Explain the difference between generalized and specialized characteristics. What are examples of each in terms of the adaptive potential? Define the term “adaptive radiation” and explain why it is important to the principle of evolution. Why was adaptive radiation especially important to mammals’ eventual rapid evolutionary success and diversification? What are some of the different groups of mammals?

Darwin's concept of evolution "the theory of decent with modification through variation and natural selection" can best be demonstrated by which of the following examples?   a. A giraffe stretches his neck to reach higher branches. The exercise of stretching up strengthens the muscles in the giraffe's neck and legs. This ability to stretch is also seen in the giraffe's offspring.   b. A monkey accidentally drops her fruit in the salty water of a bay. She recovers the fruit and eats it. She discovers the fruit is cleaner and tastes better after it has been in the salty water. She continues to wash the fruit in the bay before eating it. Her offspring see what she has done and also wash their fruit in the salty water. Soon, the whole population of monkeys is washing their fruit.   c. Several turtles hatch from a clutch of eggs buried in the sand on a beach. One of the turtles is the color of the sand; the others are darker in color. The turtles scurry toward the water,…

What types of species are more likely to undergo rapid evolutionary change, and what types of species are more likely to undergo delayed evolutionary change? What role do humans play in this process – speeding up and slowing down evolution? What impacts do rapid or delayed evolution have for humans?

Transitional species are species important in helping scientists determine the evolutionary path that species have taken over long periods of time.   Lobe-finned fishes are the ancestors of amphibians and have fossils that are found in rocks that are at least 380 million years old. Fossils of the oldest amphibian-like vertebrate animals with true legs and lungs are found in rocks that are approximately 363 million years old. Paleontologists have found a sample of rock that is approximately 370 million years old which contains what seems to be a link between lobe-finned fishes and amphibians. Which of the following is a characteristic that you would not expect to see in this transitional fossil? Question options:   Skeletal structures that indicate the development of legs.   An intermediate structure between lungs and gills.   Teeth that are intermediate to the lobe-finned fishes and amphibians.   A neck that is more flexible than lobe-finned fishes.

The name for the monophyletic group of animals that includes all reptiles, mammals, birds, and amphibians is the ----- . This group is characterised by the evolution and shared presence of  ----- . However, some members of this group do not possess this feature because of a process called  -----  loss. Snakes are famously legless reptiles, but other reptiles have also lost their limbs to varying degrees. Within the family ---- , we see species that have no limbs and some that have only hind limbs. In the genus ---- we can find species that have fully pentadactyl limbs, as well as those with only 3, 2, or 1 --- per foot.

In many ways, modern human lifestyles are at odds with our bipedal locomotion. At no point in history have humans been as inactive as today (especially in developing nations), which has led to a number of physical ailments, such as obesity, loss of mobility, and low back pain. What are some other impacts of evolution on our species? What are some ways we can alleviate these problems?

Species have traditionally been characterized as "primitive " and "advanced". For example,mosses were considered to be primitive,  and flowering plants advances;crocodiles were primitive and mammals were advanced.Why do most biologist today think it is incorrect to refer to any modern species as primitive?

The lung was the first air breathing organ (ABO) that evolved in ancient fishes, but after fish evolved the swim bladder to aid in controlling buoyancy, this latter organ was often converted into an ABO when fish were faced with positive selection for air breathing. So much so, that in groups of fish that evolved before 150 MYA, this is the only type of ABO found. However, air breathing evolved many more times in more recent groups of fishes, but interestingly, now the swim bladder is NEVER used as an ABO and instead all sorts of different body parts are used (e.g. mouth, stomach, intestine). Why did the original swim bladder make such a good target for evolution to turn it into an ABO? What happened in modern fishes to change this? A new device is on the market that senses pulmonary interstitial fluid pressure (around the lung cells) in patients and relates that information to the patient’s health care provider. The focal patient of the article I read about it has congestive left…

How were researchers able to determine that Soapberry bug mouthparts had evolved to be shorter in some populations?     By growing a population in a laboratory and forcing them to eat smaller walled fruits for several generations     By analyzing the gene variants for mouth parts in different populations     By experimentally introducing new fruits into the the ecosystems that the populations they suspected were evolving live in     By comparing the mouthparts of modern populations to museum specimens collected in the past

Explain two factors that lead to adaptive evolution.