Which of the following statements is true of the parsimony method for reconstructing phylogeny?
The preferred phylogenetic tree under the parsimony method is the tree that requires the smallest number of evolutionary changes to explain the data.
Which of the following types of data could be compared during the construction of a phylogenetic tree?
Base sequences of the same gene from two individuals of different species
Refer to the table below. The table summarizes base sequences of homologous regions of DNA in four different organisms. According to these data, which two organisms would be separated by the largest distance on a phylogenetic tree?
A and C
Refer to the table below. The table summarizes base sequences of homologous regions of DNA in four different organisms. If A represents the outgroup and B, C, and D represent the ingroup under study, how would a phylogenetic tree be constructed to show the evolutionary relationships between B, C, and D?
D branches off first, followed by B, and then C.
Refer to the figure below showing a polygenetic tree of immunodeficiency viruses. Based on the figure, which statement is false?
HIV-1 and HIV-2 are more closely related to each other than to any of the simian immunodeficiency viruses.
The best way to assess the accuracy of methods to reconstruct phylogenetic history is to
use experimental tests of organisms with known evolutionary histories
The bones in the wings of birds and bats are _______ because they derived from a _______ ancestor, while the wings are _______ traits.
homologous; common; homoplastic
Refer to the phylogenetic tree shown below. Which statement is true?
Gizzards are a synapomorphy uniting pigeons and crocodiles.
Which statement about biological classification is false?
The same binomial name may be given to two different organisms as long as they are in different phyla.
The _______ of a phylogenetic tree represents the common ancestor, the _______ represent events where lineages diverged, and the _______ axis represents time. Assume that the tree is oriented as described in the textbook.
root; nodes; horizontal
Which of the phylogenies shown below are equivalent?
A and B
In the classification system devised by Linnaeus, the names of _____ of plants end with the suffix _____, while those of animals end with _____
families; -aceae; -idae
A taxon that contains organisms that do not share a common ancestor is referred to as
polyphyletic
Phylogenetic analyses of opsin pigments have allowed scientists to infer that ancestral archosaurs
may have been nocturnal
A _______ is any group of organisms we name, while a _______ is any _______ that consists of all the evolutionary descendants of a common ancestor.
taxon; clade; taxon
The studies of self-incompatible (outcrossing) species of Leptosiphon illustrate
how phylogenetic systematics can reveal convergent evolution
Based on the figure below, which taxon/taxa are monophyletic?
Both blue and red
A sea squirt is thought to be more closely related to vertebrates than once thought because
both vertebrate embryos and sea squirt larvae have notochords
Refer to the figure below. If birds are not considered reptiles, but reptiles include turtles, lizards, and crocodiles, the group called "Reptiles" is
paraphyletic
Which statement about traits is false?
Synapomorphies are shared ancestral traits
A molecular clock assumes that the genes used
are evolving slowly
All clades are subsets of larger clades. The most inclusive clade in the figure below are the _____; the least inclusive clade includes the _____.
Vertebrates; chimpanzee
Three character sets are being considered for inclusion in a phylogenetic analysis of lizards. The first (A) is fossil data on lizards from 10 to 20 million years ago. The second (B) is on a variety of mating behaviors that have been shown to be learned. The third (C) is from a few nuclear genes that have variable rates of evolution. Which is least likely useful to the analysis of phylogenetic relationships, and why?
B, because it involves learned traits
Suppose that mice and humans differ by 30 substitutions in their globin genes, and rats and mice differ by five substitutions. On the basis of other evidence, we know that the ancestor to humans and mice lived 84 million years ago. Assuming the molecular clock is operating, rats and mice split from each other _______ million years ago.
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