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Ch. 13 - Understanding Race
Belk, Maier - Biology: Science for Life 6th Edition
Belk, Maier6th EditionBiology: Science for LifeISBN: 9780135214084Not the one you use?Change textbook
Chapter 13, Problem 10

Phylogenies are created based on the principle that all species descending from a recent common ancestor .
a. Should be identical
b. Should share characteristics that evolved in that ancestor
c. Should be found as fossils
d. Should have identical DNA sequences
e. Should be no more similar than species that are less closely related

Verified step by step guidance
1
Understand the concept of phylogenies: Phylogenies are diagrams that represent the evolutionary relationships among species, showing how they descend from common ancestors over time.
Recall the principle of shared derived characteristics: Species that share a recent common ancestor are expected to have traits that evolved in that ancestor. These traits are called 'shared derived characteristics' or 'synapomorphies.'
Eliminate incorrect options: a) Species are not identical because evolution introduces variation. c) Fossil evidence is not a requirement for constructing phylogenies. d) DNA sequences may not be identical due to mutations over time. e) Closely related species are expected to be more similar than distantly related ones.
Focus on the correct principle: The correct answer is based on the idea that species descending from a recent common ancestor share characteristics that evolved in that ancestor.
Conclude that the correct answer is b: Phylogenies are created based on the principle that species descending from a recent common ancestor should share characteristics that evolved in that ancestor.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Common Ancestry

Common ancestry is a fundamental concept in evolutionary biology, suggesting that all species share a recent common ancestor from which they have diverged over time. This principle underlies the construction of phylogenetic trees, which illustrate the evolutionary relationships among species based on shared traits and genetic information.
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Shared Characteristics

Shared characteristics, or homologous traits, are features that are inherited from a common ancestor. These traits can include physical features, behaviors, or genetic sequences. The presence of these shared characteristics among species is crucial for understanding their evolutionary relationships and constructing accurate phylogenies.
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Characteristics of Life

Phylogenetic Trees

Phylogenetic trees are diagrams that represent the evolutionary relationships among various species based on their shared characteristics and genetic data. They illustrate how species are related through common ancestry and can help predict characteristics of unknown species based on their position in the tree. Understanding how to read and interpret these trees is essential for studying evolutionary biology.
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Building Phylogenetic Trees Example 2
Related Practice
Textbook Question

The biological definition of 'race' corresponds to all of the following except:

a. The genealogical species concept

b. The idea that subgroups within the same species can be distinguished from each other by ancestry

c. There is a natural hierarchy of groups within a species from 'lowest' to 'highest' forms

d. It should be possible to identify races on the basis of shared allele frequencies among populations

e. Races within a species are not reproductively isolated from each other.

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Textbook Question

All of the following statements support the hypothesis that humans cannot be classified into biological races except:

a. There is more genetic diversity within a racial group than average differences between racial groups.

b. Alleles that are common in one population in a racial group may be uncommon in other populations of the same race.

c. Geneticists can use particular SNP alleles to identify the ancestral group(s) of any individual human.

d. There are no alleles found in all members of a given racial group.

e. There is genetic evidence of mixing among human populations occurring thousands of years ago until the present.

Textbook Question

The similarity in skin color among different human populations appears to be primarily the result of:

a. Natural selection

b. Convergent evolution

c. Which biological race they belong to

d. A and B are correct

e. A, B, and C are correct

Textbook Question

The tendency of individuals to choose mates who are like themselves is called

a. Natural selection

b. Sexual selection

c. Assortative mating

d. The founder effect

e. Random mating

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