Extra Practice Midterm II

[Questions] You’re studying one genetic locus in a population of 700 wombats. Within the
population, 35% are AA, 40% are Aa, and 25% are aa.

What is the frequency of allele a in the population?

0.55
0.45
0.5
0.4
None of the answer choices are correct

T/F This population is NOT in HW equilibrium.

T/F If there is natural selection for heterozygotes, then the frequency of AA individuals will
decrease in the population.

[Questions] The graph below shows the relationship between allele frequencies of two
possible alleles for a gene in a population of a diploid organism.

T/F There is at least one point on the line where the frequency of heterozygotes will be
greater than 0.50 for a population that is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.

T/F Genetic drift is the only mechanism that could result in fixation of one of the two alleles.

[Questions] Approximately 10,000 years ago the Grand Canyon was formed.

You are a field biologist studying 14 species of rodent that are found on both sides of the
Grand Canyon. There are three species that are red in color, two species that are tan, and
two species that are brown on each side of the Grand Canyon. You are interested in
understanding how speciation occurred in these species of squirrels, and you have
competing hypotheses about how speciation may have occurred in the group. The two
phylogenies below represent two possible hypotheses for speciation patterns in this group.

Your hypothesis is that there were seven different species of squirrels that were all
separated by the formation of the Grand Canyon.

T/F Tree 1 supports this hypothesis.

Your hypothesis is that there was a single species of squirrel that was separated by the
Grand Canyon, and then there was subsequent diversification.

T/F Tree 2 supports this hypothesis.

[Questions] You are studying a gene locus with three distinct alleles (A, B, and C) found
in Daphnia magna, a species of water flea. Alleles A and B both have the same frequency in
the population, 0.3.

T/F Expected genotype frequency for CC individuals will be greater than the sum of
frequencies for AA and BB individuals.

Your sample reveals the following genotype proportions:

AA = 17
AB = 12
AC = 14
BB = 15
BC = 18
CC = 24
T/F According to these data, there is an excess of homozygous individuals compared to
what is expected under Hardy Weinberg.

[Questions] The two phylogenies below represent two hypotheses of evolutionary

relatedness for seven taxa based on molecular sequence data and a morphological
character (the types of color receptors present in each taxon). Reptiles have four types of
color receptors, mammals have two types of color receptors, and primates have three types
of color receptors.

T/F Both phylogenies show equivalent evolutionary relationships among the apes, but not
for the other taxa included in the phylogeny.

T/F Considering only Tree #2, the presence of three types of color receptors in apes is an
ancestral trait.

T/F Considering only Tree #1, Orangutans are more closely related to Howler Monkeys than
they are to Marmosets.
T/F If crocodiles are designated the outgroup for Tree #1, then there are four monophyletic
groups that can be defined for Tree #1 if crocodiles are excluded.

T/F Consider Tree #2, If Mouse and Marmoset were instead sister taxa, this would be a more
parsimonious explanation for number of color receptors for the taxa included in the
phylogeny.

[Questions] This figure shows a phylogeny of the Bromeliad Family of plants and the
regions in which the species in this family are located. (Givnish et al. 2011, American Journal
of Botany 98(5): 872-895)
T/F Based on this phylogeny, the West African species is the ancestor to all of the
Pitcairnioideae.

T/F You decide to use the gene PETAL as a molecular clock, as you know the gene PETAL
accumulates 2 mutations (where each mutation is a single base pair changes) every one
million years. You would expect ~20 base pair differences between a member of the
Puyoideae and Bromelioideae.

[Questions] You have a large population (10,000 individuals) of a species of bird that is
found along the mainland coastal region of a continent. There is a single gene that is
responsible for wing color in these birds, and there are three alleles at this locus. The alleles
are for yellow, blue, and red. The allele frequencies in the coastal region are 0.095, 0.46, and
0.445 respectively. There are three islands of similar size and habitat that are located an
equal distance from the aforementioned mainland coastal region. At exactly the same time,
three separate groups of 40 individuals leave the mainland coastal region and colonize each
of the islands. Immediately after the colonization event, you determine the allele frequencies
for each island population and find the following:

Island Yellow allele Blue allele Red allele

number frequency frequency frequency
1 0.09 0.46 0.45
2 0.106 0.446 0.448
3 0 0.524 0.476

T/F Natural selection is the mechanism of evolution that most likely explains these results.
T/F Genetic drift is the mechanism of evolution that most likely explains these results.

[Question] Helping kin raise offspring is one way individuals can increase their inclusive
fitness. Imagine there is a family of birds. If any male individual breeds alone, they will have
three offspring. If a beta (B) male helps an alpha (A) male, then beta will have no offspring. If
an alpha is helped by a beta, then alpha will have eight offspring. Assume alpha mates with
the same female over all generations.
At which generation does it no longer benefit beta to help alpha?
Generation 1
Generation 2
Generation 3