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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is a recessive gene?

2. To what does Dawkins attribute changes to female mice as the population rises?

3. What does PI stand for?

4. What does the study of egg clutch sizes that Dawkins cites show?

5. How common are genes that cause altruistic behaviors in nature?

Short Essay Questions

1. Does Dawkins put forth any ideas by Wynne-Edwards that he agrees with?

2. When and why are gulls' offspring in danger?

3. What factors does Dawkins mention that affect the human birthrate and population?

4. Explain Dawkins' interpretation of the affects of overpopulation on female mice.

5. Explain the conflict between Wynne-Edwards and Dawkins over territory behavior.

6. What does Dawkins substitute for survival of a species?

7. What is the result of Dawkins' game theory analysis of male and female sexual and childrearing behaviors?

8. What may happen to guillemot eggs, and what is the adaptation of guillemots to deal with this?

9. What possible explanation for viruses does Dawkins give?

10. What does higher PI mean, in R.L. Trivers' ideas?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Dawkins' ideas about communication as presented in The Selfish Gene.

1) How does Dawkins define communication?

2) What is the role of lying in the natural world and in survival? How does lying relate to Dawkins' ideas in The Selfish Gene?

3) What altruistic roles does communication play? What selfish roles can communication play in the natural world? How does Dawkins refute ideas that communication is essentially altruistic and functions for the good of the species?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the elements that contribute to survival in an evolutionary system.

1) What role does fecundity play in evolutionary survival? Why does fecundity play and important role? How is its role different in molecular reproduction and in the lives of complex organisms?

2) What role does fidelity play in evolutionary survival? What role does it play in evolutionary change?

3) What role does longevity play in evolutionary survival? How is longevity different in a system of molecules in competition, versus in a system of organisms in competition?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss sexual reproduction in The Selfish Gene.

1) How does Dawkins characterize male and female reproductive cells? What is the relationship between this characterization and Dawkins' theory of the selfish gene?

2) How does sexual reproduction affect the ability of genes to survive? Why should sexual reproduction exist at all?

3) What implications do Dawkins' ideas about sexual reproduction have for the male and the female of a species?

(see the answer keys)

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