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Test Bank for Animal Physiology 5th Edition by Richard Hill

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Book Title: Animal Physiology

Edition: 5th Edition

Author: Richard Hill

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 Test Bank
to accompany
Animal Physiology, Fifth Edition
Hill • Cavanaugh • Anderson

Chapter 1
Animals and Environments: Function on the Ecological Stage

Multiple Choice

1. Which statement about the discipline of physiology is false?

a. It is a key discipline for understanding how animals change over Earth’s history.
b. It is a key discipline for understanding the fundamental biology of all animals.
c. It is a key discipline for understanding human health and disease.
d. It is a key discipline for understanding the health and disease of nonhuman animals.
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: Chapter 1 Introduction
Learning Objective: 1.0.1 Explain the meaning of the statement that physiologists study “how
animals work.”
Bloom’s Level: 5. Evaluating

2. Which one of the following would be the most reasonable method of calculating how much
energy a bird would require for a migration?
a. Tracking a bird for the duration of the migratory path and estimating its energy usage over that
distance
b. Using a wind tunnel to measure metabolic rate at various flight speeds, then using that
information to estimate energy usage during the migration
c. Measuring resting metabolic rate in a lab setting and calculating its exercise rate to estimate
total usage during the migration
d. Measuring oxygen consumption with some sort of implanted device that the bird carries for
the duration of the migration
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: Chapter 1 Introduction
Learning Objective: 1.0.2 Describe a procedure for quantifying a bird’s energy cost to fly.
Bloom’s Level: 5. Evaluating

3. Why is studying salmon migration important to humans?

a. Studying salmon migration is important to salmon but not necessarily to humans.
b. Salmon and humans can harbor many of the same diseases.
c. Salmon are an important source of food for humans.
d. Salmon are an important food source for many local vertebrate species.
Answer: c

© 2022 Oxford University Press

Textbook Reference: 1.1 The Importance of Physiology
Learning Objective: 1.1.1 Illustrate the practical importance of physiological research for
understanding both humans and wild animals.
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

4. To understand how a fish propels itself by applying forces to the water, physiologists would
study its
a. biomechanics.
b. evolution.
c. ecology.
d. cell physiology.
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: 1.2 The Highly Integrative Nature of Physiology
Learning Objective: 1.2.1 Prepare a 20-minute talk for a middle-school class on the theme of
integration, in which you stress links between ecology and molecular biology.
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

5. Refer to the figure shown.

The data in the graph would be relevant to which subdiscipline of physiology?

a. Evolution
b. Cell physiology
c. Morphology
d. Ecology
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: 1.2 The Highly Integrative Nature of Physiology
Learning Objective: 1.2.1 Prepare a 20-minute talk for a middle-school class on the theme of
integration, in which you stress links between ecology and molecular biology.
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

© 2022 Oxford University Press

6. In the study of physiology, the term “_______” refers to the components of living animals and
the interactions among those components that enable animals to perform as they do.
a. feedback
b. regulation
c. natural selection
d. mechanism
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: 1.3 Mechanism and Origin: Physiology’s Two Central Questions
Learning Objective: 1.3.1 Specify the two major questions that are addressed in the modern
study of animal physiology.
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

7. How is the light reaction in the firefly inhibited?

a. Mitochondria prevent oxygen from reacting with luciferyl-AMP.
b. Nitric oxide combines with oxygen to prevent reaction with luciferyl-AMP.
c. ATP is prevented from combining with luciferin.
d. Luciferase is prevented from catalyzing the reaction.
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: 1.3 Mechanism and Origin: Physiology’s Two Central Questions
Learning Objective: Not aligned
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

8. Which of the following is not needed in the mechanism of light production in the firefly?
a. Oxygen
b. ATP
c. Light
d. Luciferin
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: 1.3 Mechanism and Origin: Physiology’s Two Central Questions
Learning Objective: Not aligned
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

9. In the firefly, light is emitted when

a. ATP combines with luciferin, forming luciferyl-AMP.
b. released nitric oxide blocks the mitochondria’s use of oxygen.
c. the electron-excited product of O2 and luciferyl-AMP returns to its ground state.
d. luciferase is activated by oxygen.
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: 1.3 Mechanism and Origin: Physiology’s Two Central Questions
Learning Objective: Not aligned
Bloom’s Level: 5. Evaluating

10. Which of the following is considered the “on” switch for the light-emitting reaction of the
firefly?
a. Oxygen
b. Luciferase

© 2022 Oxford University Press

c. Nitric oxide
d. ATP
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: 1.3 Mechanism and Origin: Physiology’s Two Central Questions
Learning Objective: Not aligned
Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

11. A physiological mechanism or other trait that is a product of evolution and is advantageous is
called
a. an adaptation.
b. natural selection.
c. adaptive significance.
d. evolution.
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: 1.3 Mechanism and Origin: Physiology’s Two Central Questions
Learning Objective: 1.3.2 Explain with an example why the two questions are distinct rather than
simply being corollaries of each other.
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

12. What is the adaptive significance of light emission in the firefly?

a. Female fireflies emit light in such a way that distinguishes their species.
b. All fireflies emit light to lure prey.
c. Male fireflies emit light to attract mates.
d. Male fireflies emit light to evade predators.
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: 1.3 Mechanism and Origin: Physiology’s Two Central Questions
Learning Objective: 1.3.2 Explain with an example why the two questions are distinct rather than
simply being corollaries of each other.
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

13. Which of the following is a similarity between an octopus and a fish?

a. The evolutionary adaptation of excellent vision
b. The mechanism of vision
c. The processing of visual signals before reaching the optic nerve
d. The neuroanatomy of the eye
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: 1.3 Mechanism and Origin: Physiology’s Two Central Questions
Learning Objective: 1.3.2 Explain with an example why the two questions are distinct rather than
simply being corollaries of each other.
Bloom’s Level: 5. Evaluating

14. Research in the field of _______ physiology emphasizes synthesis across levels of biological
organization.
a. evolutionary
b. comparative
c. environmental

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d. integrative
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: 1.4 This Book’s Approach to Physiology
Learning Objective: 1.4.1 State the function of the “At Work” chapters in this book.
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

15. Which statement regarding animals is true?

a. There is no distinction between an animal and its environment.
b. Once adults, animals are structurally static.
c. All animals require energy to maintain their organization.
d. Body size is significant in the lives of only small animals.
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.1 Distinguish an animal’s acute and chronic responses to changes in its
external environment.
Bloom’s Level: 5. Evaluating

16. Most cells of an animal

a. are exposed to the external environment.
b. are exposed to the internal environment.
c. fluctuate between exposure to the external environment and the internal environment.
d. turn over while being exposed to the internal environment.
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.1 Distinguish an animal’s acute and chronic responses to changes in its
external environment.
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

17. Refer to the figure shown.

© 2022 Oxford University Press

Which graph refers to a physiological trait that is regulated by an organism?
a. I
b. II
c. III
d. IV
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.1 Distinguish an animal’s acute and chronic responses to changes in its
external environment.
Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

18. Refer to the figure shown.

© 2022 Oxford University Press

A migrating salmon regulates its internal Cl– concentration, shown in graph _______, while
conforming to water temperature, shown in graph _______.
a. I; II
b. II; I
c. II; IV
d. I; III
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.1 Distinguish an animal’s acute and chronic responses to changes in its
external environment.
Bloom’s Level: 4. Analyzing

19. Refer to the figure shown.

© 2022 Oxford University Press

Graph _______ shows an animal’s regulation of its body temperature as the external temperature
increases. Graph _______ shows no regulation of its body temperature as external temperature
increases.
a. I; II
b. II; I
c. II; IV
d. II; III
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.1 Distinguish an animal’s acute and chronic responses to changes in its
external environment.
Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

20. Which statement regarding physiological conformity and regulation is true?

a. All animals will eventually conform.
b. Animals are either regulators or conformers.
c. An animal cannot be both an ion regulator and a temperature conformer.
d. Conforming is more metabolically expensive than regulating.
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals

© 2022 Oxford University Press

Learning Objective: 1.5.1 Distinguish an animal’s acute and chronic responses to changes in its
external environment.
Bloom’s Level: 5. Evaluating

21. The functioning of regulatory mechanisms that automatically make adjustments to maintain
internal constancy is called
a. conformity.
b. feedback.
c. homeostasis.
d. regulation.
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.1 Distinguish an animal’s acute and chronic responses to changes in its
external environment.
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

22. Physiological changes that occur by alteration of gene frequencies over the course of many
generations are referred to as _______ changes.
a. acute
b. chronic
c. evolutionary
d. developmental
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: Not aligned
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

23. _______ is an example of “abandoning constancy” during thermoregulation.

a. Sweating
b. Shivering
c. Hibernating
d. Huddling
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.1 Distinguish an animal’s acute and chronic responses to changes in its
external environment.
Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

24. What is the principal advantage of conformity?

a. The process requires a large amount of energy.
b. It allows cells to maintain a steady state.
c. Very little energy is used by this process.
d. Cells are subject to changes in their conditions.
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals

© 2022 Oxford University Press

Learning Objective: 1.5.1 Distinguish an animal’s acute and chronic responses to changes in its
external environment.
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

25. Sweating in response to heat is an example of a(n)

a. acute change.
b. chronic change.
c. evolutionary change.
d. developmental change.
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.1 Distinguish an animal’s acute and chronic responses to changes in its
external environment.
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

26. Refer to the figure shown.

What type of physiological response does the figure refer to?

a. Chronic response
b. Acute response
c. Evolutionary response
d. Developmental response
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.1 Distinguish an animal’s acute and chronic responses to changes in its
external environment.

© 2022 Oxford University Press

Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

27. Refer to the figure shown.

If the heat exposure were removed, the line in the diagram would
a. continue to show a plateau.
b. drop sharply.
c. gradually drop to its initial starting point.
d. drop but be maintained somewhere at the middle level.
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.1 Distinguish an animal’s acute and chronic responses to changes in its
external environment.
Bloom’s Level: 4. Analyzing

28. Which response is the longest lasting?

a. Acute response
b. Chronic response
c. Evolutionary response
d. Developmental response
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.1 Distinguish an animal’s acute and chronic responses to changes in its
external environment.
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

© 2022 Oxford University Press

29. Which statement regarding the Antarctic fish species rock cod is false?
a. Some species have no hemoglobin.
b. The fish metabolically synthesize antifreeze to keep from freezing.
c. The fish live their entire lives at body temperatures near –1.6°C.
d. If acclimated slowly enough, the fish can survive in tropical waters.
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.1 Distinguish an animal’s acute and chronic responses to changes in its
external environment.
Bloom’s Level: 5. Evaluating

30. Rainbow trout captured and brought into a lab aquarium undergo a chronic adjustment to the
conditions in the lab. This process is called
a. phenotypic plasticity.
b. feedback inhibition.
c. acclimatization.
d. acclimation.
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.1 Distinguish an animal’s acute and chronic responses to changes in its
external environment.
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

31. During childbirth, muscular contractions acting to expel the fetus from the uterus induce
hormonal signals that induce even more intense contractions. This is an example of
a. homeostasis.
b. negative feedback.
c. a set point.
d. positive feedback.
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.2 Explain why negative feedback is termed “negative.”
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

32. Refer to the figure shown.

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What statistical method was used to draw the trend line in the figure?
a. Phylogenetically independent contrasts
b. Ordinary least squares regression
c. Weight-specific mean
d. Logarithmic scaling
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.3 Analyze a trait of an animal (e.g., stomach size or longevity) to
determine whether the trait is merely what is to be expected in view of the animal’s body size.
Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

33. Refer to the figure shown.

© 2022 Oxford University Press

According to the figure, what is the expected gestation period of a warthog?
a. 20 weeks
b. 24 weeks
c. 30 weeks
d. 55 weeks
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.3 Analyze a trait of an animal (e.g., stomach size or longevity) to
determine whether the trait is merely what is to be expected in view of the animal’s body size.
Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

34. Refer to the figure shown.

© 2022 Oxford University Press

Which species in the figure shows an actual gestation period that is furthest from its expected
gestation period?
a. Bushbuck
b. Dikdik
c. Warthog
d. Mountain zebra
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.3 Analyze a trait of an animal (e.g., stomach size or longevity) to
determine whether the trait is merely what is to be expected in view of the animal’s body size.
Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

35. _______ can tolerate a body temperature of _______, one of the highest body temperatures
recorded for any vertebrate animal.
a. Humans; 50°C
b. Thermophilic archaea; 100°C
c. The desert iguana; 48.5°C
d. Sea stars; 45.5°C
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: 1.6 Environments
Learning Objective: Not aligned
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

36. Refer to the figure shown.

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This figure shows that
a. the number of butterfly species increases as one moves toward the equator.
b. butterfly populations are larger near the equator than at any other latitude.
c. the number of butterfly species increases as latitude increases.
d. the butterfly population increases as latitude increases.
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: 1.6 Environments
Learning Objective: Not aligned
Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

37. Refer to the figure shown.

© 2022 Oxford University Press

The environmental factor that is most responsible for the data shown in the figure is
a. sunlight.
b. food.
c. temperature.
d. water.
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: 1.6 Environments
Learning Objective: Not aligned
Bloom’s Level: 4. Analyzing

38. In which habitat would O2 concentration most likely be the lowest?

a. A subnivean air space
b. An open meadow at 4000 m elevation
c. The bottom of a waterfall
d. Pond water with a lot of algae
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: 1.6 Environments
Learning Objective: 1.6.1 Explain why animals require O2 (oxygen).
Bloom’s Level: 5. Evaluating

39. At altitudes above _______ m, people often find simply walking uphill to be a significant
challenge.
a. 5000
b. 6500

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c. 9000
d. 10,000
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: 1.6 Environments
Learning Objective: 1.6.1 Explain why animals require O2 (oxygen).
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

40. In order to obtain O2, water-breathers face a substantially greater challenge compared to air-
breathers. Which of the following is not a reason for this difference?
a. Water contains less O2 per liter than air does.
b. Water is denser than air.
c. Water can become anoxic more readily than air can.
d. Oxygen diffuses more slowly across respiratory surfaces in water than in air.
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: 1.6 Environments
Learning Objective: 1.6.1 Explain why animals require O2 (oxygen).
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

41. Most invertebrates that live in the ocean, such as sea stars and corals,
a. tend to lose water via osmosis.
b. must drink water.
c. must actively excrete water.
d. do not gain or lose much water.
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: 1.6 Environments
Learning Objective: Not aligned
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

42. Which animal osmotically gains the most water per gram on a daily basis?
a. Sea star
b. Goldfish
c. Coral
d. Reef fish
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: 1.6 Environments
Learning Objective: Not aligned
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

43. Certain _______ can tolerate almost complete desiccation.

a. toads
b. tardigrades
c. marine bony fish
d. goldfish
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: 1.6 Environments
Learning Objective: Not aligned

© 2022 Oxford University Press

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

44. The subnivean air space is an example of a(n)

a. microenvironment.
b. desert burrow.
c. hibernating area.
d. anoxic environment.
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: 1.6 Environments
Learning Objective: 1.6.2 Compose a quantitative essay on the importance of microenvironments
in the lives of animals.
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

45. Choose the best example of an animal changing its environment at the global scale.
a. a squirrel using a hole in a tree as a burrow
b. locusts decimating an agricultural crop in the Midwest U.S.
c. the invasive species altering Florida’s community structure
d. the use of fossil fuels
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: 1.6 Environments
Learning Objective: 1.6.3 Exemplify how the presence of animals can change the properties of
the animals’ environment at both local and global scales.
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

46. The shift in gene frequencies in smaller populations because of random deaths is referred to
as
a. evolution.
b. nonadaptive evolution.
c. genetic drift.
d. pleiotropy.
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: 1.7 Evolutionary Processes
Learning Objective: 1.7.1 Explain how genetic drift and pleiotropy can cause a trait to evolve in
nonadaptive directions, being certain to define “nonadaptive.”
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

47. Because of _______, populations of the mosquito Culex pipiens are experiencing increased
resistance to organophosphates and _______ in areas where organophosphates are sprayed.
a. pleiotropy; reduced cold tolerance
b. maladaptation; all other insecticides
c. nonadaptive evolution; accelerated larval developmental stages
d. natural selection; altered sex ratios
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: 1.7 Evolutionary Processes
Learning Objective: 1.7.1 Explain how genetic drift and pleiotropy can cause a trait to evolve in
nonadaptive directions, being certain to define “nonadaptive.”

© 2022 Oxford University Press

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

48. Which process most likely leads to adaptive evolution?

a. Natural selection
b. Genetic drift
c. Bottlenecks
d. Pleiotropy
Answer: a
Textbook Reference: 1.7 Evolutionary Processes
Learning Objective: 1.7.2 Distinguish the process of evolution and the process of adaptation.
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

49. Which observation best demonstrates the process of evolution?

a. The increased presence of a trait favored by natural selection
b. A change of gene frequencies over time
c. The shifting of gene frequencies in a population because of random events
d. The change in an animal’s phenotype in response to environmental change
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: 1.7 Evolutionary Processes
Learning Objective: 1.7.2 Distinguish the process of evolution and the process of adaptation.
Bloom’s Level: 5. Evaluating

50. Which conclusion was not made from the seminal 1979 paper by Gould and Lewontin?
a. Natural selection in the present environment is just one of several processes by which a
species may come to exhibit a trait.
b. When physiologists refer to a trait as an adaptation, they are making a hypothesis that natural
selection has occurred.
c. Data must be gathered in order to assess whether adaptation is likely to have occurred.
d. Indirect evidence cannot be used to support the hypothesis of adaptation.
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: 1.7 Evolutionary Processes
Learning Objective: 1.7.2 Distinguish the process of evolution and the process of adaptation.
Bloom’s Level: 5. Evaluating

51. The raw material(s) for evolution is(are)

a. trait variation.
b. natural selection.
c. clines.
d. alleles.
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: 1.7 Evolutionary Processes
Learning Objective: 1.7.2 Distinguish the process of evolution and the process of adaptation.
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

52. Which method is based on the premise that although we cannot see evolution that occurred in
the past, the many kinds of animals alive today provide us with many examples of outcomes of

© 2022 Oxford University Press

evolution, and patterns we identify in these outcomes may provide insights into processes that
occurred long ago?
a. Studies of laboratory populations over many generations
b. The adaptation method
c. Phylogenetic reconstruction
d. The comparative method
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: 1.7 Evolutionary Processes
Learning Objective: 1.7.3 Explain why the comparative method can be a useful tool for
determining if a trait is an adaptation.
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

53. Refer to the figure shown.

Which technique for the study of adaptation was used to generate the data shown in the figure?
a. Studies of laboratory populations over many generations
b. Single-generation studies of individual variation
c. Creation of variation for study
d. Studies of genetic structures of natural populations
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: 1.7 Evolutionary Processes
Learning Objective: 1.7.3 Explain why the comparative method can be a useful tool for
determining if a trait is an adaptation.
Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

54. Refer to the figure shown.

© 2022 Oxford University Press

What is the best caption for this figure?
a. Variation in O2 consumption.
b. Individual variation in maximum rate of O2 consumption.
c. Mean maximum rate of O2 consumption.
d. Range of maximum rate of O2 consumption.
Answer: b
Textbook Reference: 1.8 Individual Variation and the Question of “Personalities” within a
Population
Learning Objective: 1.8.1 Sketch a graph of quantitative data that illustrate individual variation
in a physiological trait.
Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

55. Refer to the figure shown.

© 2022 Oxford University Press

Assuming the trait measured in this figure is heritable,
a. there can be no basis for natural selection to act on this trait.
b. there is no variation from which natural selection can act on this trait.
c. natural selection acts on the individuals with extreme trait measurements.
d. the variation provides the raw material for natural selection.
Answer: d
Textbook Reference: 1.8 Individual Variation and the Question of “Personalities” within a
Population
Learning Objective: 1.8.1 Sketch a graph of quantitative data that illustrate individual variation
in a physiological trait.
Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

56. Refer to the figure shown.

© 2022 Oxford University Press

Statistically speaking, an elite weight lifter would be likely to have a maximum rate of O 2
consumption
a. mostly at the extreme low end of the distribution.
b. mostly at the extreme high end of the distribution.
c. in the average range to the lower end of the distribution.
d. in the average range to the higher end of the distribution.
Answer: c
Textbook Reference: 1.8 Individual Variation and the Question of “Personalities” within a
Population
Learning Objective: 1.8.2 Explain how individual variation in a physiological trait could cause
different individuals to respond in different ways to a single stress.
Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

Short Answer/Essay

57. Using the firefly as an example, explain physiology’s two central questions—mechanism and
origin.
Answer: The firefly emits a flash of light from its abdomen. The process inside the animal that
results in this event is the mechanism. That is, the brain sends nerve impulses that cause the light
cells to become bathed with nitric oxide, resulting in the production of excited electrons through
the reaction of O2 with luciferyl-AMP. However, this explanation of the mechanism does not
explain the evolutionary origin of the trait. In this case, evidence suggests that the firefly
produces light for mate attraction.
Textbook Reference: 1.3 Mechanism and Origin: Physiology’s Two Central Questions
Learning Objective: 1.3.1 Specify the two major questions that are addressed in the modern
study of animal physiology.

© 2022 Oxford University Press

Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

58. Compare and contrast adaptation and natural selection.

Answer: Adaptation and natural selection are both concepts of evolution. Natural selection is a
main process by which evolution occurs. It is the increase of gene frequencies that produce
phenotypes that raises the likelihood that animals will survive and reproduce. An adaptation
refers to the mechanism or trait that is the product of evolution by natural selection.
Textbook Reference: 1.3 Mechanism and Origin: Physiology’s Two Central Questions
Learning Objective: 1.3.1 Specify the two major questions that are addressed in the modern
study of animal physiology.
Bloom’s Level: 3. Applying

59. Describe three of the subdisciplines of animal physiology.

Answer: Mechanistic physiology emphasizes the study of mechanism. Evolutionary physiology
emphasizes the study of evolutionary origins. Comparative physiology is the synthetic study of
the function of all animals. Environmental physiology studies how animals respond
physiologically to environmental conditions and challenges. Integrative physiology is a synthetic
investigation of all levels of biological organization.
Textbook Reference: 1.4 This Book’s Approach to Physiology
Learning Objective: Not aligned
Bloom’s Level: 1. Remembering

60. Compare and contrast conformity and regulation, including the advantages and disadvantages
of each.
Answer: Conformity and regulation are responses of animals to changing environmental
conditions. An animal that permits its internal conditions to be equal to those of the external
environment is exhibiting conformity. Conformity has some energy-saving advantages, although
the cells of the animal can be exposed to potentially widely varying conditions. An animal that
maintains its internal conditions while external conditions change is exhibiting regulation. The
advantage of regulation is internal consistency, although there is a trade-off in terms of increased
energy expenditure.
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.1 Distinguish an animal’s acute and chronic responses to changes in its
external environment.
Bloom’s Level: 4. Analyzing

61. Which of the five timeframes in which physiology changes is represented by phenotypic
plasticity? Give an example.
Answer: Phenotypic plasticity refers to the chronic, reversible physiologic changes of
acclimation and acclimatization. For example, as temperatures become colder in the winter, the
fur on arctic hares becomes thicker and whiter.
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.1 Distinguish an animal’s acute and chronic responses to changes in its
external environment.
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

© 2022 Oxford University Press

62. What is the importance of body size in the study of animal physiology?
Answer: Body size is important in the study of animal physiology because many physiological
measurements are affected by body size. Gestation period in mammals, for example, increases in
a predictable manner with body size. Metabolic rate and other factors related to metabolic rate
also correlate with body size. If body size is not taken into account for certain measurements, this
factor may produce most of the variation in the data collected and mask other factors.
Textbook Reference: 1.5 Animals
Learning Objective: 1.5.3 Analyze a trait of an animal (e.g., stomach size or longevity) to
determine whether the trait is merely what is to be expected in view of the animal’s body size.
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

63. A water temperature of 6°C can be lethal for both tropical fish and Antarctic fish—explain.
Answer: Not all fish species are able to survive at all water temperatures, even if given years to
acclimate. Most tropical fish will die if cooled (even slowly) to 6°C. In contrast, Antarctic fish
species have evolved for millions of years at –1.9°C, and even slowly warming them to 6°C will
kill them.
Textbook Reference: 1.6 Environments
Learning Objective: Not aligned
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

64. Describe how the density layering of water can create anoxic zones.
Answer: Warmer water is less dense than colder water. During summer months, the water on the
surface of lakes and ponds gets warmed and stays on the top for the duration of the summer, with
little mixing. This leaves a colder, stagnant, bottom layer of water that will slowly lose oxygen
because the microbes deplete the dissolved oxygen.
Textbook Reference: 1.6 Environments
Learning Objective: 1.6.1 Explain why animals require O2 (oxygen).
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

65. Explain how adaptive and nonadaptive processes can contribute to evolution.
Answer: Adaptive processes are the processes of natural selection that result in traits that provide
advantages in a population. Nonadaptive evolution includes processes by which less-adaptable
alleles may persist in a population. A trait may persist because of chance (genetic drift), or
because it is related to another favored trait (pleiotropy), or because it was once advantageous
and has not been selected against.
Textbook Reference: 1.7 Evolutionary Processes
Learning Objective: 1.7.1 Explain how genetic drift and pleiotropy can cause a trait to evolve in
nonadaptive directions, being certain to define “nonadaptive.”
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

66. Explain the statement: “A trait is not an adaptation merely because it exists.”
Answer: Not all traits are evolutionary adaptations that confer an advantage. Traits can exist
because of evolutionary drift and other forms of nonadaptive evolution. Even a trait that appears
to be beneficial is not necessarily an evolutionary adaptation. As Gould and Lewontin point out,
in order to call a trait adaptive, one must provide empirical evidence that the trait is an
adaptation.

© 2022 Oxford University Press

Textbook Reference: 1.7 Evolutionary Processes
Learning Objective: 1.7.2 Distinguish the process of evolution and the process of adaptation.
Bloom’s Level: 2. Understanding

© 2022 Oxford University Press