Natural Selection

1.   In natural selection, the selective agent is the

• A.  humans

• B.  mutations

• C.  breeders

• D.  environment

2.   A bird that can easily outcompete other birds for food and that can produce many eggs has a high

• A.  life expectancy

• B.  mutation rate

• C.  fitness

• D.  adaptability

3.   Over time, the climate of an island became drier, which resulted in changes to the populations of various island finch species. Finch populations with a certain beak shape thrived, while those not having that beak shape decreased. Which of the following describes a necessary condition for these changes in the finch populations to occur?

• A.  fewer mutations

   

  Which of these would have the least effect

• B.  limited food resources

• C.  limited beak variations

• D.  overproduction of offspring

4.   Which of these would have the least effect on natural selection in a subspecies of giraffes that is geographically isolated from other subspecies of giraffes? 

• A.   available niches

• B.  existing predators

• C.  chromosome number

• D.  available food resources

5.   Mutations within a DNA sequence are

• A.  natural processes that produce genetic diversity

• B.  natural processes that always affect the phenotype

• C.  unnatural processes that always affect the phenotype

• D.  unnatural processes that are harmful to genetic diversity

6.   Which of the following best illustrates natural selection? 

• A.  An organism with favorable genetic variations will tend to survive and breed successfully.

• B.  A population monopolizes all of the resources in its habitat, forcing other species to migrate.

• C.  A community whose members work together utilizing all existing resources and migratory routes.

• D.  The largest organisms in a species receive the only breeding opportunities.

7.   A small portion of the population that is geographically isolated from the rest of the population runs the risk of decreased.

• A.  genetic drift

• B.  mutation rate

• C.  natural selection

• D.  genetic variation

8.       In his book On the Origin of the Species, Charles Darwin described how species change over time. Which of the following is NOT part of his observations that describes the mechanisms of natural selection? 

• A.  Organisms produce more offspring than can survive.

• B.  Disease and natural disaster will limit population growth.

• C.  Species today descended with modifications from ancestral species.

• D.  Organisms with advantages will survive and reproduce.

9.       Theodosius Dobzhansky discovered that successful species tend to have a wide variety of genes that do not appear to be useful to the species in its present environment. What did this discovery help explain about genetics and the changes that occur in a species over time? 

 

• A.  Environments with more organisms tend to have more successful species.

• B.  Species with greater genetic diversity adapt more easily to changing environments.

• C.  Changing environments prevent species from adapting and surviving.

• D.  Species in a stable environment are more resistant to a changing environment.

10. Fossils of the Durodon, an aquatic mammal that lived over 40 million years ago, provide scientists with evidence for the ancestry of the modern whale. These fossils contained vestigial, or small, underdeveloped hind limbs. This feature helps scientists conclude that the Durodon probably

• A.    was a mix of many different types of animals.

• B.    descended from animals that could walk on land.

• C.    was the apex predator of the ancient aquatic food chain.

• D. needed strong back limbs to propel them through the water.