Biology 145: Evolution Fall 2009
 

Taught by Dr. Donald A.

Past Exam Questions: Midterm 1

• Why was William Paley’s (‘Blind Watchmaker’, pages 4 and 5) thinking wrong?
• Explain the concept of "historical contingency".
• Describe TWO early (19th century of earlier) approaches to dating the Earth.
• In what way has biological diversity increased, and in what way has it decreased, over the past 540 million years.
• Summarize the 'RNA world' hypothesis of pre-biotic evolution.

Past Exam Questions: Midterm 2

• What is meant by ALLOPATRIC speciation?
• In what way would natural selection influece the hardy-weinberg equilibrium?
• Does does the concept of an adaptive landscape account for imperfect adaptations?
• Explain the concept of "punctuated equilibrium"
• Describe Raup's "shell morphospace" concept.
• What drives adaptive radiations?

Past Final Questions:

• Briefly, describe Zahavi's Handicap Theory
• Describe a circumstance which might favor a shift in the "normal" 50/50 sex ratio.
• Describe the WAHLUND EFFECT
• Describe Kimura's NEUTRALISM theory and how it came about.
• How can ALTRUISTIC BEHAVIOR evolve?