Transcript Microevolution Pre/Post Questions

Pre / Post Questions for
“Darwin’s Finches and Natural
Selection”
Cheryl Heinz and Eric Ribbens
PQ1: Mosquitoes have heritable variation for
insecticide resistance (amount and kind);
however, all mosquitoes require standing water
for the development of offspring. To which of the
following control methods would be the
mosquitoes be least likely to develop resistance?
A: Removing all standing water.
B: Using one sprayed insecticide consistently.
C: Rotating between several sprayed insecticides.
D: Increasing sources of standing water.
E: Alternating years between spraying and not
spraying insecticide.
PQ2: Which is the most appropriate description
of evolution by natural selection?
A: Organisms can evolve to match their
environment out of need.
B: A population can become more adapted to its
environment via natural selection.
C: Individuals can evolve to perfectly match their
environment.
D: Natural selection is a random process.
PQ3: John is studying lizards with a maximum
lifespan of eight years. How long will it take for
John to see these lizards evolve?
A: He can’t. Evolution only occurs across centuries or eons.
B: He can’t. Evolution doesn’t happen any more.
C: He could see evolution if he compares lizards in years
one and eight after a period of environmental stability.
D: He could see evolution if he compared lizards from one
generation to lizards from another generation in a period
of environmental flux.
E: He could see evolution by observing changes in the
individual lizards.
PQ4: A population of mice lives in a habitat that
has mostly black soil. Most mice are very dark in
color, which protects them from visually-orienting
predators. If the habitat becomes completely
covered with white sand, what do you expect to
be the most likely result of natural selection?
A: The dark-colored mice become more numerous.
B: The mice attempt to remove all of the sand.
C: All dark-colored mice immediately die.
D: More light-colored mice survive and reproduce.
E: Nothing – the principles of natural selection do not
apply here.
PQ5: In a population of guppies, male fish vary
considerably in the number, size, and colors of
spots. Females prefer to mate with males with
large, colorful spots. The most colorful males are
also the easiest for visually hunting predators to
find. Which of the following is true?
A: The traits of each guppy within a population
gradually change over time.
B: Successful behaviors learned by guppies are
passed along to offspring.
C: The proportions of guppies having different traits
within a population will change.
D: Mutations occur to meet the needs of the guppies
as the environment changes.
TQ1: Beaver in North America used to be more active
during the daytime (diurnal), but are now largely
nocturnal, probably a result of intensive trapping and
hunting during the 1800s. Assuming that this behavior
is partially or completely genetically determined, what
can we predict happened to the population?
A: Beaver have evolved to be more nocturnal because they had to be
more secretive.
B: Beaver have evolved to be more nocturnal because natural selection
selectively removed daytime beavers.
C: Beaver have not evolved; the population just changed.
D: Beaver have not evolved, because both diurnal and nocturnal
beavers were trapped, it’s just that more of the diurnal ones were
killed.
E: At this point we cannot make any predictions about beaver evolution,
because they have not become a different species yet.