All flashcards
Flashcard 1: Which outcome best indicates that a trait is being selected against in a population?
Answer: The trait’s frequency decreases across generations. Declining frequency shows the trait reduces reproductive success.
Flashcard 2: What is the correct link between antibiotic resistance in bacteria and reproduction?
Answer: Resistant bacteria survive treatment and reproduce, increasing resistance frequency. Survivors pass resistance genes to offspring, spreading the trait.
Flashcard 3: Which statement best links faster running speed in prey to reproductive outcomes?
Answer: Faster prey escape predators more, surviving to reproduce more often. Escaping predation allows prey to survive and breed.
Flashcard 4: Identify the best argument linking parental care behavior to reproductive outcomes.
Answer: Parental care increases offspring survival, raising reproductive success. More offspring reaching adulthood means higher genetic contribution.
Flashcard 5: What is the correct conclusion if a trait helps only after reproductive age?
Answer: It has little effect on fitness because it does not increase reproduction. Natural selection acts through reproduction, not post-reproductive survival.
Flashcard 6: What is natural selection in terms of traits and reproductive success?
Answer: Traits that increase reproductive success become more common over generations. This is the core mechanism of evolution through differential reproduction.
Flashcard 7: What is fitness in evolution when linking traits to reproductive outcomes?
Answer: Fitness is an organism’s ability to survive and produce fertile offspring. Fitness measures reproductive output, not just survival alone.
Flashcard 8: Which type of trait directly affects reproductive outcomes: inherited or acquired?
Answer: Inherited traits. Only genetic traits pass to offspring and affect evolution.
Flashcard 9: What is an adaptation in the context of traits and reproductive outcomes?
Answer: An inherited trait that increases survival or reproductive success in an environment. Adaptations are evolved traits that boost fitness in specific conditions.
Flashcard 10: What term describes traits that improve mating success but may reduce survival?
Answer: Sexual selection. Peacock tails exemplify this survival-reproduction trade-off.
Flashcard 11: Which statement best links camouflage to reproductive outcomes?
Answer: Camouflage reduces predation, increasing survival to reproduce. Avoiding predators allows organisms to reach reproductive age.
Flashcard 12: Which statement best links bright warning colors in toxic animals to reproductive outcomes?
Answer: Warning colors reduce predation, increasing survival and reproduction. Predators learn to avoid these patterns, protecting the toxic prey.
Flashcard 13: Identify the best link between thicker fur in cold climates and reproductive outcomes.
Answer: Thicker fur improves survival in cold, increasing chances to reproduce. Better insulation prevents freezing, enabling survival to breed.
Flashcard 14: Which argument best links a longer beak to reproductive outcomes when food is deep in flowers?
Answer: Longer beaks access more food, improving survival and offspring production. Better nutrition supports both survival and offspring production.
Flashcard 15: What is the selective pressure that connects a trait to a reproductive outcome?
Answer: An environmental factor that affects survival or reproduction. Selective pressures drive which traits succeed reproductively.
Flashcard 16: Which evidence best supports a claim that a trait increases reproductive success?
Answer: Individuals with the trait leave more surviving offspring than others. More offspring is the ultimate measure of evolutionary success.
Flashcard 17: Identify the correct claim if a trait increases survival but decreases mating success.
Answer: The trait may not increase overall fitness if reproduction decreases. Fitness requires both survival and successful reproduction.
Flashcard 18: Which statement best completes a trait-to-outcome argument: trait → advantage → what final result?
Answer: Increased reproductive success, so the trait becomes more common over time. This completes the natural selection cycle from trait to population change.
Flashcard 19: Which option best completes the argument: Camouflage reduces predation, so it increases ?
Answer: Reproductive success by increasing survival to reproductive age. Hidden prey avoid predators and live to reproduce.
Flashcard 20: Which type of selection favors traits that help avoid predators and survive to reproduce?
Answer: Natural selection. Survival traits are favored when they increase reproductive success.
Flashcard 21: What is the definition of natural selection?
Answer: Individuals with advantageous traits leave more offspring over time. Differential reproduction drives evolutionary change.
Flashcard 22: What is the correct link between a bird song that attracts mates and reproductive outcomes?
Answer: Attracting more mates increases the number of offspring produced. More mates typically means more genetic contribution to next generation.
Flashcard 23: Which evidence type most directly supports a claim that a trait increases reproductive success?
Answer: Data showing individuals with the trait produce more surviving offspring. Direct evidence links trait to offspring numbers.
Flashcard 24: Which statement correctly links thicker fur in cold climates to reproductive outcomes?
Answer: Thicker fur reduces heat loss, increasing survival and chances to reproduce. Shows environmental adaptation improving fitness.
Flashcard 25: Which statement correctly links bright male coloration to reproductive outcomes in many species?
Answer: Bright coloration can increase mate attraction, raising mating success despite risks. Sexual selection can override survival disadvantages.
Flashcard 26: Identify the best conclusion: If a trait increases survival but reduces mating, what determines success?
Answer: Net effect on total reproductive success (surviving offspring that reproduce). Evolution maximizes lifetime reproductive output.
Flashcard 27: Which statement best links parental care behavior to reproductive outcomes?
Answer: Parental care increases offspring survival, increasing the number that reach reproduction. Quality over quantity strategy increases fitness.
Flashcard 28: Which statement best links a plant's nectar production to reproductive outcomes?
Answer: Nectar attracts pollinators, increasing fertilization and seed production. Plant trait directly enhances reproductive success.
Flashcard 29: What is a trait in the context of evolution and natural selection?
Answer: An inherited characteristic that can affect survival and reproduction. Must be heritable to be subject to natural selection.
Flashcard 30: What is the definition of reproductive success in natural selection?
Answer: The number of viable offspring an organism produces that survive to reproduce. Measures evolutionary success by offspring that reach breeding age.