Concept explainers
Macroevolution is distinct from microevolution in that macroevolution
a. | results in changes to life’s diversity. |
b. | results in changes to the DNA of organisms. |
c. | affects larger organisms. |
d. | can be observed. |
Introduction:
The types of organisms have changed throughout the history of life. New species have appeared, and many have gone extinct. These events are included in evolution. Evolution is of two types: macroevolution and microevolution.
Answer to Problem 1MCQ
Correct answer:
The appearance of new species and the extinction of species are studied under evolution. These large and complex changes in life’s diversity are known as ‘macroevolution.’ Hence, the correct answer is option a.
Explanation of Solution
Reason for correct answer:
Option a. is given as, “results in changes to life’s diversity.”
Macroevolution is distinct from microevolution. As the name suggests, it describes the large changes in organisms such as the appearance of new species. Macroevolution eventually results in large scale changes in life’s diversity, which includes extinction and appearance of new species.
Reason for incorrect answer:
Option b. is given as, “results in changes to the DNA of organisms.”
The changes in DNA or shifting of allele frequencies in organisms represent small scale changes in the population which result in microevolution. Hence, option b. is incorrect.
Option c. is given as, “affects larger organisms.”
Macroevolution affects the population with large changes which includes all organisms. It does not affect only large organisms. Hence, option c. is incorrect
Option d. is given as, “can be observed.”
The process of macroevolution takes places only at species level due to which it cannot be observed or detected easily for different species. Hence, option d. is incorrect.
Hence, the options b., c., and d. are incorrect.
Macroevolution is distinct from microevolution, which results in large and complex changes to life’s diversity. Thus, the correct answer is option a.
Want to see more full solutions like this?
Chapter 14 Solutions
BIOLOGY:THE ESSENTIALS (LL) W/CONNECT
- Over the past several decades, natural selection has caused populations of Staphylococcus aureus (an infectious wound bacterium) to evolve resistance to most antibiotics. If antibiotic use were stopped, what would you predict would happen to these S. aureus populations? A. Horizontal gene transfer would increase B. The populations will begin colonizing new environments. C. The frequency of resistant forms will definitely increase in these populations. D. They will go extinct without the antibiotic. E. The frequency of nonresistant forms will increase in these populations.arrow_forwardAdaptive radiations can be a direct consequence of three of the following four factors. Select the factor that is NOT a direct consequence of adaptive radiation. Select one: a. Genetic drift b. Vacant ecological niches (niches are environment "space" where a particular organism has resources required to survive and reproduce) c. New evolutionary innovations d. Colonization of a new region that contains suitable habitat and few competitor speciesarrow_forwardWhat is the difference between micro- and macroevolution? a. Microevolution describes the evolution of small organisms, such as insects, while macroevolution describes the evolution of large organisms, like people and elephants. b. Microevolution describes the evolution of microscopic entities, such as molecules and proteins, while macroevolution describes the evolution of whole organisms. c. Microevolution describes the evolution of populations, while macroevolution describes the emergence of new species over long periods of time. d. Microevolution describes the evolution of organisms over their lifetimes, while macroevolution describes the evolution of organisms over multiple generations.arrow_forward
- Which of the following is an example of gene flow? a. horizontal gene transfer b. sexual selection c. genetic drift d. mutationarrow_forwardWhat is the correct sequence for the organic evolution as proposed by Darwin and Wallace? A. Overproduction, constancy of population size, variations, natural selection. B. Variations, natural selection, overproduction, constancy of population size.. C. Overproduction, variations, constancy of population size, natural selection. D. Variations, constancy of population size, overproduction, natural selection.arrow_forwardNatural selection occurs when which of the following conditions are met? Group of answer choices a.Variations between individual organisms lead to differential survival chances. b.The conditions in an ecosystem support a wide range of living organisms c.Individual organisms depend on each other to obtain available resources. d. Habitat and nutrient resources in an area are plentiful over a long period of time.arrow_forward
- Adaptive radiation a. is the result of enriched uranium used in power plants. b. is the evolution of closely related species adapted to use different parts of the environment. c. results from genetic drift. d. is the outcome of stabilizing selection favoring the maintenance of adaptive traits.arrow_forwardThe transfer of an antibiotic resistance gene from one bacterialspecies to a different species is an example ofa. exon shuffling.b. horizontal gene transfer.c. genetic drift.d. migration.arrow_forwardDoes natural selection occur when which of the following conditions are met? A. Variations between individual organisms lead to differential survival chances. B. The conditions in an ecosystem support a wide range of living organisms C. Individual organisms depend on each other to obtain available resources. D. Habitat and nutrient resources in an area are plentiful over a long period of time.arrow_forward
- The biological species concept emphasizes whether populations a. look the same. b. have similar biochemical pathways. c. can have gene flow between them. d. share common ancestry. e. have similar ecological requirements.arrow_forwardWhat problems does horizontal gene transfer cause for evolutionary biologists? a. It can make the reconstruction of phylogenetic trees difficult because it can obscure phylogenetic relationships. b. It can cause physiological problems in some organisms, making it hard to study them. c. It can make breeding between different individuals of the same species difficult. d. Because it is the transfer of genes between the same species, it can make individuals look more similar than they actually are. e. All of the above.arrow_forwardWhich of the following statement about the outcome of the evolution of a new species through hybridization is false? a.The new species may have traits that allow it to inhibit environments different from both parental species. b.The new species is always an intermediate of the two parental species c.The new species may have greater genetic diversity and greater trait diversity than the parental species. d.None of the above What are the two ways of looking into evolution in detail? a.Micro frequency change and ascent with modification b.Genotypic and phenotypic modification c.DNA frequency change and inheritance modification d.Allele frequency change and descent with modification Natural selection increases the frequencies of advantageous alleles and decreases deleterious alleles' frequencies. What are the three categories of natural selection depending on the favored traits? a.Directive, selective and native b.Indicative, normative and fixative c.Directional, stabilizing and…arrow_forward
- Concepts of BiologyBiologyISBN:9781938168116Author:Samantha Fowler, Rebecca Roush, James WisePublisher:OpenStax College