2.
in the past, mass extinctions encouraged the rapid evolution of surviving species (1 point)
• by changing developmental genes.
• by making new habitats available to them.
• because they killed all organisms that had coevolved.
• because they spared all organisms that had evolved convergently.
3.
the australian flying phalanger is a marsupial flying squirrel. its appearance, behavior, environment, and diet closely resemble those of the american flying squirrel, a placental mammal. this resemblance is most likely due to (1 point)
• adaptive radiation.
• convergent evolution.
• coevolution.
• gradualism.
4.
gradualism is a pattern of evolution in which (1 point)
• a single species evolves into several closely related species.
• several distantly related species develop similarities.
• a species evolves at a slow, steady pace.
• a species has periods of little evolution interrupted by periods of rapid evolution.
5.
mass extinction would most likely result from which of the following events? (1 point)
• a disease kills off a single species of predator within an ecosystem.
• a wildfire burns a national park.
• global temperatures drop several degrees after several massive volcanic eruptions.
• a massive earthquake strikes north america.