branch were found on different sized trees in the forest. Then they repeated this procedure on the same kind of trees in an open meadow. This graph summarized the scientists’ data.

What inference is best supported by this data?

• Pine trees in a dense forest can grow taller than pine trees in an open meadow

• Pine trees in a dense forest compete for sunlight with the surrounding trees

• Pine trees in a dense forest are part of a less-complex food web than pine trees in an open meadow

• Pine trees in a dense forest have more living branches than pine trees in an open meadow

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The house sparrow was first introduced to New York in 1851. It is now distributed across most of North America. As the species expanded its range, it began to live in environments that were different from its original habitat. The birds now vary in size, depending on their geographic location. The map shows the distribution of house sparrows by size.

What is the most likely explanation for the body-size distribution of house sparrows shown on the map?

• Cold temperatures in the North favor the survival of populations of larger sparrows over populations of smaller sparrows

• High elevations in the West provide for survival advantage of populations of larger sparrows over populations of smaller sparrows

• Warm temperatures in the South allowed populations of larger sparrows to survive over populations of smaller sparrows

• Coastal environments in the east tended to give a survival advantage to populations of larger sparrows over populations of smaller sparrows

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