BIL 107 – Introduction to Evolution
Krempels – Fall 2013
STUDY GUIDE FOR EXAM IV (non-cumulative section)
As always, whatever we covered in class is fair game. Use the study guides and
exams from Exams I – III to prepare for the cumulative half of the exam.
Great Transformations: Video
Links to this video can be found on the lecture notes site.
Which came first: fish? Tetrapods? Whales? Understand the progression of complexity.
What was special about the “wolflike” fossil’s skull that identified it as a whale?
How long has life been on earth?
In the “hour” of life on earth, how long has human history taken?
What characteristics mark a whale as a mammal?
Are there transitional whale fossils? What were they like?
Why are there whale fossils in the “Valley of the Whales” in the Sahara desert?
What is different about the way tetrapods move as compared to fish?
Which came first: fish out of water, or fingers on fish?
Why might early limbs on aquatic tetrapods been an advantage?
What was the Cambrian explosion, and what is the evidence of it found today?
What is the significance of the Burgess Shale (and where is it found?)
Does evolution change bodies, or the recipes for making bodies? What does this mean?
What was the significance of the antennapedia gene in fruit flies?
Do all animals share the same basic genetic toolkit genes, or are they very different across
species? What evidence do we have for this?
What do lemurs tell us about the evolution of the human ability to walk upright?
Are the locomotory methods used by lemurs and chimpanzees more primitive than ours?
More advanced? Equally advanced, but different?
What is knuckle walking? What is bipedalism?
The Origin of Species (Chapter 9)
Know the meaning/significance of: microevolution vs. macroevolution,
Know the modes of speciation (allopatric, peripatric, parapatric, sympatric) and be able to
recognize examples if I described them for you.
Know what is meant by directional, disruptive, and stabilizing selection, and be able to
recognize examples.
Know the difference between horizontal and vertical gene transfer.
Know the meaning/significance of: anagenesis vs. cladogenesis, adaptive radiation,
inclusive fitness, individual fitness, kin selection.
Understand the various types of reproductive isolation, and what is the significance of
reproductive isolation in terms of evolution and speciation.
Radiations and Extinctions (Chapter 10)
Know the meaning/significance of: biodiversity, biogeography, continental drift (and the
associated climate changes on the moving continents.
Understand how solar irradiation of the earth results in different climates on different parts
of the earth, and why there are seasons.
Know what areas of the earth are considered tropical, subtropical, temperate, polar.
Know the meaning and dates of the spring and autumn equinoxes and the winter and
summer solstices. (Hint: They’re all on the 21st of given months of the year.)
Understand the difference between phyletic gradualism and punctuated equilibrium.
Know the meaning/significance of: Cambrian Explosion, mass extinction, The Great Oxygen
Catastrophe. (Watch the 10 minute video on Five Mass Extinctions in Lecture 18).
Coevolution and the Evolutionary Arms Race (Chapter 11)
NOTE: This was part of Lecture 18, but I have created a printable lecture with
some of the details we talked about in class that were not included in the written
notes. Please download and read Lecture 18a to take advantage of the expanded
notes for this section.
Know the meaning/significance of: coevolution, pollination (recognize the parts of a flower,
if I were to describe them), UV nectar guide, pathogen, virulence, parasite, host, predator,
prey,
Know the meaning/significance of: keystone species, indicator species, native vs. exotic
species. Be able to recognize examples from descriptions.
Know the meaning/significance of the three basic types of coevolutionary competition:
unequal, equilibrium and dynamic.
Understand the meaning of the Red Queen Hypothesis.
Know the meaning/significance of: community, symbiosis, and be able to recognize and
characterize the nine different types of symbiosis in the table in Lecture 18.
Know the meaning/significance/examples of: crypsis/camouflage, aposematic/warning
coloration, mimicry (Batesian vs. Mullerian)
What About Sex? (Chapter 12)
Know the pros and cons of sexual vs. asexual reproduction.
Be able to characterize/recognize examples of sexual selection, sexual dimorphism, The
“Sexy Son” Hypothesis, runaway sexual selection, The Handicap Principle.
Know the meaning/significance of: altricial vs. precocial young (which do we have?),
concealed ovulation in humans, parental care, infanticide,
Know the major evolutionary forces driving mate selection in human males and females.
Scan the linked materials under “What Do Women Want”
Evolution of Behavior (Chapter 14)
Read Chapter 14. Recognize examples of behavior in organisms. What organ systems
govern behavior in animals?
Know the meaning/significance of: neuron, neurotransmitter, synapse, action potential,
reelin, choanoflagellate, central vs. peripheral nervous system.
Know the basic features of the brain, and which areas are responsible for (1) balance and
coordination, (2) visual processing, (3) cognitive functions. Are the brains of all animals
basically the same? How and why (evolutionarily) do they differ?
What is the adaptive significance of emotion? Do other animals exhibit anything like
emotion? Why is this of evolutionary importance?
Recall the basic forces driving gender roles and behavior in our own species. They will help
you get a good mate. No, really.