TLS Online TPP Program

#Question id: 12577


During  a  field  trip,  an  instructor  touched  a  moth  resting  on  a  tree  trunk.  The  moth  raised  its  forewings  to  reveal large eyespots on its hind wings. The instructor asked why the moth lifted its wings. One student answered that sensory  receptors  had  fired  and  triggered  a  neuronal  reflex  culminating  in  the  contraction  of  certain  muscles.  A second student responded that the behaviour might frighten predators. Which statement best describes these explanations?

#Section 5: Applied Ecology & Evolution
  1. The first explanation is correct, but the second is incorrect.
  2. The first explanation refers to proximate causation, whereas the second refers to ultimate causation. 
  3. The first explanation is biological, whereas the second is philosophical.
  4. The first explanation is testable as a scientific hypothesis, whereas the second is not
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TLS Online TPP Program

#Question id: 4713

#Section 2: Evolution

A farmer uses triazine herbicide to control pigweed in his field. For the first few years, the triazine works well and almost all the pigweed dies; but after several years, the farmer sees more and more pigweed. Which of these statements explains why the pigweed reappeared?

TLS Online TPP Program

#Question id: 4714

#Section 2: Evolution

After the drought of 1977, researchers hypothesized that on the Galápagos Island Daphne Major, medium ground finches with large, deep beaks survived better than those with smaller beaks because they could more easily crack and eat the tough Tribulus cistoides fruits. A tourist company sets up reliable feeding stations with a variety of bird seeds (different types and sizes) so that tourists can get a better look at the finches. Which of these events is now most likely to occur to finch beaks on this island?

TLS Online TPP Program

#Question id: 4715

#Section 2: Evolution

Claytonia virginica is a woodland spring herb with flowers that vary from white, to pale pink, to bright pink. Slugs prefer to eat pink-flowering over white-flowering plants (due to chemical differences between the two), and plants experiencing severe herbivory are more likely to die. The bees that pollinate this plant also prefer pink to white flowers, so that Claytonia with pink flowers have greater relative fruit set than Claytonia with white flowers. A researcher observes that the percentage of different flower colors remains stable in the study population from year to year. Given no other information, if the researcher removes all slugs from the study population, what do you expect to happen to the distribution of flower colors in the population over time?

TLS Online TPP Program

#Question id: 4716

#Section 2: Evolution

Which of the following is correct match?

AWallaceI Changes in allele frequency due to random genetic drift
BSewall WrightII Evolution by natural selection
CCarl WoeseIII hybrid sterility
DHaldane's ruleIV DNA sequencing led to molecular phylogenetics

TLS Online TPP Program

#Question id: 4717

#Section 2: Evolution

 If Darwin had been aware of genes and their typical mode of transmission to subsequent generations, with which statement would he most likely have been in agreement?

TLS Online TPP Program

#Question id: 15717

#Section 2: Evolution

 In The Origin of Species, Darwin propounded two major hypotheses: