The echidna is an egg-laying mammal whose body is covered in…

The echidna is an egg-laying mammal whose body is covered in quills for protection from predators.  The porcupine’s body also is covered in quills for protection, although porcupines are not closely related to echidnas. What is the best explanation for presence of quills in these two species?

FILL-IN: Lamarck proposed that giraffe parents lengthened th…

FILL-IN: Lamarck proposed that giraffe parents lengthened their necks by stretching to reach leaves, then passed their lengthened necks to their offspring. He called his hypothesis “the inheritance of _____________”.  Spell carefully, and give the complete term.

Convergent evolution results in the evolution of ____ charac…

Convergent evolution results in the evolution of ____ characters, which are traits that evolved independently in relatively unrelated taxa because of adaptation to similar ways of life; the similarity in traits is not due to inheritance of that trait from a common ancestor.

Give a brief example of a situation in which it would be ben…

Give a brief example of a situation in which it would be beneficial for an animal to have a relatively high surface area to volume ratio, and explain why having the high surface area to volume ratio is helpful in that situation. (1-2 sentences is sufficient, do not write a long paragraph.)