Sample
exam questions (selection, life histories, reproduction)
1. T F In all cases of intersexual selection, females are the
choosy sex and males are the promiscuous sex.
2. T F Kin
selection and group selection each depend on the concept of inclusive fitness.
3. T F Stabilizing
selection maintains the same levels of heterozygosity in a population as
disruptive selection.
4. T F Medawar’s
theory suggests that senescence evolves as a consequence of the late
accumulation of deleterious traits.
5. T F Parthenogenesis
is commonly observed in parasites and
endosymbiotic mutualists.
6. Intersexual
selection is MOST likely to occur when:
1.
Some individuals
are more attractive to the opposite sex than others
2.
Interactions
among members of the same sex reduce fitness of certain members
3.
Mating among
individuals is random
4.
Individuals of
one sex are equally attractive to individuals of the other sex
7. Muller’s
Ratchet is an explanation for the maintenance of recombination in species based
on what?
1. Production of variable offspring
2. Reducing the mutation load
3. Reducing the cost of meiosis
4. DNA repair
8. In
around 200 species of birds, young are reared not only by their parents but by
other individuals as well. In most of
these species, helpers are young birds that are helping their parents raise
their siblings. Usually this is because
of severe shortages of available habitat for nesting.
a. According to kin selection theory, if these helpers
never produce offspring of their own, their inclusive fitness may still be greater
than zero. Briefly explain.
b. If helpers were unrelated to the actual parents of the
nestings, how would your answer be different?