Quiz 7 Fitness, Interactions

A  It describes the displacement of non-beneficial characters such as altruism, by more fit characters such as predation that increases overall allele frequencies.

B  It leads different species to specialize in different niches and avoid competition. This increases their fitness and increases ecosystem diversity.

C  It increases competition of species by converging them to compete for the same ressource, as only the fitter species can survive, it keeps the ecosystem healthy.

A  Non-exclusive mutualism

B  Müllerian mimicry

C  Batesian mimicry

A  When a prey develops a speed that the predators cannot possibly match. It mostly evolves such a defense mechanism through sponaneous mutation via cosmic radiation.

B  When a prey species evolves a defense or resistance against predators, and escapes association and pressure from that predator, and then diversifies unrestricted.

C  An evolutionary arms race where two species evolve in relation to each other.

A  Escape-and-radiate-coevolution.

B  Specific co-evolution.

C  Diffuse coevolution.

A  It is that parents have to be altruistic on several levels in order to ensure the survival of the next generation.

B  It occurs when parents kill (but not eat) all offspring, including their own.

C  It relates to very few species in nature, that live under such dire conditions that canibalism occurs. In order to survive it is just easier to eat offspring than fighting other adults.

A  Alleles are passed on indirectly to the next generation through Batesian mimicry, so the actor eventually increases direct fitness through retrograde diffusion (Batesian rule).

B  Direct fitness of the individual may be decreased, but increases the fintess of close relatives (indirect fintess) and spreads more copies of the allele to the next generation (Hamilton’s rule).

C  Only the selfish kin survives, so altruistic traits are gradually phased out of the gene pool of any species.

A  Because individuals that cheat still have higher individual fitness, and the more cheaters, the more the altruistic alleles are spread.

B  Because group selection increases the survival of the population of altruistic individuals.

C  This can only happen through fixation of those alleles by inbreeding (genetic drift).

A  The female lizzards without ovaries grew larger because they did not need to invest ressources into repdroduction.

B  The female stopped growing because their lifecycle was interrupted not having ovaries, and not being able to reproduce.

C  The female lizzards without ovaries had the same size as the ones with ovaries. They just could not reproduce.

A  Late onset of reproductive maturity, few offspring and intensive parental care (K-selection).

B  An early onset of reproductive maturity ensures reproduction before individuals pass away.

C  Mortality and lifespan do not affect selection of redroductive strategies, because organisms can reproduce anytime in their life.

A  The streams of their birth are safer places for the offspring to hatch, but migration there is exhausting and risky.

B  They have been artificially selected as food, so it is not by any means better for their species’ survival that they die after reproducing.

C  If they would reproduce more often, there would be too many salmon in the ocean, so this is an example of stabilizing selection.