1. Which of the following clades is most likely to survive a series of catastrophic events over time? (1 point)
A clade with a few closely related and similar species.
A clade with a few distantly related and diverse species.
A clade with many closely related and similar species.****
A clade with many distantly related and diverse species.
2. In the past, mass extinctions encouraged the rapid evolution of surviving species (1 point)
by changing developmental genes.
by making new habitats available to them.
because they killed all organisms that had coevolved.****
because they spared all organisms that had evolved convergently.
3. The Australian flying phalanger is a marsupial flying squirrel. Its appearance, behavior, environment, and diet closely resemble those of the American flying squirrel, a placental mammal. This resemblance is most likely due to (1 point)
adaptive radiation.
convergent evolution.
coevolution.***
gradualism.
4. Gradualism is a pattern of evolution in which (1 point)
a single species evolves into several closely related species.
several distantly related species develop similarities.
a species evolves at a slow, steady pace.***
a species has periods of little evolution interrupted by periods of rapid evolution.
5. Mass extinction would most likely result from which of the following events? (1 point)
A disease kills off a single species of predator within an ecosystem.
A wildfire burns a national park.***
Global temperatures drop several degrees after several massive volcanic eruptions.
A massive earthquake strikes North America.
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Check My Biology Please?
Posted on February 1, 2013.
1. Which of the following clades is most likely to survive a series of catastrophic events over time? (1 point)
A clade with many distantly related and diverse species.
More and diverse is better for increasing likelihood that at least one will survive.
2. In the past, mass extinctions encouraged the rapid evolution of surviving species (1 point)
by making new habitats available to them.
Adaptive radiation by the survivors will have their descendants occupying those habitats and niches
3. The Australian flying phalanger is a marsupial flying squirrel. Its appearance, behavior, environment, and diet closely resemble those of the American flying squirrel, a placental mammal. This resemblance is most likely due to (1 point)
convergent evolution.
I’ll let you look up the definition of evolutionary convergence. Similar niche may lead to a similar morphology
4. Gradualism is a pattern of evolution in which (1 point)
a species evolves at a slow, steady pace.***
5. Mass extinction would most likely result from which of the following events? (1 point)
Global temperatures drop several degrees after several massive volcanic eruptions.
“Global temperature” is an average. If it dropped several degrees, that would mean glaciation in some parts of the world. Also note that marine species may be sensitive and a drop of even a few degrees could mess with their migration to warm spawning grounds (proposed as a mechanism for the extinction of the Megalodon shark).
1. The more diverse the species available, the more likely they are to adapt to a new environment after a catastrophic event changes the environment. Therefore, the correct answer is a clade with different and distantly related species. That allows for far more genetic flexibility in allowing natural selection to build new species again.
2. If a single species is made extinct, this benefits all of the other species that remain because it means more food, perhaps fewer predators, etc. Therefore, rapid evolution of surviving species is due to the fact that they were spared from the mass extinction; in other words, the sparing of other convergent species allowed them to flourish.
3. I agree with your answer
4. I agree with your answer
5. Wildfire is necessary every so often to replenish the forest, so this is not right. The forest and its species come back stronger after the fire, and an earthquake in North America will not cause mass extinction either; it is too localized. Mass extinction would most likely result if global temperatures drop because it would affect the entire ecosystem on the planet.