9 Evolution

Answers

Page 169–170 How were breeds of dog developed by humans?

1. a) pulling sleds
b) herding cattle
c) hunting wild pigs
d) guarding homes/property
2.  shorted legged so can enter badger setts / rabbit burrows
 large front paws for digging
 loose skin which does not get caught or tear when a dachshund is in tight
tunnels underground
 short coat / hair so stays clean even in muddy tunnels
 good sense of smell to trail / hunt animals
 stubborn / fierce
3.  cross with another breed to get hybrids / cross-bred dogs with the desired
genes
 back cross to the original breed
 repeatedly / for many generations
 breeding only from individuals with the desired genes and original breed
characteristics

Page 172–173 Data-based question: Water lilies and cacti

1. a) helps leaves to float on surface of the water where there is more light
than under the water
b) to prevent water loss through evaporation
c) to maximize exposure to the air when the pores are open (gas exchange
would be less efficient under the water)
2. a)  water supports stem so no need for it to be thick
 flexible so it is not broken by water currents / flow
 flexible so it can bend if the water level drops
 can grow to keep leaf blade on the surface if the water level rises
b)  provide buoyancy to keep the leaf stalks up in the water and the leaf
blade on the surface
 route for oxygen to diffuse down to the roots
c)  anchorage for the plant
 obtains nutrients from the mud

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3. a) provides supplies of water during droughts
b)  shades parts of the stem and keeps them cooler
 allows the stem to reduce or increase in volume as water reserves
are used or built
 greater strength than if the stem was circular
c)  intercepts early morning and evening sunlight when there are cooler
conditions for photosynthesis
 intercepts less light when the sun is overhead in the middle of the
day and there is most danger of overheating
 stems are heavy with stored water and it is easier to support them if
they are vertical
4. a)  less surface area through which water would be lost
 spines deter grazing / browsing animals
 slow growth in cacti so it is important to avoid parts being eaten
b)  less water loss if stomata open at night when it is cooler
 carbon dioxide can be stored for use in photosynthesis during the
day
c)  absorb water from as wide an area as possible
 in deserts soils contain little humus / organic matter so store little
water
 in deserts soils are shallow or non-existent
 water is only available for brief periods after rain
5.  water lilies would die from dehydration within minutes
 cacti would die from lack of oxygen / excessive absorption of water by
osmosis / rotting
6. Answers will vary depending on the example chosen.

Page 175 What is an adaptation?

1. a) The Icelandic boy may be at most risk because the lack of melanin in his
skin allows UV light to penetrate and cause mutations; ozone depletion
has increased the penetration of UV light through the atmosphere.
b) The Nigerian boy may be at most risk of rickets because the melanin in
his skin reduces UV light penetration so, he may make less vitamin D and
absorb less calcium.
2. a)  higher risk of skin cancer
 due to UV light penetration
 due to a lack of protective melanin in the skin
 high temperatures so tendency to wear light clothing allowing UV to
reach the skin
b)  higher risk of vitamin D/calcium deficiency/rickets
 due to low levels of UV light
 cold temperatures so tendency to wear clothing which prevents UV
reaching the skin

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 Page 175–176 Photos: What happens in the struggle for existence?
Himalayan balsam:
 96 seedlings are visible
 all but one or two will die
 seedlings that grow most strongly upwards will tend to survive as they win in
the competition for harvesting light and they shade out other seedlings
Thistle tortoise beetle larva:
 when it presses itself to the leaf it leaves no shadow so is harder to see
 spines on the larvae look like spines on the edge of thistle leaves
 lump of feces conceals the larva
 lump of feces makes the larva less palatable
 so, less chance of being eaten by a predator
Pusch Ridge forest:
 abundant light due to fallen trees
 less competition for water

Page 178 Photos: What features can natural selection change?

Peppered moth:
 air pollution covered tree trunks with black soot
 air pollution killed lichens which had given tree / birch tree trunks a speckled
appearance
 peppered moth roosts on birch trunks during daylight hours
 vulnerable to predation by birds
 melanic form better camouflaged
 higher proportion of melanics survive and reproduce
 genes for melanic wings passed on / inherited
 melanic form increases in the population
 these changes were reversed when air pollution was prevented
Bacteria:
 resistance to an antibiotic is due to genes
 genes for antibiotic resistance can be inherited / passed on to offspring
 genes for antibiotic resistance can pass from one species of bacteria to another
 in a population of bacteria some may show resistance to a specific antibiotic and
others do not
 antibiotic resistance becomes beneficial only when the antibiotic is used
 individuals that are not resistant are killed
 individuals that are resistant survive and reproduce
 numbers of resistant bacteria increase
 the degree of resistance can increase due to further genetic changes
Medium ground finches:
 medium ground finches vary in beak size
 beak size is a heritable trait
 individuals with larger / stronger beaks were better able to eat the large hard
seeds that were available after the drought
 individuals with larger / stronger beaks had a higher survival rate and produced
more offspring than individuals with smaller / weaker beaks

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Page 179–180 What can we learn about evolution form anatomy?
1. One answer is given here for each use, but there are many other possibilities
and some tetrapods use their forelimbs in more than one way.
 walking – dog
 running – cheetah
 digging - mole
 climbing – monkey
 gliding – colugo
 flying – bat
 swimming – turtle
2.  grasping in midwife toads
 body support in elephants, for example, which have pillar-like front legs
 humans use their forelimbs in many different ways
3.  a single bone (humerus) in the proximal part of the limb
 two bones (radius and ulna) in the lower part of the limb
 a group of small wrist bones (carpals)
 five sets of bones in the distal part of the limb (metacarpals and
phalanges)
4. A single humerus is visible and a pair of bones which are the radius and ulna
then five sets of small bones – metacarpals and phalanges; only one carpal is
visible – so yes, very similar.
5.  Owen believed that all life was created by God
 it might seem odd to create animals with the same basic limb bone
structure even though the functions of the limbs were diverse
6. Views / beliefs will vary considerably here. Biologists who have studied
evolution mostly regard natural selection as a more convincing explanation as
there is considerable evidence for it.

Page 181 Data-based question: Evolution of canids

1. grey wolf
2.  more closely related to golden jackal
 split from them 3–4 million years ago whereas split from bat-eared fox 9 -
19 million years ago
3. common ancestor 6–7.4 million years ago
4.  side-striped and black-backed jackals are very closely related
 golden jackal is less closely related

Page 182 What can we learn about evolution from embryos?

1. There are explanations based on religious beliefs but no obvious other
scientific explanations
2.  had a function in our ancestors
 may be gradually reducing by evolution
 if there is no disadvantage in having them, they may persist even if they
are not used
 there may be no genes in the human population for not having these
structures

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 Page 183–184 What can we learn about evolution from fossils?
1. a)  signs of eukaryotes in the chemicals in 2.7-billion-year-old oil
 fossils of eukaryotes as old as 2.1 billion years
b)  earliest fossils of vertebrates are about 540 million years old
 from the early Cambrian era
 found in Chengjiang in China, for example, Haikouichthys
c)  earliest fossils of tetrapods are about 400 million years old
 from the Devonian era
 found in Yunnan in SW China, for example Kenichthys
d)  fossils of possible ancestors dating from 20 – 13 million years ago
have been found
 in east Africa
 most recent common ancestor of chimps, gorillas, orangutan and
humans existed 8 – 4 million years ago according to DNA evidence
2. Answers will vary according to area
3. a)  evolution of limbs and loss of fins
 evolution of lungs and loss of gills
 loss of scales and evolution of moist skin with blood vessels for gas
exchange
b)  loss of limbs / legs including limb bones
 elongation and narrowing
 rearrangement of body organs to fit the new body shape
 evolution of muscles for snake locomotion
c)  evolution of limbs into flippers
 evolution of nostrils into blowhole
 evolution of the whale’s tail so it could be used for propulsion
4. Answers will vary depending on which transition is investigated

Page 184–186 What causes a species to become extinct?

1. a) (i) graptolites
(ii) trilobite
(iii) ammonite
(iv) non-avian dinosaur
b)  graptolites – late Carboniferous / Pennsylvanian era, 320 to 300
million years ago
 trilobites– end of the Permian era, 252 million years ago
 ammonites – end of the Cretaceous era, 65.5 million years ago
 non-avian dinosaurs – K-T event at end of the Cretaceous era, 65.5
million years ago

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2. a)  mastodon became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene, 11,000 to
10,000 years ago
 due to overexploitation / hunting by humans
b)  dodo became extinct after 1662 / towards the end of the 17th
century
 due to hunting by humans
 and a small initial island population
c)  Carolina parakeet became extinct in 1918
 when the last specimen died in Cincinnati zoo
 extinction due to deforestation
 hunting for their feathers (for hats)
 killing to protect crops
 capture to keep as pets
3. a)  de-extinction is producing living individuals of a species that had
become extinct
 done by obtaining DNA of the extinct species and copying it
 placing the DNA into de-nucleated eggs cells from a closely related
species
b)  wrong to cause extinction of a species so right for de-extinction to
be attempted
 interesting
 ecological role of the species may be important
 expensive – money might be better spent on something else
 some species are harmful and should not be brought back into
existence, for example, smallpox viruses
4. More species are extinct than are currently alive, though there are probably
more species alive today than ever before.
5. a)  destruction of habitats / ecosystems, for example, deforestation
 over-exploitation / over-hunting / over-fishing
 trade in animal parts, for example elephant ivory
 spread of pests and diseases
 pollution
 climate change
b) This is a massive question and there are many elements to the answer.
Some are given here:
 we must reverse climate change
 eliminate pollution by plastics / toxic pesticides / drugs used to
treat humans
 prevent further spread of pests / diseases by biosecurity measures
 control hunting
 ban trade in animal parts such as tiger bones
 prevent further loss of habitat
 control human population growth
 carry out captive breeding programs for critically endangered
species
 establish more wildlife reserves

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 Summative assessment
Criterion A: Understanding evolution
1. B
2. D
3. D
4. D
5. B
6. D
7. D (though arguably natural selection can happen without II)
8. C
9. C
10. D

Criterion B: Spaghetti worms

11. a) Designs will vary but should include:
 how many spaghetti worms will be used
 two or more colors of spaghetti worm
 consideration of control variables so the only factor affecting
whether a worm is eaten is its color
 where the worms will be placed including the environmental /
background coloration
 examples of control variables and how they are kept the same
 methods for counting how many worms have/have not been eaten
 procedures for simulating reproduction of the worms that have not
been eaten
 details of timings
 how many generations will be simulated
b) There are many possible hypotheses, most of which will be based on
effectiveness of camouflage with different colors.

Criterion C: Tawny owls

12. a)  0.12 at the start
 0.42 at the end
b)  0.88 at the start
 0.58 at the end
13. a)  both grey and brown owls have lower survival with greater snow
depth
 brown owls have much lower survival as snow depth increases and
grey owls have slightly lower survival
b)  grey owls are less conspicuous in snowy conditions than brown owls
 prey species hunted by owls are more likely to see brown owls and
take avoiding action in snowy conditions
 brown owls more likely to starve to death in snowy conditions
c)  snowy conditions less frequent in 2010 than in 1960
 global warming

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Criterion D: Responses to global warming
14. a) Adaptation will depend on the species but could include these changes:
 breeding earlier in the spring
 thinner fur / insulation
 smaller body size (due to reduced need to conserve heat)
 smaller stomata (in plants) as more danger of water loss
 thicker waxy cuticle (on plant leaves) to reduce water loss
b)  adaptation can take thousands / millions of years, but climate
change is happening over a few decades
 some species are already under stress / close to extinction for other
reasons
 some species lack the variation needed for evolution
c)  tipping point may be reached
 rapid unstoppable changes may begin
 due to positive feedback effects
 greenhouse effect / global warming affects every habitat and species

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