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BIO342 > Evidence, Origins and History > Flashcards

Evidence, Origins and History Flashcards

1
Q

Define descent with modification.

A

The concept that all organisms present or past are descended from a single common ancestor, and that over time lineages genetically and phenotypically changed and split to form many branches

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2
Q

Define phylogeny.

A

A representation of the history of descent, and thus evolutionary relationships and common ancestry.

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3
Q

Define paleontology.

A

The study of ancient organisms preserved in the fossil record.

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4
Q

Define fossil record.

A

Collection of all known fossils.

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5
Q

Define homology.

A

The same organ inherited from a common ancestor which develops into a variety of forms and functions

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6
Q

Define uniformitarianism.

A

The processes that shape the earth now are the same ones that shaped the earth in the past.

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7
Q

Define inheritance of acquired characteristics.

A

Progeny inherit traits acquired by parents.

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8
Q

What are the two types of evidence used to support evolution?

A

Pattern-based/indirect evidence
Direct evidence

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9
Q

What is the metaphor used to describe indirect evidence of evolution?

A

The fingerprints of evolution.

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10
Q

What are the three types of pattern-based evidence?

A

Paleontology
Developmental biology
Homology

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11
Q

What are the two types of homology used as evidence of evolution?

A

Morphology and genetic

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12
Q

Give examples of direct evidence of evolution.

A

o E. coli
o Influenza, COVID
o Darwin’s finches

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13
Q

What 3 conclusions are supported by paleontological data regarding the evolution of birds?

A

o The original organisms we saw in the early fossil record are now extinct
o Ancient feathered dinosaurs evolved through time and gave rise to modern birds
o Birds are the living descendants of dinosaurs

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14
Q

What are the 2 strengths of paleontology discussed in class?

A

o Provides snapshots through time
o Allows us to infer evolutionary changes and diversification

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15
Q

What are the three weaknesses of paleontology discussed in class?

A

o The fossil record is not continuous (large gaps)
o Soft tissues rarely preserved
o Captures a fraction of the diversity

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16
Q

In terms of developmental ontology, what is typically the case for organisms that are more closely related?

A
  • It is usually the case that organisms that are more closely related share similar developmental ontology (i.e., steps of embryological development)
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17
Q

What is the importance of similarities in the developmental ontology of different organisms?

A

Provide evidence for modification by descent and help us understand homology

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18
Q

How is embryological development similar for snake, chicken, possum, cat, bat and human embryos?

A

All have fat heads, pharyngeal pouches and tails in early stages

19
Q

Give examples of genetic homology

A

All life uses nucleic acids to store information, direct cellular processes and direct replication
All genes are contained within chromosomes

20
Q

What is the best evidence for all life sharing a common ancestor?

A

Shared genetic code (DNA, RNA)

21
Q

Describe the endosymbiosis theory for the evolution of early life.

A

o Bacterium engulfed a smaller bacterium
o Was not digested
o Had its own functions
o Became single organism  eukaryotic cell
o Eukaryotic cell engulfed photosynthetic bacterium  plastids

22
Q

What is the most recent common ancestor of all extant organisms known as?

A

LUCA: o Last universal common ancestor

23
Q

What is the RNA world hypothesis?

A

generally believed that first life had to satisfy the following conditions:
o Information containing biomolecules made from simple inorganic compounds
o Building blocks must be able to self-assemble and replicate
o Chemical reactions to form larger molecules must increase fitness (replication) and have a source of energy
o Larger biomolecules must be protected from harsh environments

24
Q

What is the theory of special creation?

A

Literal interpretation of the Bible’s Book of Genesis

25
Q

What is the pattern of life according to the theory of special creation? (3)

A

o Species don’t change through time
o Species were created independently of one another
o Species were created recently

26
Q

What is the mechanism of life according to the theory of special creation?

A

o The Earth and its species were created by separate and independent acts of a designer (God)

27
Q

What is meant by inheritance of acquired characteristics?

A

species gradually evolve through time, from simple forms to more complex by passing on adaptive traits acquired throughout their lifetime to their offspring.

28
Q

Who proposed the evolutionary mechanism of inheritance of acquired characteristics?

A

Lamarck

29
Q

What were the 4 topics that affected Darwin’s thinking?

A

Natural history
Uniformitarianism
Artificial breeding
Exponential population growth

30
Q

What components of natural history were of particular interest to Darwin?

A

o Fossils
o Extinction
o Species differences
o Variation within species

31
Q

How did uniformitarianism impact Darwin’s thinking?

A

thought Lyell’s ideas on geology might also apply to species
o Earth is old
o Species are modified today in the same ways they were modified in the past

32
Q

How did artificial breeding influence Darwin’s thinking?

A

o Noted that artificial breeding could quickly change lineages by selecting certain traits
o This could occur only if offspring inherited traits from their parents

33
Q

How did exponential population growth influence Darwin’s thinking?

A

o Virtually all populations produce more young than can survive
o If an individual varied in such a way that increased its survival, or allowed it to have more offspring, it would pass on its traits to its offspring

34
Q

What is the criteria for evolution by natural selection? (3)

A
  • Individuals within populations vary in phenotypic traits
  • At least some of the variation in traits has a genetic bases and is thus heritable
  • Variation in these traits influences reproductive success (fitness), in terms of survival and/or the production of offspring
35
Q

Identify 4 major criticisms of Darwin’s theory of evolution

A
  1. Religious: contradicted scripture
    Scientific:
  2. Lacked an empirically valid explanation for inheritance
  3. Stressed the importance of continuous variance
  4. Disagreed on natural selection as the mechanism
36
Q

What is the law of segregation?

A

If a parent is heterozygous at a given locus, it will produce male and female gametes that contain one of the other allele, in equal proportions.

37
Q

What is the law of independent assortment?

A

Alleles at one locus segregate separately from alleles at a separate locus.

38
Q

Describe post-Darwinian thought, I.e., mutation theory of evolution (4)

A
  1. Genes are the hereditary unit, where alleles at a locus encode for discrete variation in traits.
  2. Selection acts on Mendelian (discontinuous) traits.
  3. Selection cannot cause a population to evolve beyond the initial variation in the population without new mutation
  4. Therefore, mutation must be the dominant mechanism of evolution, selection is of less importance (Mutation theory of evolution)
39
Q

What was the timeline of the modern synthesis?

A

1918-1970

40
Q

Who were the three founders of the modern synthesis?

A

o Ronald A. Fisher
o Sewell Wright
o J.B.S. Haldane

41
Q

What are the 10 fundamental principals of evolutionary biology?

A
  1. Genes store the information underlying heritable characters
  2. Phenotype = genes + environment
  3. Acquired characters are not genetically inherited
  4. Mutation is the origin for all heritable variation
  5. Evolution is a population process
  6. Evolutionary potential of a population is a direct function of the amount of genetic variation in fitness
  7. Changes in allele/genotype frequency occur as a result of five mechanisms
    a. Mutation
    b. Selection
    c. Genetic drift
    d. Dispersal
    e. Non-random mating
  8. Species are groups of interbreeding individuals
  9. Speciation is the origin of two or more species from a single common ancestor
  10. All organisms form a great tree of life descended from a common ancestor
42
Q

Describe the process of calculating a rock’s absolute age through radiometric dating/

A

o 1. Determine half-life
o 2. Parent:daughter isotope ratio determined, typically via mass spectrometry
o 3. Multiply number of half-lives passed by length of half-life to determine age

43
Q

What is the key assumption of radiometric dating?

A

The ratio of parent-to-daughter isotopes present when the rock was formed is known

BIO342 (21 decks)

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