1. Data Analysis:
Natural Selection A lizard called the flat-tailed horned lizard lives in the American Southwest. The most distinctive feature of these small lizards is the fringe of horns that goes from one side of the skull around the back to the other side of the skull.
The main predator of this lizard is a bird that kills it by biting through the spine at the back of the skull. Researchers studying this lizard observed that the lizards defend themselves against this attack by throwing their head backward and stabbing at the attacker with their horns. The researchers wondered if having longer back horns and a wider spread of side horns (from tip on right side to the tip on the left side) was advantageous for the lizards. They collected data on the length of the back horns and the total width of the side horns on live lizards and killed lizards. The researchers measured 203 live animals and 87 killed animals. A summary of their data can be found in the table below.
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Average rear horn length(mm)OR average side horn spread (mm)
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Side horns
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killed
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2.6
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live
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7.8
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Rear horns
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killed
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10.9
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Live
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27.1
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1a. Using the appropriate format, graph the above data. Place all the data (for both sets of horn measurements) on the same graph. Also think about displaying the data in a way that most easily allows you to make the comparisons you need to use to draw your conclusions and that best addresses the point(s) you wish to make.
1b. Using your graphed data from Part "a" as evidence, is evolution beginning to occur in this population of lizards? As a part of your answer, include a detailed explanation of the data while addressing the following points:
- the role of genetic variation and diversity of a population in natural selection and evolution
- a complete review of how natural selection might or might not be occurring in this example
- evidence for/against evolution occurring in this example, based on your knowledge of evolution and your answers above.
2. Plant Life Cycle
2a. Popular culture classifies tomatoes as vegetables. You put them on your salad, right, not on your ice cream?! However, after having taken BIOL 101, you know that they are fruits and not vegetables. Give a scientific explanation of a fruit, and, consequently, how you know that a tomato is a fruit, contrasting it to what you know to be vegetables, like asparagus and onions and spinach.
2b. Fruits cannot happen without flowers. Explain the relationship between fruits and flowers. As a part of your answer, explain how fruits develop, from inception to completion. Be sure to incorporate the appropriate floral structures, what they contribute to plant reproduction, and how they are related to their respective seed/fruit parts.
2c. Not all flowers are the same (they have differences in color, shape, odor, etc). Using what you learned about flowers in BIOL 101, explain why this is true. As a part of your answer, explain the true "purpose" of a flower, give examples of flowers, use the appropriate names for the parts of a flower that contribute to this purpose, and include the concept of co-evolution between the flower and the main audience for the flower.
3. Glucose Regulation and Homeostasis
3a As a way of explaining this control, interpret the graph below. In other words, describe in detail the appropriate hormonal cycle involved in human glucose regulation. Include all the appropriate cells, tissues, glands, hormones, target cells, and effects in your answer. Also include both cellular and physiological responses. As a part of your answer, explain how this chain of events is monitored and regulated.
3b Now explain how glucose regulation functions differently in people with Type II diabetes. How is this different from people with Type I diabetes?
4. Human Hormones and Reproduction
4a. Identify and explain each of the hormones associated with the human female reproductive cycle. In your answer, include where each hormone is produced, the target for each hormone, the function of each hormone, and the impact of those hormones on the reproductive cycle. Your answer should focus on the cycle in the absence of fertilization and implantation.
4b. In a step-by-step manner describe fertilization on a cellular level. As a part of your answer include the relative anatomies of the sperm and egg and how their respective forms contributes to their specific roles.
4c. Cells of a very early embryo begin to secrete the hormone HCG after it has implanted into the uterus. The function of HCG is to maintain the corpus luteum so that it continues to secrete its hormones. Explain in detail how this would impact the human reproductive cycle and change what you explained in Part "4a"?
5. Ecology
Bear and wild mice both live in the north woods of Minnesota. However, they are very different organisms. In addition to the obvious physical differences, the strategies they employ for approaching life, their life histories, are very different. As a result, they make different trade-offs (energy and resource allocations).
5a. From an ecological perspective, compare and contrast the living and reproductive strategies of both organisms. Here you should focus on characteristics of each individual organism and incorporate trade-offs into your answer.
5b. Compare and contrast the population dynamics of both organisms. Your answer here should address the character of the populations as a whole over time and incorporate trade-offs into your answer
5c. Which animal has a Life History, and a Survivorship Curve, more similar to that stereotypically identified with humans? Explain?