Blog

The three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) is a small fish found in both marine and freshwater environments. Marine stickleback populations consist mainly of individuals with armor-like plates covering most of their body surface (completely plated). Approximately 10,000 years ago, some marine sticklebacks colonized freshwater environments. After many generations in the freshwater environments, the freshwater stickleback populations lacked the armor plating (low plated) typical of marine stickleback populations. Over the period between 1957 and 2005, one freshwater population, in Lake Washington, a lake in a coastal region of the northwestern United States, changed from having a majority of individuals of the low-plated phenotype to having more individuals of the completely-plated phenotype than of the low-plated phenotype. Figure 1 shows the distribution of plated phenotypes in Lake Washington sticklebacks at four time points between 1957 and 2005. There are 5 tick marks along the horizontal axis. Centered between each tick mark, from left to right, are the numbers 1957, 1968, 1976, and 2005. The vertical axis is label Percentage of Fish, and the numbers appearing on it, from bottom to top, are zero,20, 40, 60, 80, and 100. The graph shows 11 bars and a key indicates black bars are completely plated, shaded bars are partially plated, and white bars are low plated. From left to right, the data reads as approximately:1957: completely plated,no bar; partially plated, 10; low plated, 90.1968: completely plated, 7; partially plated, 24; low plated 70. 1976: completely plated, 40; partially plated, 35; low plated 24. 2005: completely plated, 50; partially plated, 35; low plated 15. A single gene, ectodysplasin (EDA), is thought to be responsible for the variation in the number of armor plates in sticklebacks. Figure 2 shows a phylogenetic tree constructed by comparing DNA sequences of the EDA gene from a number of stickleback populations with low-plated or completely plated phenotypes. Figure 3 shows a phylogenetic tree constructed by comparing the sequences of 25 genes that were randomly selected from the same populations as shown in Figure 2. In both figures, shaded populations display the completely plated phenotype. The figures show two phylogenetic trees titled Figure 2, Phylogeny based on EDA gene only, and Figure 3, Phylogeny based on 25 random genes. Shaded populations indicated completely plated phenotypes. Figure 2 on the left divides Populations 1 through 8 as low plated, and Populations 9 through 15 as completely plated.A large branch connects all low plated phenotypes to all completely plated phenotypes. On the top branch, a tree connects Populations 1 and 2 only, and a branch then connects them to Population 3. A branch then connects Populations 1 through 3 to Population 4. A tree connects Populations 5 and 6 only, and a branch is then connected from Populations 5 and 6 to Populations 1 through 4. This tree is then connected to Population 7.On the bottom branch, a tree connects Populations 8 and 9, and a tree connects Populations 10 and 11. A branch then connects Populations 8 and 9 to Populations 10 and 11. This branch is then connected to Population 12. A tree connects Populations 8 through 12 to Population 13, a branch connects Population 14 to Populations 8 through 13, and a branch connects Population 15 to Populations 8 through 14. Figure 3 on the right has a tree that connects Population 15 to Populations one through 14. A tree connects Populations 4 and 6 and a single branch extends to the tree connecting Population 15 to Populations one through 14. A tree connects Populations 14 and 7, and a branch connects this set to Population 5. A branch then connects this set to Population 12, another branch connects this set to Population 13, and another branch connects this set to Population 8. A tree connects Populations 11 and 9, a branch connects this set to Population 10, another branch connects this set to Population 1, another branch connects this set to Population 3, and another branch connects this set to Population 2. A tree connects Populations 14, 7, 5, 12, 13, and 8 to Populations 11, 9, 10, 1, 3 and 2. Which of the following best explains the differences in the armor of the Lake Washington stickleback population summarized in Figure 1?

The most important human cause of the loss of biodiversity is attributable to which factor?

A model of a process involving nucleic acids is shown in Figure 1. The figure presents a diagram of a replication fork that is growing to the right. Strands that are complementary to the separated template strands on the left side of the fork have already been synthesized. The template strands on the right side remain single stranded. The left end of the upper template strand is labeled 5 prime, and the right end is labeled 3 prime. Two sequential arrows that point from right to left represent the process of strand synthesis with nucleotides that are complementary to the upper template strand. The left end of each arrow is labeled 3 prime, and the right end of each is labeled 5 prime. The left end of the lower template strand is labeled 3 prime, and the right end is labeled 5 prime. A single long arrow that points from left to right represents the process of strand synthesis with nucleotides that are complementary to the lower template strand. The left end of the arrow is labeled 5 prime, and the right end is labeled 3 prime. Figure 1. Model of a process involving nucleic acids Which of the following best explains what process is represented in Figure 1?

Antigens are foreign proteins that invade the systems of organisms. Vaccines function by stimulating an organism’s immune system to develop antibodies against a particular antigen. Developing a vaccine involves producing an antigen that can be introduced into the organism being vaccinated and which will trigger an immune response without causing the disease associated with the antigen. Certain strains of bacteria can be used to produce antigens used in vaccines. Which of the following best explains how bacteria can be genetically engineered to produce a desired antigen?

The question refers to the following DNA strand and table of codons: Each triplet of DNA bases is numbered from one to seven. Triplet 1 is T, A, G, triplet 2 is T, T, C, triplet 3 is A, A, A, triplet 4 is C, C, G, triplet 5 is C, G, T, triplet 6 is A, A, C, triplet 7 is A, T, T. The left side of the table is labeled First Base in Codon, and labels the main rows, from top to bottom, U, C, A, G. The top side of the table is labeled Second Base in Codon, and labels the main columns, from left to right, U, C, A, G. The right side of the table is labeled, Third Base in Codon, and labels each of the main rows U C A G.The data in the table reads as follows: First Base U and Second Base U with Third Base U, results in U U U phenylalanine; with Third Base C results in U U C phenylalanine; with Third Base A, results in U U A leucine, and with Third Base G, results in U U G leucine. First Base C and Second Base U with Third Base U, results in C U U leucine; with Third Base C, results in C U C leucine; with: Third Base A, results in C U A leucine, and with Third Base G, results in C U A leucine. First Base A and Second Base U with Third Base U, results in A U U isoleucine; with Third Base C, results in A U C isoleucine; with Third Base A, results in A U A isoleucine; and with Third Base G, results in A U G methionine or start. First Base G and Second Base U with Third Base U, results in G U U valine; with Third Base C, results in G U C valine; with Third Base A, results in G U A valine, with Third Base G, results in G U G valine. First Base U and Second Base C with Third Base U, results in U C U serine; with Third Base C, results in U C C serine; with Third Base A, results in U C A serine; and with Third Base G, results in U C G serine. First Base C and Second Base C with Third Base U, results in C C U proline; with Third Base C, results in C C C proline; with Third Base A, results in C C A proline; and with Third Base G, results in C C G proline. First Base A and Second Base C with Third Base U, results in A C U threonine; with Third Base C, results in A C C threonine; with Third Base A, results in A C A threonine; and with Third Base G, results in A C G threonine. First Base G and Second Base C with Third Base U, results in G C U alanine; with Third Base C, results in G C C alanine; with Third Base A, results in G C A alanine; and with Third Base G, results in G C G alanine. First Base U and Second Base A with Third Base U, results in U A U tyrosine; with Third Base C, results in U A C tyrosine; with Third Base A, results in U A A stop; and with Third Base G, results in U A G stop. First Base C and Second Base A with Third Base U, results in C A U histidine; with Third Base C, results in C A C histidine; with Third Base A, results in C A A glutamine; and with Third Base G, results in C A G glutamine. First Base A and Second Base A with Third Base U, results in A A U asparagine; with Third Base C, results in A A C asparagine; with Third Base A, results in A A A lysine; and with Third Base G, results in A A G lysine. First Base G and Second Base A with Third Base U, results in G A U aspartate; with Third Base C, results in G A C aspartate; with Third Base A, results in G A A glutamate; and with Third Base G, results in GAG glutamate. First Base U and Second Base G with Third Base U, results in U G U cysteine; with Third Base C, results in U G C cysteine; with Third Base A, results in U G A stop; and with Third Base G, results in U G G tryptophan. First Base C and Second Base G with Third Base U, results in C G U arginine; with Third Base C, results in C G C arginine; with Third Base A, results in C G A arginine; and with Third Base G, results in C G G arginine. First Base A and Second Base G with Third Base U, results in A G U serine; with Third Base C, results in A G C serine; with Third Base A, results in A G A arginine; and with Third Base G, results in A G G arginine. First Base G and Second Base G with Third Base U, results in G G U glycine; with Third Base C, results in G G C glycine; with Third Base A, results in G G A glycine; and with Third Base G, results in G G G glycine. The mRNA transcribed from the DNA would read

Over many years of a breeding program, a zoo has an established population of foxes that is well adapted for living in captivity. A representative sample of wild foxes from the neighboring forest was used to start the zoo population. A study was conducted to compare the behavior of the zoo fox population with the wild fox population in the neighboring forest. The behaviors of equal numbers of foxes from each population were assessed. Each fox’s behavior was scored on a continuum from docile to aggressive based on its interaction with a trained behaviorist. The data is shown in Figure 1. The horizontal axis is labeled Behavior Pattern of Foxes, and ranges left to right, from Docile to Aggressive and has an arrow pointing to the right. The vertical axis is labeled Number of Foxes Demonstrating Behavior, and has an arrow pointing upward at the top of the axis. The first curve, which represents Zoo population, begins along the horizontal axis at the most Docile point. It moves steeply upward and to the right, and peaks two thirds up the vertical axis. It then moves downward just as steeply, and ends around the mid point of the horizontal axis and on the horizontal axis. The second curve, which represents Wild population, begins slightly to the left of where the Zoo population line ends on the horizontal axis. It moves steeply upward and to the right just as steeply as the first line, and peaks at a slightly lower number of foxes than the Zoo population line. It then moves downward and to the right just as steeply, and ends far to the right on the horizontal axis, within the Aggressive range on the horizontal axis. Figure 1. Aggressive behavior in zoo and wild fox populations The phenotypic variation in behavior between the two populations can best be described as resulting from

Iteroparous species reproduce many times over the course of their lifetimes. However, they produce, at most, only a few offspring at a time. This allows them to divide their energy resources between survival, reproducing, and rearing offspring. What reproductive benefit is sacrificed by adopting an iteroparous reproductive strategy?

In addition to phylogenies, another method for evaluating the amount of time that has passed since living organisms diverged is called a molecular clock. The molecular clock is based on the idea that some genes and gene regions tend to

In species in which offspring require a high level of parental care after birth, mating tends to be ______.

Goldenrod gall flies (Eurosta solidaginis) lay their eggs individually in developing shoots of the tall goldenrod plant (Salidago). When it hatches, the fly larva makes a chemical the causes the plant tissue to swell around it, forming a mass of plant tissue called a gall, which serves as a home for the larva.  Downy woodpeckers attack large galls and eat the gall fly larva. Parasitic wasps lay eggs inside small galls and the wasp larvae that hatch from the eggs eat the gall fly larva when it hatches. Only galls of intermediate size remain intact because the wall of the gall is too thick for the ovipositor of a parasitic wasp to penetrate, and the size of the gall and hence the larva within makes it less attractive to woodpeckers than a larger gall containing a larger larva and hence a larger meal. Which graph best depicts the type of selection occurring in this gall fly population?