Ari Rubin

Bio 2/3

Chapter 2, Evolution Explosion

1. Is Joe wrong? Explain 3 ways in which he might be wrong.

Treating crops to prevent insect damage, more than 600 bugs could have developed
resistance. This directly effects prices of crops, which eventually hurts the economy.
Also, many bacterias (one that he might catch) have developed resistance to antibiotics.
Also, viruses, such as HIV, can mutate and become resistant to medication in as little as
months. These all effect Joe, evolution does affect him.

2. Why does Palumbi think about "the major misconception about evolution-that it
is just a theory?" And Why!

It is wrong. Evolutionary biology is now at a point where we have so much understanding

and can complete so many experiments that we can now “generate rapid insight into the
process of evolution.”

3. Another misconception about evolution is that it is slow-crawls. What is

Palumbi's argument against this idea:

“Antibiotic resistance, the triumph of HIV over antiviral drugs, size reduction in
overexploited fisheries, and resistance of insects to nerve gas pesticides have all
happened in the past fifty years, and all have been accelerated by the intesification of
ecological change from human activities.”

4. What are some of our common "evolved foods"?

Oranges without seeds, chickens with more breast meat then wings, corn that cant be
sprouted, and many plants. Also, navel oranges, pink grapefruit, and yellow peppers.

5. Why are the selective breeding experiments with fruit flies "not just interesting
but revolutionary, not just important , but pivotal."

Because this showed the effects of artificial breeding. “The experiment helped open
evolution to critical, objective testing and provided the experimental platform that
supports evolutionary experiments to this day.

6. What might limit the nature of change or artificial selection?

7. Why did in the Fox experiment, selection have unintended outcomes?-different
results.

Because it is “impossible to select for only a single trait when whole organisms are
chosen to be parents of the next generation.” Also, they selected foxes who were “tame”.
Other characteristics became paired with the characteristic of being “tame” over time.

8. Do we have evidence that selection for behavior could lead to reproductive

isolation?

We have evidence in fruit flies, more bristles versus fewer, moist versus cool, and a
tendency to walk up a plane than down. This changed the way the flies looked and
behaved.

9. What are the costs of colorful male guppies? What are the benefits of bright
male colors? What can shift the balance between bright colors and dull colors?

Predators eat the most colorful male guppies, but females prefer to mate with the
brightest males. When more predators are around, more fish are dull colored, compared
to the brighter colors that females prefer to mate with.

10. Why can extreme body shapes (think sparrows) be naturally selected
against?

Because these extreme body shapes tend to get killed off by weather and climate. There is
an ideal sparrow type for the local weather and climate.

11. Why do we need the science of evolution? How can it help?

Evolution can happen so fast, within our lifetime, that we can now help the species
around us evolve to our advantage. Also, many viruses and bacterias are evolving
constantly, so scientists need to be able to keep up with this evolution in order to maintain
society’s good health.