EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITY

SCH1132 HUMAN EVOLUTION AND ECOLOGY

TAKE HOME ASSESSMENT 2: SEMESTER 2, 2019

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THERE ARE 60 MCQS IN THIS TEST

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1. Compared to modern reptiles, modern mammals have ________ offspring with _________
parental care:
a. fewer; less
b. fewer; more
c. more; less
d. more; more

2. The Visual Predation Hypothesis for Primate evolution states that:

a. all of the following (b) (c) and (d)
b. nocturnal hunting was central to arboreal colonisation
c. an insectivore lifestyle of ancestral primates pre-adapted them for life in the trees
d. to avoid predation early primates developed good stereoscopic vision and this prepared
them for life in the trees

3. How do mammals (the entire group) reproduce?

a. All have live births
b. Some lay eggs, and others have live births
c. All lay eggs
d. None of the above

4. Primates achieve stereoscopic vision by having:

a. forward-facing eyes
b. large eyes
c. eyes that see well at night
d. round eyes

5. What makes primates useful models for understanding human evolution?

a. Primate evolution is more complex than the evolution of lower animals.
b. We share many of the same adaptations as other primates.
c. We share an interest in evolution with other primates.
d. Modern primates represent the primitive condition of our common ancestor.

6. Which of the following statements about Charles Darwin is true?

a. He advocated placing humans in the primate order.
b. He agreed that humans should be placed in their own order based on our distinctive
mental abilities and upright posture.
c. He did not comment in writing on the relationship of humans to other organisms.
d. He did not think that humans should be classified with any other organisms.

7. The diversity seen in behavior among closely related species is most likely due to ecological
pressures. Similar behaviors seen in distantly related species is likely due to convergence.
Which of the following research approaches utilizes these concepts as its foundation?
a. comparative method
b. blind study
c. double-blind study
d. observation and testing

8. Substantial size differences between males and females are called

a. conspecifics.
b. congenerics.
c. polyandry.
d. sexual dimorphism.

9. Which of the following is not a characteristic of prosimians?

a. Many have a single claw on each hand.
b. They all live in multimale/multifemale groups.
c. They tend to rely more on a sense of smell than other primates.
d. Some are nocturnal.

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10. All non-human primates are quadrupeds:
a. true
b. false

11. The fact that many Prosimians are nocturnal disproves the conclusion that “primates are a
mammalian order that has shifted from an olfactory lifestyle to a visual lifestyle”.
a. true
b. false

12. Which of the following is NOT a homologous trait among humans and other primates?
a. large brain in relation to body compared with other mammals
b. well-developed vision
c. grasping hands
d. almost no sexual dimorphism in body size

13. In primate dentition, the left side of a jaw is identical to the right side. This is called
a. bilateral symmetry.
b. homologous dentition.
c. positive correlation.
d. pleiotrophy.

14. New World monkeys are

a. all arboreal and diurnal.
b. all arboreal and some have prehensile tails.
c. almost exclusively terrestrial.
d. generally all the same small body size.

15. In a classic study Pierre Charles Dominique discovered that lorises and galagos shared their
habitat by foraging at different heights within the forest canopy and understory.
a. true
b. false

16. Pair-bonded groups and active defence of territories are typical of the
a. great apes.
b. Old World monkeys.
c. lesser apes.
d. lorises.

17. Which of the following is NOT true of Lorises and Galagos?

a. they are nocturnal
b. they use olfactory communication
c. they are largely solitary
d. they are both found in Asia

18. Compared with the haplorrhines, which of the following is true of the strepsirrhines?
a. They retain many ancestral characters.
b. They are typically quite large in body size.
c. They have evolved numerous adaptations that suit their diurnal lifestyle.
d. They have more fully developed traits related to increased complexity of behavior.

19. Encephalisation refers to:

a. increased size of the visual centre
b. colour vision and a bony eye socket
c. visual communication
d. increased size of the neocortex

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20. A detailed study of predation on the Tai Forest primates, buy Susanne Shultz, revealed which
of the following facts?
a. There is one species of cat predator (leopard); no primate was observed to hunt and eat
another primate species.
b. Leopards, chimps, and birds choose their prey randomly.
c. Mangabeys and pottos are heavily preyed upon by leopards, and chimpanzees prefer
black and white colobus monkeys.
d. Mangabeys and pottos are heavily preyed upon by eagles, and chimpanzees prefer red
colobus monkeys.

21. Monkeys:
a. tend to swing from branch to branch
b. travel by vertical clinging and leaping
c. move mostly on the ground
d. run and leap along branches

22. The New World monkeys are classified as:

a. Prosimii
b. Catarrhini
c. Platyrrhini
d. Pongidae

23. The most likely way New World Monkeys arrived in South and Central America was :
a. by rafting from Africa across the Atlantic ocean
b. by migrating over a narrow land-bridge from North America
c. by evolving from marmoset and tamarin prosimians in that area
d. through introduction by Columbus

24. The New World Monkeys have nostrils that face downwards.
a. true
b. false

25. Which of the following has the smallest effect on the health of wild primate populations?
a. infanticide by other primates
b. palm oil production
c. forest cutting for lumber
d. large-scale agricultural projects

26. Primates play a very important role in the rain forest ecosystem:
a. they can be used as a tourist attraction
b. they provide bush tucker
c. they act to renovate and diversify the forest by spreading the seeds of the fruit they eat
d. all of the above (a) (b) and (c)

27. All New World Monkeys belong to the Callitrichidae family.

a. true
b. false

28. I have claw-like-nails on all fingers and toes except for my big toe which has a flat nail. My
hands and feet act as crampons allowing me to cling to the bark of trees while gouging it for the
gum that lies beneath. Who am I?
a. a red ruff lemur
b. a marmoset or a tamarin
c. a capuchin
d. a Bolivian squirrel monkey

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29. In the study of primates, a “time budget” is
a. the amount of time that passes for each major developmental phase (infant, juvenile, and
adult periods) in the life cycle of a primate.
b. the amount of time a primate can spend on a given activity before it needs to feed again.
c. the amount of time spent directly observing each primate during the course of field
research.
d. an accounting of how much time the members of a given species tend to spend on each of
several key activities.

30. The owl monkey could have been diurnal once because it:
a. it can catch flying insects with ease
b. it has some colour vision
c. it was forced into becoming nocturnal
d. it has not developed sonar detection

31. What is estrous?

a. the period of most intensive competition among females for access to potential male
mates
b. the sum of male and female parental investment
c. the period of time during which a female is receptive to mating
d. the length of time between births, or the “interbirth interval”

32. Old World Monkeys can be found in:

a. Madagascar
b. South America
c. South East Asia
d. North America

33. In evolutionary biology, cost and benefit refer to the impact of behaviors on the animal’s
a. overall health.
b. genetic fitness.
c. foraging success.
d. social relationships.

34. Because behavioral strategies are thought to be the product of natural selection, they should
increase
a. genetic fitness.
b. the cost-to-benefit ratio.
c. adaptations.
d. trade-offs.

35. In primates, females usually provide far more parental investment than males. Why?
a. Primates are mammals, and in mammals, females lactate and males do not.
b. Primate males have other responsibilities, including defending territories, so females must
always provide most parental investment.
c. Primates require a great deal of parental investment, and females are genetically better at
providing parental investment.
d. Sexual selection is unable to operate on female mammals.

36. The hand of a __________ can rotate through 180o

a. gibbon
b. ring tailed lemur
c. hamadryas baboon
d. capuchin monkey

37. Which of the following is most closely related to humans?

a. gorillas
b. lemurs
c. orang-utans
d. bonobos

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38. Which is true for female Pan troglodytes, the common chimpanzee?
a. they are bigger than males
b. they emigrate after reaching maturity
c. they band together when searching for food
d. they hunting just like lionesses do the hunting for lions

39. Which of the following is true for bonobos?

a. they live in societies controlled by females
b. they exploit a food source largely distributed at ground level.
c. they can perform very well in tests of their cognitive abilities
d. all of the above

40. Jane Goodall revolutionised the study of non-human primates by:

a. spending long periods of time in the field observing wild chimpanzees
b. conducting hormonal studies using hormones extracted from faeces and urine
c. capturing and studying primates in the lab
d. performing genetic analysis on primate populations

41. Gibbons:
a. show marked sexual dimorphism
b. go through a disruptive adolescent phase similar to humans
c. are noted for twinning
d. all of the above - (a) (b) & (c)

42. The consensus today is that males determine the form that primate social systems take.
a. True
b. False

43. The majority of nonhuman anthropoid species are polygynous.

a. True
b. False

44. When one female lives in a reproductive unit with multiple males, we say the social system is:
a. polygamous
b. polygynous
c. monogamous
d. polyandrous

45 Primates display extended ontogeny because:

a. the arboreal environment selects for a long reach
b. they need time to learn about their complex environment
c. they need time to grow
d. they have a close attachment to their mother

46. According to Hrdy, langur infanticide was the result of:

a. human presence
b. starvation
c. competition for reproductive success
d. overcrowding

47. Gorillas are:

a. Omnivorous
b. Monogamous
c. Herbivorous
d. Solitary

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48. Chimpanzees
a. knuckle walk
b. brachiate
c. live in equatorial Africa
d. all of the above (a) (b) and (c)

49. Humans belong to the ________ family:

a. Hylobatidae
b. Pongidae
c. Hominoidea
d. Hominidae

50. The destruction of tropical rain forests is the single biggest factor endangering Primates today.
a. true
b. false

51. Most modern studies of primate behavior are:

a. field studies
b. semi-free-ranging studies
c. performed in captivity
d. performed in a laboratory

52. Which of the following best summarises the paradox of sociality?

a. Living in groups makes animals more vulnerable to attack.
b. Living in groups provides access to mates.
c. Why would an animal live in a group if the bottom line of evolutionarily success is individual
mating success?
d. all of these

53. Gibbons live in monogamous pair bonds and are therefore:

a. not dimorphic with respect to body size
b. a solitary species
c. have intense male competition for mates
d. better adapted to life in the forest

54. In female philopatric species, _______ forms the core of the social group.
a. females
b. males
c. a polyandrous family
d. a polygynandrous grouping

55. In a _________ society, females enjoy a high degree of affiliation.

a. male philopatric
b. polyandrous
c. polygamous
d. female philopatric

56. Among female nonhuman primates, dominance:

a. may be related to reproductive success
b. may be related to maturation rates
c. may play a role in determining the number of offspring a female may have
d. all of these

57. Females may choose to mate with dominant males because dominant males:
a. are often healthier
b. force themselves on the females
c. always form harems
d. are so rare

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58. The study of nonhuman primates to access information about human evolution is limited by:
a. the fact that we are not really primates ourselves
b. the small number of nonhuman primate species living
c. the huge variety and number of living nonhuman primate species
d. the relative lack of similarity between primates and ourselves

59. More sexually dimorphic primate species tend to:

a. have less male competition for mates
b. be polygynous
c. be solitary rather than live in groups
d. live in more dangerous environments

60. Females may exploit the food-finding abilities of others by:

a. fighting and overcoming other females
b. stealing food
c. forming matrilineal clusters
d. avoiding predators

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS:

61. Chimpanzees and Bonobos are closely related, however, looking at their behavior you
would think they were from different planets. Describe below five (5) behavioural differences
between Chimpanzees and Bonobos (5 marks)

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62. The Tree Kangaroo looks a lot like a primate, however, it is unrelated (it is actually a
marsupial). Please describe below a primate that looks similar to a Tree Kangaroo, one shared
characteristic between that Primate and a Tree Kangaroo and explain why the Tree Kangaroo
and some Primates look similar even though they do not have a recent common ancestor.
What is the name given to that type of evolution? (5 marks)

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63. Explain why the primates from Madagascar are so different from the primates found in
mainland Africa. Describe the underlying evolutionary process that ensured the primates of
Madagascar became different and stayed different. (5 marks)

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64. Many non-human primates are threatened with extinction. Choose one endangered
primate and state its taxonomic classification in detail, describe its habitat, explain why it is
threatened and one society or organisation that is supporting that primate’s fight to avoid
extinction. Please also include that society’s website, referenced according to the ECU’s
referencing guide. (5 marks)

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65. Throughout our lectures and controversies, the issue of cooperation and morality has come
up repeatedly. The issue is whether primates other than humans have a level of emotional
understanding and cooperation, possibly even some form of morality. Please provide two
examples of cooperation, emotion or morality from our content (5 marks)

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66. Spider Monkeys and Gibbons share several characteristics in common, however, they are
not closely related. Please explain clearly 5 characteristics that Spider Monkeys and Gibbons
either share or are different in. (5 marks)

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67. A characteristic of primates is that they have single offspring. Almost all species of
Callitrichidae have twins. However, humans general find it difficult to raise twins. Explain how is it
that Callitrichidae are able to successfully raise twins. (5 marks)

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68. Humans have spread all over the planet and populate all continents except for Antarctica.
However, there is less genetic variation among humans than there is in the chimpanzees of
western Africa. Explain what has led to humans having such low genetic variation. (5 marks)

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END OF TEST 2 QUESTIONS

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