Evolution 1&2

Adaptations
Adaptations
Adaptations: biological traits that help an individual to survive and reproduce in its habitat. Adaptations perform a specific function that make an organism better suited to its environment. o For example, your eyes enable you to recognize and respond effectively to things around you by detecting and analyzing the reflected light. Adaptationists Biological traits arent simply morphological; perceptual processes and behaviours are also biological adaptations. Scientists categorized as Adaptationists use this label to describe how hypotheses about adaptive function guide their investigations. Is the Job any different for higher mental processes? Cognitive psychologists study things like selective attention, and memory encoding and retrieval. o Attention, retrieval, and so on- refer to tasks that the mind needs to accomplish to do its job. In other words, they refer to the adaptive functions of mental activity. o Higher Mental processes Selective attention Memory encoding Memory retrieval Word recognition Evolution by Natural Selection How Do Adaptations Arise Adaptations emerge in development as a result of the activation of relevant aspects of the environment. Three Essential Components to their Insight Natural Selection: differential survival and reproduction of organisms as a result of the heritable differences between them. o Individual Differences: within any population, there is variation among individuals for any given characteristic. o Differential Reproduction: These differences affect individuals chances of surviving and reproducing. Some individuals will have more offspring than others. o Heritable: the offspring of successful reproducers will resemble their parents with respect to these variable characteristics. Selective Transmission

Evolution 1&2 Over successive generations, there will be selective transmission of heritable parental traits and the population will be mostly blue. This is because the specific characteristics that are best adapted for survival and reproduction are going to be reproduced at higher rates. Natural Selection in the Wild Beak size and ability to crack seeds

1977, a severe drought hit the island and decimated the vegetation. Food was scarce and all of the small seeds were quickly eaten up, leaving only the large, tough seeds that the finches usually didnt bother with. The birds that had unusually big, heavy beaks were able to eat the hard seeds that remained and so survived the drought whereas the birds with small beaks died from starvation. Between 19776 and 1978, the average beak depth increased from 9.4 mm to 10.2 mm. The large-beaked survivors went on to reproduce when the conditions were again favourable for breeding, and because beak size is heritable, their offspring inherited large beaks as well. Reproductive Success = Fitness Natural Selection favours What natural selection favours are not simply those individuals who are best at surviving. Its those who are best at reproducing. Reproductive Success Darwinian Fitness: average reproductive success of genotype relative to alternative genotypes. Fitness: biologists use the term to describe how good a particular genotype is at leaving copies of its genes in the next generation relative to other genotypes. Therefore, the fittest individual is not always the smartest, bigger or fastest. DNA, Alleles & Evolutionary Biology Because fitness is ultimately about the competition between genotypes to leave copies of themselves in the next generation, some evolutionary biologists like to define evolution as a change in gene frequencies over generations. Sexual Selection Evolution by Natural Selection in Nature Sexual selection: in sexually reproducing organisms there is often competition for mates, and natural selection acts on mate finding and reproductive behaviours.

Evolution 1&2 Darwinian fitness isnt just a matter of survival, its a matter of reproduction, and this crazy tail contributes to a males fitness by increasing his chances of mating. Two Subtypes of Sexual Selection Sexually Selected Traits: o Both traits have negative effect on survival o For the elk: antlers are used in combat o For the peacock: the tail-feathers are used in courtship The two subtypes of sexual selection is being chosen by the opposite sex and defeating samesex rivals in mating competition. Species-Typical Behaviour & The Comparative Approach Adaptations Behaviours are evolved, species specific adaptations. Species-Typical Behaviour o Physical form (typography) o Habitat preference o Group size o Social system