Biology - Biology - General Aptitude (GA) Previous Year Questions

1

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

The larvae of the monarch butterfly feed exclusively on milkweed plants. These larvae are relatively less susceptible to predation because they are:

A

Chemically protected

B

Highly aggressive

C

Protected by spines

D

Visually cryptic

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2

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

Which one of the following evolutionary processes best describes Red Queen dynamics?

A

Co-evolution

B

Convergent evolution

C

Divergent evolution

D

Parallel evolution

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3

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

Social behaviours can evolve to increase or decrease the fitness of the recipient of the behaviour. A behaviour is considered to be spiteful, when the fitness impact on the actor is __________, while the fitness impact on the recipient is __________.

A

negative; negative

B

negative; positive

C

positive; negative

D

positive; positive

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4

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

Which of the following set of animals belongs to the group Afrotheria?

A

Elephant, dugong, elephant shrew, kangaroo rat

B

Elephant, hyrax, elephant shrew, dugong

C

Elephant, pika, hyrax, aardvark

D

Elephant shrew, dugong, aardvark, pika

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5

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

What genetic markers are required to determine paternity in birds?

A

Microsatellites

B

Mitochondrial DNA

C

X chromosome markers

D

Z chromosome markers

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6

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

Plants have evolved many morphological adaptations to extreme environmental conditions. Which of the following is NOT an adaptation to desert life?

A

Dense coat of hairs or spines

B

High density of stomata

C

Photosynthetic stem

D

Succulent or thick leaves

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7

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

When large mammals walk in the forest and trample small plants, those plants die. This interspecies relationship is a form of :

A

Amensalism

B

Commensalism

C

Mutualism

D

Parasitism

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8

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

The population of a widely distributed species gets divided into two subpopulations due to the appearance of a mountain barrier. Eventually these subpopulations evolve into two separate species. This is a case of :

A

Allopatric speciation

B

Parapatric speciation

C

Peripatric speciation

D

Sympatric speciation

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9

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

The percent sequence divergence in the mitochondrial Cytochrome b gene between two species was found to be 5%. Much of this divergence in the coding region would be contributed by changes at the :

A

First position of the codon

B

Second position of the codon

C

Third position of the codon

D

Intron

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10

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

In haplo-diploid insects, males are haploid and females are diploid. A female, who is heterozygous for a recessive red-eye colour mutation, mates with a wild-type black-eyed male. What would be the percentage of eye colour phenotypes among their daughters ?

A

100% red-eye

B

100% black-eye

C

50% red-eye

D

66.7% black-eye

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11

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

What is the relationship between effective population size (N_e) and total population size (N) of any naturally occurring eukaryotic population ?

A

N_e is greater than N

B

N_e is less than N

C

N_e is always equal to N

D

N_e is unrelated to N

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12

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

The figure below represents the phylogenetic relationships of taxa P-S. Assuming that the branch lengths are proportional to divergence time, which among the following species pairs would be expected to show the most post-zygotic isolation?

A

P & S

B

Q & R

C

R & P

D

S & R

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13

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

Members of which of the following animal phyla are exclusively marine ?

A

Cnidaria

B

Echinodermata

C

Mollusca

D

Porifera

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14

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

Some amphibians, such as axolotl larvae, rarely metamorphose into an adult form in spite of being sexually mature. This phenomenon of retention of larval characters in the adult form is known as :

A

Neoteny

B

Ontogeny

C

Pedogenesis

D

Polyphenism

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15

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

Plants are classified into the following major categories : division, class, order and family. These four categories generally have specific suffixes. Which among the following describes the correct order of specific suffixes for the categories of division, class, order and family, respectively ?

A

–ales, –opsida, –phyta, –aceae

B

–opsida, –phyta, –aceae, –ales

C

–phyta, –ales, –opsida, –aceae

D

–phyta, –opsida, –ales, –aceae

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16

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

Which of the following best demonstrates the phenomenon of a sign stimulus as defined in classical ethology ? A male stickleback fish performing an aggressive display when presented with :

A

A diamond-shaped model with the lower half painted red

B

A life-like model of a male stickleback fish with a red belly

C

A mirror

D

A video-recording of another male stickleback fish with a red belly

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17

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

Eating puffer fish can sometimes be fatal for human beings. This is because puffer fish carry a potent toxin known as :

A

Botulinum toxin

B

Bungarotoxin

C

Conotoxin

D

Tetrodotoxin

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18

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

The ‘Selfish Herd’ hypothesis for group behavior predicts :

A

Competition among individuals for central positions in groups

B

Competition among individuals for peripheral positions in groups

C

Competition for food among individuals in groups

D

Co-operative defence against predators

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19

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

Birds that inhabit forests typically produce calls in the form of low-pitched whistles. The most likely reason is that low-pitched whistles :

A

Are easy to localize

B

Experience high levels of scattering

C

Transmit over greater distances

D

Travel faster than high-pitched whistles

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20

2017 · General Aptitude (GA) · Biology

Ecology and Evolution (EY) 2017

At mid-latitudes, which of the following biomes is associated with hot dry summers and cool rainy winters ?

A

Boreal Forests

B

Chapparal Forests

C

Temperate Broadleaf Deciduous Forests

D

Temperate Grasslands

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