Chapter 4 Quiz
Speciation and Phylogeny

There are 15 questions in this quiz.


1.  A species is a group of organisms:
a) that exploit the same ecological niche
b) that interbreed
c) that live in the same general region
d) none of the above
2.  The formation of a new species is commonly known as:
a) microevolution
b) apex of natural selection
c) macroevolution
d) molecular evolution
3.  Unlike the biological species concept, the ecological species concept emphasizes the role of ___________ in new species formation.
a) mutation
b) random genetic drift
c) migration
d) natural selection
4.  Adaptive radiation can occur in any of these situations, except:
a) when extinctions open up a set of environments
b) when species with large brains evolve
c) when no similar and competing species live in an environment
d) when a generalized set of species displaces specialized ones
5.  Adaptive radiation is:
a) a species that can adapt to a great degree of selective pressure
b) a species that can adapt to a wide range of ecological habitats
c) a group of related species that inhabit a number of environmental niches
d) none of the above
6.  Divergence between characters from two populations refers to:
a) speciation
b) gene flow
c) character displacement
d) synapomorphy
7.  A phylogeny is:
a) an evolutionary family tree
b) a biological character
c) an adaptive physical trait
d) none of the above
8.  Sympatric speciation is based on:
a) absence of gene flow
b) natural selection
c) geographic isolation
d) none of the above
9.  Allopatric speciation is based on:
a) absence of gene flow
b) natural selection
c) a and b
d) none of the above
10.  In the context of the ecological species concept, individuals of a species remain similar:
a) because mixing of genes does not occur
b) because, being in the same environment, they experience similar selective pressures
c) they exploit the same resources
d) none of the above
11.  When a single type of plant or animal diversifies to fill a broad range of ecological niches, it is termed:
a) an adaptive radiation
b) an ecological explosion
c) a hybrid zone
d) all of the above
12.  Genetically speaking:
a) chimpanzees are more closely related to orangutans than humans
b) orangutans are more closely related to humans than chimpanzees
c) humans are more closely related to chimpanzees than to gorillas
d) gorillas are more closely related to orangutans than to humans
13.  A hybrid zone is defined as:
a) a place where different ecological resources combine
b) an area where gene flow may occur between two populations
c) an area where two different species live
d) none of the above
14.  Ancestral characters are:
a) traits that aren't specialized
b) only generalized traits
c) traits that occur in the last common ancestor of a certain group of species
d) more specialized than derived characters
15.  Derived characters are:
a) those that aren't specialized
b) those that are significantly more complex than ancestral characters
c) traits that are distinct from those possessed by the last common ancestor of a group of species
d) traits that distinguish similar species from each other
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