Life On Earth Exam 6

Front 1

What piece of information was Wegener missing to support his hypothesis?

Back 1

An explanation of how continents could move

Front 2

Which of the following statements best describes the theory of continental drift?

Back 2

Over time, the continents change position relative to one another as they move.

Front 3

According to the continental drift theory, when did Pangaea begin to split apart?

Back 3

200-225 million years ago

Front 4

Pangaea split into two smaller super continents. The northern super continent is called ___________.

Back 4

Laurasia

Front 5

Pangaea split into two smaller super continents. The southern supercontinent is called _________.

Back 5

Gondwana

Front 6

Which came first, the theory of plate tectonics or the theory of continental drift?

Back 6

continental drift

Front 7

Which of the following statements best describes the theory of plate tectonics?

Back 7

The Earth's crust is broken into twelve or more plates that move as they ride atop the molten rock below.

Front 8

During the Permian period, which of the following current land masses were part of Pangaea?

Back 8

Africa
Antarctica
Asia
Australia
Europe
India
North America
South America

Front 9

During the Triassic period, which of the following current land masses were part of Gondwana?

Back 9

Africa
Antarctica
Australia
India
South America

Front 10

During the Triassic period, which of the following current land masses were part of Laurasia?

Back 10

Asia
Europe
North America

Front 11

What causes an earthquake to occur at a transform boundary?

Back 11

The two sliding plates build up tension. The tension is released suddenly.

Front 12

At a convergent boundary, if one plate has land at the edge, what happens to the ocean plate?

Back 12

The ocean plate slides under the land plate.

Front 13

What happens to plates at transform boundaries?

Back 13

Two plates slide against one another.

Front 14

What happens to plates at the divergent boundaries?

Back 14

Two plates move apart and magma fills in the gap forming a new ocean floor.

Front 15

What happens at collisional boundaries when two plates with land masses meet?

Back 15

Land masses buckle and hold, forming mountain ranges.

Front 16

What happens to plates at the convergent boundaries?

Back 16

One plate slides under the other plate.

Front 17

Which of the following statements does NOT describe the Siberian traps?

Back 17

Caused when the Eurasian plate slipped under the North American plate

Front 18

According to Douglas Erwin, what percentage of all species in the ocean died as a result of the end-Permian mass extinction?

Back 18

95%

Front 19

All of these animals were present on land just before the mass extinction event at the end of the Permian except ________

Back 19

the first dinosaurs

Front 20

Which of the following is not evidence used by Wegener in his hypothesis of continental drift?

Back 20

Oceanic and continental plates

Front 21

What effect did the Siberian traps have on ocean chemistry?

Back 21

The oceans warmed up and lost their oxygen.

Front 22

How could microbes similar to the one found in the deep water of Green Lakes, NY have caused the end-Permian extinction?

Back 22

If they produced too much hydrogen sulfide gas, it would have killed aquatic life in the oceans and life on land when it bubbled out of the water.

Front 23

The Siberian traps were active during which geological period?

Back 23

Permian

Front 24

What evidence for this hypothesis was found when the Nevada rocks were analyzed?

Back 24

Found evidence that the deep ocean waters had lost their oxygen

Front 25

Trace the steps between Siberian traps and mass extinction, starting with step 1 and ending with mass extinction.

Back 25

1- Volcanoes spewed out carbon dioxide, which trapped heat in the atmosphere
2- this caused global warming
3- as the oceans warmed up, they lost their oxygen
4- nasty bacteria took over, burping out lots of poisonous gases into the atmosphere

Front 26

Which statements describes the concept of an "evolutionary arms race" between garter snakes and newts?

Back 26

As the newts become more toxic, the snakes become resistant to the toxins. As the snakes become more resistant, the newts evolve to become more toxic.

Front 27

What is the affect of the unusual adaptation of the rough skinned newt on its main predator?

Back 27

The snakes are slowed down by the toxins in their prey.

Front 28

What is the evolutionary "cost" to a snake that is highly resistant to the newts?

Back 28

Resistant snakes are slower and more vulnerable to their own predators.

Front 29

What is unusual about the rough skinned newt?

Back 29

Most poisonous animal in the world in terms of toxin production.

Front 30

What is responsible for the unusual adaptation of the rough newt?

Back 30

Their only predator is resistant to their toxin,

Front 31

How old is the partnership between leaf cutter ants and their fungus?

Back 31

50-60 million years

Front 32

How are the fungal gardens examples of an "evolutionary arms race"?

Back 32

As soon as the mold becomes resistant to an antibiotic, the bacteria evolve a new antibiotic.

Front 33

What is the white waxy coating found on the body of some ants?

Back 33

tangled mats of bacteria

Front 34

What does the fungus provide to the ants?

Back 34

The fungus provides the ants with food

Front 35

What type of relationship is involved between the leaf cutter ants and the jungles plants that produce leaves?

Back 35

predator-prey

Front 36

What do the ants give to the fungus?

Back 36

chewed up leaves

Front 37

What type of relationship is involved between the leaf cutter ants and their fungus?

Back 37

mutualist-mutualist

Front 38

Which hasn't the mold evolved resistance to antibiotics, like we are seeing today in drug resistant strains of bacteria?

Back 38

The bacteria are evolving as fast as the mold.

Front 39

What does the white waxy coating produce that can kill the mold?

Back 39

antibiotics

Front 40

How do most tropical plants defend themselves?

Back 40

The plants produce toxic chemicals in their leaves.

Front 41

What type of relationship is involved between the mold and the fungus?

Back 41

parasite-host

Front 42

What kind of disease can infect the fungus gardens?

Back 42

an aggressive mold

Front 43

Discuss the different lifestyle and adaptations that allow these marsupials to live in different habitats and eat different foods. Red Kangaroos

Back 43

the largest family of kangaroos and inhabit the dry interior of Australia, they take advantage of shade in the hot parts of the day and feed in the cooler early mornings and early evenings, they use their large tail as a fifth leg, they apply saliva to their arms to keep them cool

Front 44

Discuss the different lifestyle and adaptations that allow these marsupials to live in different habitats and eat different foods. Water Opossum

Back 44

lives in the Amazon and only hunts at night, it feeds off fish and crustaceans, developed a fur coat that is so thick water is unable to reach the skin and being able to close off its pouch so that the baby does not drown while the mother is fishing for food

Front 45

Define bio geography.

Back 45

study of how biodiversity is spread around the world

Front 46

Define vicariance.

Back 46

species become separated from each other when geographical barriers emerge

Front 47

Define dispersal.

Back 47

when species themselves spread away from their place of origin

Front 48

Describe the current distribution of marsupial species.

Back 48

found on Australia and surrounding islands, originally from China

Front 49

Explain why the highest marsupial biodiversity is found in Australia.

Back 49

Australia drifted into isolation for over 40 million years, abundant fossils date back to about 25 million years ago at which point all mammals in Australia were marsupials

Front 50

Briefly explain why some birds became flightless.

Back 50

the islands lacked large predators and instead of investing energy in wings, the birds had the greatest reproductive success were the ones that were better at getting energy from the food

Front 51

What happened to the marsupials of Antarctica after the southern super continent broke apart?

Back 51

the inhabitants died out

Front 52

Most of the marsupials of South/Central America are mostly ___________.

Back 52

water opossum

Front 53

Most live in __________, have few _______, and have a board ____________.

Back 53

trees, specializations, diet

Front 54

How does the pouch of South American marsupials differ from the pouch of Australian marsupials?

Back 54

their young can cling well unprotected from the pouch in south America

Front 55

Identify the factors that have caused species extinctions over the last few hundred years.

Back 55

- hunting animals for sports
- into of rats
- habitat loss
- isolated populations

Front 56

Explain the relationship between latitude and species diversity.

Back 56

new species can evolve more rapidly in the tropics and they can accumulate to greater numbers because extinction rate is lower

Front 57

Explain what an adaptive radiation is.

Back 57

a burst of diversification is accompanied by dramatic morphological evolution

Front 58

Describe at least three examples of adaptive radiation.

Back 58

1) Darwin's finches - evolved distinctive beaks and behaviors that allowed them to feed on cactus, crack nuts
2) cichlid fishes - crusing molluskes, scraping algae and eating other cichilds

Front 59

Unlike Western beavers, insects have increased in species number over time. What might explain this difference?

Back 59

good at withstanding mass extinctions, ability to eat plants gives them huge amounts of food, wings allowed insects to disperse much farther than arthropods

Front 60

Describe the physical changes in the Earth that may have sparked the Cambrian species expansion.

Back 60

retreat of the glaciers and the rise of oxygen in the ocean

Front 61

What other two hypotheses have been proposed as factors that might have caused the Cambrian species expansion?

Back 61

- evolution of new predators changed the fitness landscape
- animal toolkit allowed animals to evolve from limited # of ediacaran forms

Front 62

Which has claimed more total species over time?

Back 62

background

Front 63

During which one does the highest rate of extinction occur?

Back 63

80%

Front 64

Describe some of the factors that might determine whether a species survives a
mass extinction or not.

Back 64

habitat and climate change

Front 65

How has climate change affected speciation rates?

Back 65

diversity goes down when climate has been warm and higher when climate has been cold

Front 66

How has climate change affected the extinction rates?

Back 66

going up rather than the speciation rate going down

Front 67

Describe the evidence that supports an asteroid impact as a major factor in the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period.

Back 67

rocks, rich in iridiumm far higher than average were found in Italy. In 1991, geologists in Mexico discovered a 110 ft wide crater along the coast

Front 68

What was the effect of the end-Cretaceous extinction on the relative diversity of mammals and reptiles on the earth?

Back 68

mammals came to occupy many of their niches evolving into carnivores and herbivores, mammals evolved into whales, taking the place of marine reptiles

Front 69

Describe the history of birds species extinctions and predictions for future bird extinctions.

Back 69

birds are disappearing 100x faster and will only accelerate in the coming decades, their populations are vanishing due to hunting and loss of habitat

Front 70

Explain the reasons for the current increase in species extinction rate.

Back 70

the release of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels, carbon dioxide is making ocean's water more acidic, carbon dioxide warms the atmosphere by trapping heat from the sun

Front 71

Explain how climate change affected the white lemuroid possum.

Back 71

it had only been living on mountainsides that were 1000 meters and higher, biologists can not find a single possum and fear they are extinct due to the manmade global warming

Front 72

Describe how human actions affected the bird populations of Guam.

Back 72

tree snakes were brought over by accident on boats and the birds had no predators so they didn't have any defense with no birds insects and spiders have taken over

Front 73

Describe how human actions have affected the kaka of New Zealand.

Back 73

European wasps is eating all the honey due, kakas use the honey to get in the mood for mating.

Front 74

Describe how human actions affected the passenger pigeons of North America.

Back 74

they were all hunted and went extinct, there was so many pigeons that people considered them pests, hunting and changes to the landscape

Front 75

Describe the interaction between the Lissopimpla excelsa wasp and the tongue orchid.

Back 75

orchids deceive male wasps into thinking that they are female wasps, male tries to mate and becomes covered in pollen and fertilizers other flowers

Front 76

What is a pheromone?

Back 76

chemicals females wasps produce

Front 77

How do dupe wasps use phermomones?

Back 77

To find a mate

Front 78

What happens when male dupe wasps mistake orchid plants for female wasps?

Back 78

he finds that his body fits snugly against it and is so fooled that it even extends pincers called genital clasps into the flower

Front 79

In the relationship between the tongue orchid and the dupe wasp, which species benefits?

Back 79

orchid (positive)

Front 80

In the relationship between the tongue orchid and the dupe wasp, which species is harmed?

Back 80

wasps (negative)

Front 81

In what way is the biological environment different form the physical environment?

Back 81

is that it can also evolve

Front 82

Define coevolution.

Back 82

as species adapts to its ecological partners, its partners can adapt to it as well, two species may become intimately linked by their evolutionary change in interacting species

Front 83

A predator reduces the fitness of _______ organism. A parasite reduces the fitness of a ______ organism.

Back 83

prey's; host's

Front 84

Is the caterpillar described in the textbook a predator, parasite or deceiver?

Back 84

predator - it eats the leaves of a tree and drastically reduce the amount of energy the trees capture form sunlight

Front 85

What organism is the host for the barnacle Sacculine? How specifically does Sacculine affect its host?

Back 85

crabs - the barnacle burrows into the crab;s body and grows tendrils that extend through its host's tissues, it destroys the host sexual organs so it can no longer reproduce

Front 86

Describe two examples of commensalism.

Back 86

remoras - clamp onto sharks or other fish just to catch a ride, when the host finds its prey its remora lets go, after the kill the remora eat the leftovers

mosquito larvae - feed on decaying bodies of dead animals

Front 87

Explain why most plants are mutalists with their pollinators.

Back 87

in exchange for spreading their pollen, the plants make nectar for birds or insects to drink

Front 88

Other than pollination, how do animals such as birds and bats help plants? How do these animals benefit?

Back 88

they eat the fruits and digest the seeds through feces traveling long distances they can spread plant over a wide area

Front 89

Describe the relationship between each of the following, plants and mycorrhizal fungi.

Back 89

fungi break down nutrients that plants cannot pumping them into the roots to help the plants grow, plants pump carbon out of their roots to fungi

Front 90

Describe the relationship between each of the following, plants and nitrogen fixing bacteria.

Back 90

bacteria converts nitrogen from the atmosphere into a form plants can use and in turn plants provide steady supply of nutrients

Front 91

Describe the relationship between each of the following, humans and gut bacteria.

Back 91

bacteria produce vitamins, amino acids and other nutrients for us and in turn we provide the microbes warm, stable home and steady supply of food

Front 92

How does the moth increase the yucca plant's fitness?

Back 92

The moth is able to increase the plants fitness because it is able to raise the reproduction level of the yucca flower, it gains pollen and flies to another flower

Front 93

How does the moth decrease the plant's fitness?

Back 93

when the moth's eggs hatch the larvae feed on the plant

Front 94

Explain how the evolutionary trees of gophers and lice mirror one another.

Back 94

they see mirror symmetry, suggest that when a population of gophers became isloated from the rest of its species and evolved into a new species its lice became a new species as well

Front 95

If Baumannia and Sulcia were removed from their host, the sharpshooter, would they be able to survive on their own?

Back 95

no

Front 96

Explain how natural selection is acting on the milkweed plant and caterpillars that eat it.

Back 96

plant grows hairs that make it difficult for the insects to reach down, the plant will produce a cocktail of toxic molecules that can cause the caterpillars harm, they can disarm the toxins by cutting holes in the vessels it flows from

Front 97

How does the coevolutionary arms race between tongue orchids and dupe wasps affection evolution in the wasps and the orchids?

Back 97

male wasps learn to avoid the flowers which means the males are not wasting sperm which will lead to a higher production, the selection for wasps is less easily fooled

Front 98

Explain how the divergence of the month genus Tegeticula into tow species is driving possible speciation in Joshua trees in the Mojave desert.

Back 98

Joshua trees evolved canals in their flowers to match the length of the tongues of their own species of yucca moth, if the 2 continue there will be less opportunity for pollen to move form population to population

Front 99

Describe some of the problems that climate change may cause in coevoluted plants and insect species.

Back 99

rising temperatures in which species can survive, plants and animals are becoming active earlier each spring

Front 100

What abilities or characteristics could make a plant or insect species more likely to survive climate change?

Back 100

predicted that 17-50% of all pollinators will face a disrupted food supply, in some cases some plants will flower too early for the insects and running out of nectar while they still need to eat, some plants will survive because they can be pollinated by many different insects while some insects will be able to shift to new flowers