Vertebrate Adaptations First Exam 2012
1) Evolution is defined as :
a) changes in allele frequencies over time.
b) Theory describing how humans were derived from monkeys.
c) An unfalsifiable theory about the origin of life.
d) Chances in morphology over time.
2) Science is:
a) a process of conjecture and refutation.
b) The only true path to knowedge
c) A 12 step method designed to produce absolute truth
d) A method involving experiments designed to prove theories.
3) Define the following terms:
a)
Fact
b) Truth
c)
Reality
d) Belief
e)
Proof
4) Which one of the following is not a fundamental principle of biology?
a) The laws of physics and chemistry
b) Law of gravity
c) Cell law
d) Central limit theorem
e) Laws of thermodynamics
f) Law of evolution via natural selection
5) List the 5 observations of Charles Darwin.
a)
_____________________________________________________________________
b) _____________________________________________________________________
c)
_____________________________________________________________________
d) _____________________________________________________________________
e)
_____________________________________________________________________
6) What was Darwin’s conclusion from the above observations?
a) _____________________________________________________________________
7) When natural selection operates against both extremes of a phenotype distribution, and favors the
center, this is called:
a) Directional selection
b) Stabilizing selection
c) Disruptive selection
d) Sexual selection
8) When prairie dogs give alarm calls that benefit their relatives, but place the alarm caller in danger of
predation, this is an example of
a) Sexual selection
b) Kin selection.
c) Directional selection.
d) Altruism.
9) Homology can be defined as:
a) Similarity in structure that results from similarity in function.
b) Similarity in structure that results from shared evolutionary descent.
c) Dissimilarity that results from directional selection
d) Similarity that results from directional selection.
10) The idea that organisms are perfectly adapted to their environment is:
a) Progressivism
b) Gradualism
c) Determinism
d) Adaptationism
e) Catholicism
11) What came first. High metabolic rate or insulation?
a) High metabolic rate
b) Insulation
c) Who knows?
12) The thermal-neutral Zone is that range of temeperatures in which
a) Metabolic rate is constant.
b) Metabolic rate decreases.
c) Metabolic rate increases.
d) Body temperature remains constant
e) Body temperature increases
f) Body temperature decreases
13) Which of the following are current scientific hypotheses/theories for the origin of flight in birds?
(circle all that apply)
a) The kniptor theory
b) Top-down hypothesis
c) The Pterodactyl-glider hypothesis
d) Bottom-up hypothesis
e) Divine creation
14) T / F There is no evidence to suggest that dinosaurs were capable of getting into trees.
15) Powered flight requires a high metabolic rate. For this reason, proponents of the idea that birds are
dinosaurs have argued that dinosaurs were warm-blooded, implying that they were endothermic.
Circle all of the following statements that are probably true.
a) Large dinosaurs were inertial homeotherms.
b) Unlike modern reptiles, dinosaurs were capable of extended aerobic metabolism.
c) Large dinosaurs like T. rex were capable of running bipedally, illustrating their high metabolic
rates.
d) Dinosaurs took to the air using the bottom-up approach.
16) T / F Crocodilians have 4-chambered hearts, like birds.
17) T / F Flying reptiles like pteradactyls and pteranodon had a keeled sternum, but the keel was small
relative to modern birds, indicating they were probably not capable of the kind of powerful flight we
observe in birds.
18) Problems with the bottom-up hypothesis include (circle all that apply)
a) Loss of speed as soon as you leave the ground.
b) Loss of consciousness at high altitude.
c) Drop in body temperature at altitudes higher then 10 ft.
d) Asynchronous movement of pectoral appendages.
e) Loss of maneuverability once the animal is airborne.
19) How is the morphology of Ichthyosaurs and Pleisiosaurs similar to that of modern Cetaceans?
a) They have assymetric skulls.
b) They all have baleen plates instead of teeth.
c) They have fusiform bodies.
d) They all have/had blubber.
20) T / F Vertebrata are a subphylum of the Chordata
21) What defines a vertebrate? Circle all correct answers.
a) Presence of vertebrae
b) Presence of a cranium
c) Duplicated Hox gene
d) Presence of embryonic tissue called the neural crest,
e) Internal fertilization
22) Which group is the most likely ancestral group for the Chordata?
a) Arthropods
b) Annelids
c) Echinoderms
d) Crustaceans.
23) Which two groups have enteroceolous coelom formation?
a) Vertebrates
b) Arthropods
c) Annelids
d) Echinoderms
e) Crustaceans.
24) Ostracoderms were initially hypothesized to have a freshwater origin. The bony armor was thought to
serve as
a) An antipredator device
b) A structure involved in courtship
c) A mineral sink.
d) A solid surface against which muscle could pull during locomotion.
e) A device to reduce osmosis
25) More recent hypotheses about ostracoderms involve a marine origin. Here, the armor is thought is
function as
a) An antipredator device
b) A structure involved in courtship
c) A mineral sink.
d) A solid surface against which muscle could pull during locomotion.
e) A device to reduce osmosis
26) Circle the following traits that correspond to the Placoderm condition.
a) No jaws.
b) No paired fins.
c) Heavy bony armor.
d) Less developed bony armor
e) Paired fins and thus probably more active swimmers.
f) Had jaws and were thus capable of predaceous lifestyle
27) Which group of fishes gave rise to the terrestrial vertebrates?
a) Chondrichthyes
b) Placoderms
c) Ostracoderms
d) Osteichthyes
e) Holocephalans
f) Actinopterygians
g) Sarcopterygians.
28) T / F Sound conduction pathways in fish, amphibians, and reptiles involve the posterior portion of the
skull and pectoral girdle.
29) The jaw articulation in reptiles is composed of the
a) Dentary and squamosal bones
b) Coracoid and hyoid bones
c) Mandibular and dentary bones
d) Quadrate and articular bones.
30) The jaw articulation in mammals is composed of the
a) Dentary and squamosal bones
b) Coracoid and hyoid bones
c) Mandibular and dentary bones
d) Quadrate and articular bones.
31) T / F The sound conduction route in mammals still involves the bones used in the reptilian jaw
articulation.
32) Why do mammals have 3 inner ear bones, and not one as in reptiles and amphibians, or 2?
a) The dentary and squamosal become the additional inner ear bones; 2 inner ear bones would not
work.
b) The dentary and squamosal become the additional inner ear bones; 2 inner ear bones probably
exist in a fossil that has not yet been discovered.
c) The quadrate and articular become the additional inner ear bones; 2 inner ear bones would not
work.
d) The quadrate and articular become the additional inner ear bones; 2 inner ear bones probably exist
in a fossil that has not yet been discovered.
e) The coracoid and hyoid become the additional inner ear bones; 2 inner ear bones would not work.
f) The coracoid and hyoid become the additional inner ear bones; 2 inner ear bones probably exist in
a fossil that has not yet been discovered.
33) The function of the secondary palate is
a) To enable the animal to eat and breathe at the same time.
b) To prevent the accidental movement of food into the bronchial tubes.
c) To provide a surface for food manipulation.
d) To strengthen the ventral portion of the skull, and thus permit greater bite forces.
34) T / F Simplification of the lower jaw increases stability of the jaw, but results in an overall decrease in
strength.
35) Mammals differ from reptiles in that they (circle all that apply)
a) Have erect rather than sprawling gaits
b) Have trunk vertebrae rather than lumbar and thoracic vertebrae
c) Possess cervical vertebrae
d) Have a synapsid skull rather than a diapsid or anapsid skull
e) Possess a zygomatic arch
f) Possess a diaphragm
g) Have 2 occipital condyles rather than 1.
h) Have a pelvic girdle that is mor firmly anchored to the vertebral column.
36) T / F Elephants are not capable of a running gait.
37) T / F Mammals have an extremely high cost of maintenance relative to amphibians and reptiles.
38) T / F The transition to land requires significant changes in skeletal support, respiration, cardiovascular
system, excretory and reproductive systems, and sensory and nervous systems.
39) T / F The feeding mechanism for terrestrial vertebrates is different because food particles are no
longer suspended in water.
40) T / F The hyoid apparatus (gill support in fishes) becomes involved with the tongue in terrestrial verts:
tongue is used more extensively to manipulate food.
41) T / F The vertebral column of terrestrial vertebrates is less regionalized because terrestrial forms must
compensate for the loss of support on all sides provided by water.
42) T / F The pelvic girdle of mammals is more solidly attached to the vertebral column than is that of
reptiles or amphibians.
43) T / F The number of cervical vertebrae decreases as we make the transition from fish to amphibians, to
reptiles, to mammals.
44) T / F Modern reptiles have a sprawling stance while mammals use an upright stance.
45) T / F Reptiles have a more limited distribution of ribs than do mammals.
46) T / F All terrestrial vertebrates have 3 bones in the pelvic girdle: Illium, Ischium and Pubis.
47) T / F Most fishes and salamanders use lateral undulation for locomotion.
48) T / F Fishes have a circulatory system that is far more efficient than that of mammals.
49) T / F The problem with portal systems is that there is a large pressure increase as a result of having
capillary beds on both ends of a vessel.
50) T / F Terrestrialization generally requires some form of internal fertilization.
51) You discover some dinosaur foot prints. You recall that for tetrapods, leg length is 4 times the foot
length. You measure a foot print and discover that it is 0,5 m long. Next you measure the distance
from the impression of the right rear foot to the next impression of the next right rear foot and discover
it is 2 m. How fast was the dinosaur travelling? Recall that Sd = S / (Leg Length · g) ½ and that
Relative stride length = Strode Length / Leg length. Use the graph below to derive your answer. Show
your work if you would like partial credit.
52)