Evolution

Evolution

Spencer McAllister Salt Lake Community College Biology 1010 Prof. White December 2013

Evolution

Evolution can be defined as the inherited characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. Evolution is a fascinating and complicated process that has only been understood, or even discovered by humans for a few hundred years. A person could argue that some people thousands of years ago recognized possible understanding of evolution, but only in recent time have we truly begin to understand it. Because of the difficulty and uncomfortable notion that we evolved from simple organisms billions of years old, evolution is hard to comprehend. Because evolution is a theory a person can easily misinterpret the significance and fact that evolution is real. In science a theory is a rigorously tested statement of general principles that explains observable and recorded aspects of the world. A scientific theory describes a higher level of understanding that ties facts together. A scientific theory stands until proven wrong, and is never proven correct. The theory of evolution has withstood the test of time and thousands of experiments and nothing has disproved it since Darwin first proposed it more than 150 years ago. The initial proposal that one type of animal could descend from another goes back to some of the first pre-socratic Greek philosophers, such as Anaximander and Empedocles. Even in the Roman times the poet and philosopher Lucretius followed Empedocles in his masterwork De Rerum Natura. In the 17th century the new method of modern science sought to explain natural phenomena in terms of physical laws which were the same for all visible things. And did not need any fixed natural categories or any divine cosmic order. Biologists agree that descent with modification is one of the most reliably established facts in science. Evolutionary biology has made significant impact not just on traditional biology but anthropology and psychology and on society at large. The publication of the structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953 demonstrated a physical basis for inheritance. In 1973 biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky stated nothing in biology makes sense except in light of evolution. Evolution occurs through various changes in heritable traits which are controlled by genes. Evolution depends on genetic variation and occurs when some genetic variations become common in populations, and others become rare. Variation occurs via three types: mutation, sex and recombination, and gene flow. Mutation is the source of genetic variation, and is not a directed conscious process. Mutations are changes in DNA, a person cannot mutate, a dog cannot mutate, mutations occur in an organisms offspring. Via sexual reproduction chromosomes are independently assorted, and crossed over producing new combinations of alleles. Sex usually increases genetic variation and may increase the rate of evolution. Gene flow is the exchange of genes between populations and species, and can be a source of variation that is new to a population or to a species. Five mechanisms can lead to changes in allele frequencies and include: natural selection, genetic drift, recombination, mutation, and gene flow. Natural selection occurs when

Evolution

nature selects the characteristics that are most effective for the conditions, and that species survives passing on genes to new generations. Genetic Drift occurs in small populations and the frequency of a gene will not be exactly reproduced in the next generation because of sampling error. Because the population is smaller a variation in the offspring will effect more and could be rapid and significant. Mutation is important to restate because it is the source of variation. It is also important to understand that living things do not intentionally change their own DNA. Recombination and gene flow were discussed in the previous paragraph. Organisms can also respond to selection by co-operating with each other, by aiding their relatives or engaging in symbiosis. Co-evolution occurs when the evolution of one species causes adaptations in a second species, and these changes cause new adaptations in the first species. This is a cycle of selection and response and is common in a predator-prey pair. Speciation is the process where a species diverges into two or more descendant species. Speciation mechanisms can be divided into four categories: allopatric via a barrier, peripatric via isolation in new environment, parapatric via small population entering new habitat, and sympatric where two species diverge without geographic isolation or change in habitat. The result of evolution influences every aspect of the form and behavior of organisms. Most important are the physical and behavior traits that are the outcome of natural selection. Adaptations that increase and aid food finding and avoiding predators are prominent. Evolution outcomes are divided into macroevolution: the evolution the long term, cumulative effect of many small changes at or above the level of species, and microevolution: which is smaller evolutionary changes like adaptations within a species population. Evolution is commonly misconceived as a goal oriented process, but has no goals, and does not necessarily produce greater complexity. For example: simple prokaryotes form about half of the worlds biomass. Simple organisms have therefore been the dominant form of life on Earth, and continue to be to the present day. In a nutshell the evolution of life started with prokaryotes 3-4 billion years ago. Eukaryotic cells emerged between 1.6-2.7 billion years ago. Multicellular organisms appeared around 610 million years ago in the oceans. The Cambrian explosion burst biological diversity around 10 million years ago and is believed to be caused by accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere. Plants, animals, and fungi came on the scene about 500 million years ago. Amphibians 364 million years ago, followed by amniotes and birds around 155 million years ago. Mammals around 129 million years ago, homininae around 10 million, and modern humans around 250,000 years ago. Difficult to imagine you and I came from simple single celled organisms billions of years ago. Despite the strong evidence for evolution, it does not prove there is no God. The time tested theory of evolution does not refute the presence of God. Evolution is the description of a process that governs the development of life on Earth and deals only with objects, events, and processes in the material world. Evolution is undisputed and should be embraced and understood.

Evolution

References "Evolution." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2013. "Evolution-for-beginners." Evolution-for-beginners. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2013. Mader, Sylvia S. Concepts of Biology. Second ed. Salt Lake City: Mcgraw-Hill, 2011. Print. PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013.