Evolution

Life Science: Chapters 10, 11 and 12

Biology: Chapters 14, 15 and 16
 Early Naturalists
• Carolus Linnaeus – (1735) He proposed a
system of organization for plants, animals and
minerals based on their similarities
• George Buffon – (1749) He discussed ideas
about relationships between species and
sources of biological variation
• Jean Baptiste-Lamarck – (1809) presented
evolution as occurring due to environmental
change over long periods of time
 Ideas that Led to a Theory
• Geologic Change – the common view was that
the earth was only 6000 years old and that
organisms did not change. Fossil evidence played
a key role in this idea.
– Catastrophism – Volcanoes, floods and other natural
disasters were the cause of extinction and the
formation of all land forms.
– Gradualism – the idea that changes on Earth occurred
by small steps over a long period of time
– Uniformitarianism – geologic processes add up over
long periods of time to cause great change
 Charles Darwin

Charles R. Darwin (1809-1882) was a British naturalist who was made

famous by theorizing that processes such as natural selection and
descent with modification played on species over time, leading to
evolution. He published these theories and supporting evidence in
his book, On the Origin of Species, in 1859.

Darwin collected evidence during his voyage around the world on the merchant vessel, the
HMS Beagle. The trip lasted five years, and during this time, Darwin collected many samples,
especially from the Galapagos Islands.

During his visit to the islands, Darwin noted that the unique creatures were similar from
island to island, but perfectly adapted to their environments which led him to ponder the
origin of the islands' inhabitants.

Among those that struck Darwin so greatly were the finches that are now named in his honor.
Darwin would later base some of his thought from the supposing that these finches were all
descendants of the same lineage.
 Evolutionary Principles
• Descent with Modification - Darwin proposed that
subsequent generations exhibited small changes that
eventually built up in a population over time, leading
to great change
• Variation – Darwin compared wild a domesticated
species and noted many variations. He suggested the
source of variation was “reproductive elements prior to
conception.”
• Adaptation – Observations in the Galapagos led him to
theorize that animals that are better suited to their
environment produce more offspring and that
eventually leads to change of the entire population.
 Modes of Selection
• Natural Selection – individuals that have inherited
beneficial adaptations produce more offspring
than do other individuals, therefore only
adaptations that give an advantage tend to stay in
a population
• Artificial Selection – humans intervene and breed
for certain purposes and traits
• Sexual Selection – the ability to produce offspring
is dependent on one or more individuals
choosing a mate based on desired traits or
abilities
 Natural Selection
• Natural selection is a
mechanism by which
individuals that have
inherited beneficial
adaptations produce
more offspring on
average than do other
individuals.
 Four Main Principles of Natural
Selection
• Variation
– The heritable differences in every population are the basis
for natural selection
• Overproduction
– Having many offspring ensures that many will survive, but
also increases competition
• Adaptation
– Some variations make some individuals better suited for
their environment
• Descent with Modification
– Over time, all individuals will exhibit the beneficial trait
 Darwin’s Evidence
• Fossils – Scientists look to fossils to study long
periods of time and how organisms changed
• Geography – comparing species in one island to
species on other islands and even mainland
South America led Darwin to believe that the
land masses were once joined
• Embryology – Studying how an organism
develops illuminates similarities among species
• Anatomy – Comparing body parts of different
species also shows similarities that suggest a
common ancestor
Anatomical Structures as Evidence
• Homologous Structure – a similar structure that
appears in different organisms and has different
functions
• Analogous Structure – structures that performs a
similar function but are not similar in origin
• Vestigial Structure – remnants of structures or
organs that had a function for early ancestors but
are no longer needed or functioning in the
modern population
 Genetic Variations
• Genetic variation in a population increases the
chance that at least some individuals will
survive
• Genetic variation comes from several sources:
– Mutation – a random change in DNA of a gene
– Recombination – new allele combinations formed
in offspring
 Studying Genetics
• The combined alleles of all the individuals in a population is called
the gene pool.
• Scientists study how frequently alleles occur in a gene pool.
• Sometimes, certain alleles move from one population to another
through interbreeding or migration. This is called gene flow.
• However, completely due to chance, some alleles either disappear
or become more frequent (or fixed) in a population over time. This
is called genetic drift.
• Genetic drift usually only happens in small populations causes to
loss of genetic diversity. There are two types:
– Bottleneck Effect – genetic drift that happens after a catastrophe
greatly reduces the population size
– Founder Effect – genetic drift that occurs after a small population
colonizes an new area
 How a Species is Made
• Reproductive Isolation – when members of
different populations can no longer successfully
mate with one another
• Behavioral Isolation – caused by differences in
courtship or mating behaviors
• Geographic Isolation – physical barriers prevent
mating of populations
• Temporal Isolation – timing prevents mating
between populations
• Speciation – the rise of two or more species from
one common ancestor
 Patterns in Evolution
• Convergent Evolution – two species evolve toward
similar characteristics
• Divergent Evolution – closely related species evolve in
different directions
• Coevolution – two or more species evolve is response
to changes in each other
• Extinction – a species as a whole is unable to adapt to
changes in its environment and dies out
• Punctuated Equilibrium – pattern of speciation that
states that episodes of speciation occur suddenly
• Adaptive Radiation – diversification of one ancestral
species into many different species
 Predicting Genotypes in a Population
• Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium – used to predict
the frequency of genotypes in a population

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2 2
 Hardy-Weinberg Disclaimers
• In order for a population to be in Hardy-
Weinberg Equilibrium, it must fulfill 5 criteria
– Large population
– No immigration or emmigration
– No mutations
– Random mating
– No natural selection