Chapter 4 Flashcards
forces in evolution are those that happen….
forces in evolution are those that happen in natural populations that cause change in gene frequencies over multiple generations
is natural selection the only force of evolution
natural selection is not the only force of evolution
what are the 5 forces of evolution
mutation, natural selection, gene flow, genetic drift and nonrandom mating
Where does Variation Come From?
point mutation—
chromosomal mutations
what are chromosomal mutations
entire chances of chromosomes are transposed with one another
what are point mutation—
change in a base in a DNA molecule
des natural Selection operate on the genotype or the phenotype
operates on the phenotype of an individual organism
how does the environment influx the traits that are expressed
the environment is the filter in which traits—and genes that control their expression— are selected for or against
do individuals evolve
populations evolve as the frequency of certain genes changes; individual organisms do not evolve
what is directional selection—
natural selection that drives the evolutionary change by selecting for greater or lesser frequency of a given trait in a population
e.g. the finches and how their beak change dramatically when the drought hit, then changed again when rain came
what is stabilizing selection—
selection that maintains a certain phenotype by selecting against deviations from it
basically the opposite of directional selection
what are Other Ways by Which Evolution Happens
gene flow
genetic drift
what is gene flow
movement of genes between populations
what is migration—
when animals are on the move… this is different than gene flow but related in the sense that gene flow only happens when migration does
the production of offspring between people of different laces and characteristics results in this
what is admixture—
when a population receives genetic contribution (from other population for a long period of time)
this creates one large gene pool spread across 2 areas through extensive interbreeding
if for some reason the interbreeding stops (war, geographical barrier like a flood between populations), the lack of gene flow between populations means that random mutations that were passed between them are now confined to only one populations
as they accumulate, the 2 populations will diverge genetically and perhaps anatomically as well
what is inbreeding—
mating between close relatives
it has been believed that this is bad for the health of the population, but very limited amounts of gene flow can eliminate the harmful effects of inbreeding… this is not normal or healthy but apparent low levels of immigration can offset the harmful effects in a population
what is genetic drift—
random changes in gene frequency in a population
basically says that all the changes are by chance… the alleles that are passed down and stuff
even though Mendel says differently, that does not always happen and this theory says it is completely random
what are the subcategories of genetic drift
founder effect
genetic bottleneck
what is founder effect—
another aspect of genetic drift; stating that new populations that become isolated from the parent population carry only the genetic variation of the founders
meant that the offspring will only ever have the variation of the parents
real life e.g; amish people remain closed off from the American culture and many genetic diseases that are rare in the main population are common for the amish because their ‘founders’ had it when they migrated and the mutation have not had a chance to be eliminated
what is genetic bottleneck—
temporary dramatic reduction in size of a population or species
phenomenon associated with the founder effect
when the population declines, a large amount of alleles are lost and after the bottleneck, only the accumulation of mutations will being back diversity
e.g.when humans hunt specific looking seals into extinction… if there is no diversity then the population will not be able to survive something like a disease… it would wipe all of them out
who came up with sexual selection
darwin
what are the 2 components in sexual selection;
the struggle between males to gain access to mates and the struggle by a female to choose the right mate
females choose based on natural variation in the male
what drives the traits of males
it is the female choice that drives the traits of males, the results certain male traits (they pick only the ones they like)
what is sexual dimorphism—
difference in size, shape or colour between the sexes
cased by females
Why does she choose the ones she does?
may use physical features to judge his reproduction ability or protection against predators
what is runway sexual selection—
in this process, female preference for this trait and males evolution of this trait so they constantly reinforce each other and result in elaborate traits
what is costly signalling (derived from handicap principle)—
males may have such outlandish traits in order to prove to the female that he can survive even with the elaborate trait they have