1. Darwin's ideas about the evolution of species were extremely creative and insightful, but they were not solely the result of his intuitive genius. Several other scientists and thinkers influenced Darwin’s perceptions of nature and directly or indirectly contributed to his formulation of evolutionary theory.

Which of the following CORRECTLY lists the man and the idea that was/were important to Darwin in his evolutionary synthesis?

A. Charles Lyell : geologic processes shape the Earth and take place over a very long period of time; change is slow and gradual, not catastrophic
B. Thomas Malthus : human populations increase geometrically, but food production increases arithmetically; at some point in time, humans will outstrip their ability to produce food leading to human conflicts, war, famine, poverty.
C. Gregor Mendel; parents pass on to their offspring discrete heritable factors
D. A and B
E.A, B and C

2. Which of the following statements is true?
A. Stromatolites are eukaryotic algal assemblages found currently on the  shores of Lake Superior
B. The Martian meteorite, (ALH84001), provided conclusive evidence that primitive, bacteria-like life forms once existed in the past environment of Mars when Mars was much warmer and wetter than today.
C. The appearance of oxygen and ozone in Earth's atmosphere can be attributed to the evolution of photosynthetic prokaryotes
D. The first prokaryote was most likely a photosynthetic and aerobic organism similar to those found near hydrothermal vents toda
E. The infectious agent of tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is similar in many ways to early archaeal prokaryotes

3. With respect to the origin of life, which of the following has NOT been demonstrated in the lab?
A. Spontaneous formation of organic molecules, including amino acids, from inorganic gases and water
B. Formation of polymers from monomers by heating
C. Spontaneous formation of RNA strands from a heated mix of nucleotides
D. Formation of lipid and protein spheres with membrane-like properties
E.The spontaneous generation of a working cell from an assembly of DNA, RNA and proteins

4. Which of the following was NOT a component of Darwin’s theory of evolution?
A. Descent with modification
B. Natural selection
C. Gradualism
D. Inheritance of acquired characteristics
E. None of the above, all are part of the theory

5. Which of the following is NOT a defining characteristic of all living things?
A. All living things use the same genetic code
B. All living things sense and respond to their environment
C. All living things exchange materials and/or information with their environment
D. All living things share a common evolutionary history
E. All living things reproduce sexually

6. Approximately 2 million years ago, an ancestral population of bears split into two groups that became geographically separated from one another in different parts of North America. The subpopulation to the north gradually became adapted to the Arctic habitat while the southern subpopulation specialized on habitats in more temperate zones. Over time, the subpopulations diverged such that two distinct species were recognized -- polar bears and brown bears. This is an example of:
A. Allopatric speciation
B. Sympatric speciation
C. Hybrid breakdown
D. Stabilizing selection
E. Convergent evolution

7. Which of the following can be defined as the "tendency of species from different evolutionary lineages to come to resemble each other due to similar selective pressures"?
A. Disruptive selection
B. Divergent evolution
C. Artificial selection
D. Adaptive radiation
E. Convergent evolution

8. Which of the following is an example of a set of homologous structures?
A. Wings of butterflies and wings of bats
B. Roots of cactuses and the leaves of trees
C. Forearms of humans and forelegs of horses
D. Fins of sharks and flippers of penguins
E. A and D

9. Which of the following was NOT a contributor to the low genetic diversity of cheetahs?
A. Inbreeding
B. Inability of females to recognize the spotted coloration of males
C. Environmental conditions that forced the population through a bottleneck
D. Hybrid sterility
E. B and D

10. In which of the following categories do humans NOT belong?
A. Mammals
B. Prosimians
C. Anthropoids
D. Hominids
E. Humans belong in all of the above categories

11. Which of the following statements concerning the changes from pre-human to human is correct?
A. The development of upright posture is believed to have allowed early ancestors of humans to climb trees more efficiently.
B. The development of improved tool and weapon use is believed to have increased the ability of early ancestors of humans to maintain a high fat and protein diet
C. The enlargement of the brain of early ancestors of humans is believed to have fostered the development of forward-facing eyes to allow better depth perception
D. The development of less-specialized teeth of early ancestors of humans is believed to have been related to an increase in social interaction and the need for facial expression
E. All of the above

12. Which of the following statements is true?
A. Humans are descended from apes
B. Humans are descended from chimps
C. Humans are descended in a linear fashion from Neanderthals
D. Humans are the only extant hominid species
E. Humans are the only hominid species that has ever lived

13. Which of the following represent pieces of evidence bolstering the truth of the theory of evolution?
A. All vertebrate embryos pass through a stage in which they have openings called gill pouches on the sides of their throats
B. Fossils of more ancestral forms of an organism are found in deeper strata than more recent forms, and radiometric dating indicates the deeper fossils are older
C. Great Danes and toy poodles are members of the same species
D. Chimps and humans have almost identical amino acid sequences in many of their proteins
E. All of the above

14. Which of the following agents of microevolution consistently acts to ensure absolute evolutionary fitness?
A. Natural selection
B. Genetic drift
C. Mutation
D. Nonrandom mating
E. None of the above

15. Which of the following statements is NOT correct concerning antibiotic resistance?
A. Some bacteria have genes that act to provide resistance against their neighbors' weapons, antibiotics
B. Some bacteria, when confronted by an environment that contains antibiotics, will learn to mutate and develop antibiotic resistance
C. Human behaviors that promoted antibiotic resistance include overuse and misuse of antibiotics
D. The development of antibiotic resistance is an example of directional selection
E. All of the above are true; there is not an incorrect statement

16. The increase in average human height in developed countries over the past 150 years is an example of
A. Inheritance of acquired characteristics
B. Disruptive selection
C. Founder effect
D. Reproductive isolation
E. None of the above

17. One definition of a species is: "a population or group of populations whose members have the potential to interbreed and produce fertile offspring." This definition can be applied to which of the following
A. Cichlid species in Lake Victoria
B. Fossil organisms
C. Prokaryotes
D. Mules
E. All of the above

18. The title of the movie GATTACA is spelled like that because:
A. It rhymes with "Attica", the prison, and the workplace in the movie was like a prison
B. G, A, T, and C represent abbreviations for the amino acids found in proteins
C. G, A, T and C represent abbreviations for the nucleotides found in DNA
D. G, A, T and C represent various alleles for heart disease
E. The producer's son-in-law was named Gattaca

19. Balanced polymorphism
A. Explains why homozygotes (HbSHbS) with sickle cell disease are less likely to contract malaria
B. Explains why an otherwise deleterious allele, HbS, has been maintained in a population over generations
C. Explains why Americans of African descent have a higher allele frequency of the HbS allele than do Americans of Swedish descent (assume that there are no malaria-carrying mosquitos in Sweden)
D. B and C
E. A, B and C

20. Which of the following statements is correct with respect to the BIOLOGICAL LEVEL at which natural selection and evolution exert their effects?
A. Natural selection and evolution both work at the individual level
B. Natural selection works at the population level and evolution works at the individual level
C. Both work at the population level
D.Natural selection works at the individual level and evolution works at the population level
E. None of the above is correct

FOR ESSAY ANSWERS, ALL POSSIBLE RIGHT ANSWERS ARE INCLUDED; STUDENTS DID NOT NEED ALL OF THESE FOR FULL CREDIT.

Essay Choice #1

Consider the following statement: " Manipulation of the environment by humans has replaced adaptation to the environment by humans; human cultural evolution has outpaced human biological evolution."

A. What are considered to be the three major stages of human culture? How did each influence the environment? (6 pts)

B. Define evolution (4 pts)

C.Are humans still evolving? Please use the terms microevolution and macroevolution in your answer. (5 pts)

D. Give an example in your answer of how human cultural evolution has influenced biological evolution. (2 pts)

E. The statement "Humans are devolving" is incorrect. State three incorrect assumptions that lead to this fallacy. (3 pts)
 
 
 

Essay Choice #2

Cichlids in Lake Victoria are favorites of evolutionary biologists because they illustrate at least five principles of natural selection and evolution.

A. Chose three of the five principles. Briefly describe how the cichlids illustrate these principles. (9 pts)
B. Define speciation (4 pts)

C. The introduction of a new fish, the large Nile perch, to Lake Victoria, has introduced a previously unknown selection pressure on the populations of cichlids in the lake. The Nile perch eats cichlids. Speculate (in a sentence or less) how each of the following (theoretical) Nile perch behaviors would affect the cichlid populations (IN TERMS OF SPECIATION) in Lake Victoria . (3 pts each)

D.Physical or behavioral traits (and the alleles that code for them) favored by sexual selection are sometimes at odds with survival. Briefly explain . (1 pt)
 

Essay Choice #3

Graduate students in the SNRE have decided to study two populations of white-tailed deer in southeast Michigan. Both populations are completely enclosed by fencing that prevents any movement of deer into or out of the area. Both populations are of equal size with equal access to resources. Bucks in both populations are subject to intense sexual selection by females favoring large antlers. In fact, the populations are identical in every respect, except that Population 1 will not be available to hunters while Population 2 will be open to be hunted. (Note: hunters tend to prefer bucks with the largest antlers.)

A. Define natural selection (2 pts)

B. Taking into account the fact that there is variation among individual bucks for the phenotype of antler size, draw the expected phenotypic distribution for antler size in these populations at the beginning of the study (before the effects of selection have been felt). Be sure to label the axes. (4 pts)

C.Draw the expected phenotypic distribution for antler size in Population 1 after several generations on the above graph. CLEARLY label this curve. (2 pts)

D.On a new graph below, draw the expected phenotypic distribution for antler size in Population 2 after several generations. (2 pts)  Also, indicate on the graph where the selective pressure/s is/are acting. (1 pt)

E. This is an example of which type of selection? (2 pts)

F. By fencing the deer populations off from other populations, what agent of microevolution has been nullified? Explain in one sentence. (2 pts)

G. Suppose Population #1 had 20 individuals, and Population #2 had 1000 individuals. What agent of microevolution would have MORE importance in the smaller population? Explain in one sentence. (2 pts)