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Evolutionary processes leading to speciation · Part 3 of 4
9 exam-style questions with model answers, plus 12 quick multi-choice questions — every question on this part of the standard, grouped by the 3 pages of notes they come from.
Write a full answer before you reveal the model one. That comparison is where the learning happens.
Describe what is meant by divergent evolution and by adaptive radiation, and describe what homologous structures show.
Explain why New Zealand's fauna shows so many adaptive radiations, and why flightlessness evolved repeatedly in unrelated New Zealand bird lineages.
Discuss why adaptive radiations occur on island archipelagos more often than on continents, and evaluate what island radiations can and cannot tell us about evolution generally.
Describe the difference between homologous and analogous structures, and describe what each shows about evolution.
Explain how co-evolution occurs between a native plant and its bird pollinator, and explain why the relationship makes both species vulnerable.
Convergent and divergent evolution produce opposite patterns from the same underlying process. Discuss how this is possible, and evaluate how a scientist could determine which process explains an observed similarity between two species.
Describe the models of gradualism and punctuated equilibrium, and describe what each predicts about the fossil record.
Explain why punctuated equilibrium fits well with what is known about allopatric speciation, and why long periods of stasis occur.
Discuss whether gradualism and punctuated equilibrium should be regarded as competing theories, and evaluate what the debate shows about how science works.