Verified step by step guidance
02:45
10:26
02:57How can evolutionary fitness be measured? Select True or False for each statement.
T/F Document how long individuals survive.
T/F Count the number of healthy, fertile offspring produced.
T/F Determine which individuals are strongest.
T/F Determine which phenotype is the most common.
According to data presented in this chapter, which of the following are correct? Select True or False for each statement. T/F When individuals change in response to challenges from the environment, their altered traits are passed on to offspring. T/F Species are created independently of each other and do not change over time. T/F Populations—not individuals—change when natural selection occurs. T/F The traits of populations become more perfect over time.
Some biologists summarize evolution by natural selection with the phrase "mutation proposes, selection disposes." Mutation is a process that creates heritable variation. Explain what the phrase means.
The global “One Health” movement fosters collaborations at the intersection of human health, veterinary health, and environmental health. Explain why “One Health” seeks to reduce the use of antibiotics in farm animals to improve human health.
Coral reefs are biodiverse ecosystems that provide food, income, coastal protection, and many other services to millions of people. Yet coral reefs are under threat from human impacts such as climate change—many corals cannot tolerate the warming ocean water and have suffered massive 'bleaching' events, which can be fatal. Researchers have discovered that some corals have the capacity to acclimatize to warmer water, while other corals do not. The researchers fear that because corals are long-lived colonial animals and thus evolve slowly, they may not be able to adapt to global warming fast enough to avoid extinction. Explain how the difference between acclimatize and adapt is important to the fate of corals.
The geneticist James Crow wrote that successful scientific theories have the following characteristics: (1) They explain otherwise puzzling observations; (2) they provide connections between otherwise disparate observations; (3) they make predictions that can be tested; and (4) they are heuristic, meaning that they open up new avenues of theory and experimentation. Crow added two other elements of scientific theories that he considered important on a personal, emotional level: (5) They should be elegant, in the sense of being simple and powerful; and (6) they should have an element of surprise. How well does the theory of evolution by natural selection fulfill these six criteria?
