Controversies (Evolution)

Question 1

controversy to Darwin’s theory of evolution through natural selection

Answer 1

no major controversies

natural selection is able to explain everything

Question 2

disagreement in the understanding of evolution

Answer 2

two schools of thought

1. gradualism
2. punctuated equilibrium theory

Question 3

gradualism

Answer 3

new species arise at a consistent rate
species evolve slowly over time through minor changes
aren’t able to observe speciation because it takes so long
history of the earth is long enough to explain the amount of diversity

Question 4

frequency of speciation events

Answer 4

around a handful every 10,000 years

Question 5

gaps in the fossil record

Answer 5

can be a gap of 50 million years

Question 6

gradualism explanation for gaps in the fossil record

Answer 6

it can be very difficult for a fossil to form

Question 7

requirements for the formation of a fossil

Answer 7

organism must die in a location that is relatively protected from the elements
bones cannot be broken or too badly shattered
bones have to acquire minerals from the surrounding ground over millions of years
buried deep and under significant pressure for millions of year
cannot be disturbed (floods, glaciers, volcanoes, earthquakes, erosion)

Question 8

millions vs. billions of years for the formation of fossils

Answer 8

billions of years under that much pressure can cause too much distortion for the fossil to be recognizable

Question 9

taphonomy

Answer 9

study of how fossils are formed

Question 10

paleontological digs

Answer 10

very expensive
have to have strong evidence or be very sure before they dig
limited by funding

Question 11

“missing links”

Answer 11

part of gradualism theory
where there are gaps in the fossil record
evolutionary phylogeny
scientists aren’t trying to find the missing links- have enough to support the theory of evolution through natural selection

Question 12

finding all the fossils in the world

Answer 12

would require digging all over the world

fill in the missing links

Question 13

determining the relations between organisms

Answer 13

based on shared characteristics

don’t need the whole ancestral lineage of a species

Question 14

uniformitarianism vs. gradualism

Answer 14

not the same
gradualism supports natural selection
uniformitarianism: species are always changing uniformly over time making changes to fill needs
similarities: evolution happened slowly over time at the same rate throughout history

Question 15

punctuated equilibrium theory

Answer 15

different explanation for gaps in the fossil record
difficult to prove because the evidence is based on lack of evidence
lack of evidence accounts for gaps in transitional fossils

Question 16

catastrophists

Answer 16

19th century
believed the world was very old
went against uniformitarianism
gaps in fossil record caused by a series of catastrophes that cause the eradication or near eradication of life on earth
catastrophes caused Creation events to occur
Adam and Eve was an example of a Creation event

Question 17

catastrophism vs. punctuated equilibrium theory

Answer 17

not the same
punctuated equilibrium theory supports natural selection
similarities: evolution hasn’t happened at the same rate throughout history

Question 18

equilibrium

Answer 18

when a species doesn’t have to adapt to survive
doesn’t have to change appreciably as long as no major changes happen to the species
small genetic variations that don’t hinder the species’ ability to survive and reproduce

Question 19

punctuated equilibrium theory and speciation

Answer 19

ex of peripatric speciation:
sub-population moves somewhere else and they can survive there because of a genetic variation from the original population
eventually a new species arises and they reach equilibrium
transitional period is the reason for gaps in fossil record

Question 20

Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge

Answer 20

first to propose the theory of punctuated equilibrium

late 1970s

Question 21

Stephen Jay Gould

Answer 21

essayist

illustrated biology to general public using lit, history, language, poetry, art, architecture, music