˗ˏˋ evolution ´ˎ˗ Flashcards
what is evolution?
- science of who we are and the scientific stories of our ancestors.
- biologically, the cumulative inherited change in a population of organisms through time.
- a change in allele (gene) frequencies from one generation to the next among members of an interbreeding population.
what was aristotle’s role in evolution?
- studied the natural world, publishing several volumes on animals based on systematic observations, rather than attributing what he observed to divine intervention.
- his system for the biological classification of nearly 500 species of animals was based on his own observations and dissections, interviews with specialists such as beekeepers and fishermen, and accounts of travelers.
- his ninth book the history of animals was one of the first zoological taxonomies ever created.
- recognize that natural groups are based on structure, physiology, mode of reproduction, and behavior.
what did the book history of animals do?
- placed animals in a hierarchy, ranking animals above plants due to what he claimed were their abilities to sense the world around them and to move.
- it graded animals according to their modes of reproduction, with those giving birth to live young placed above those who laid eggs.
- warm-blooded animals ranked above invertebrates.
what is the scala naturae or the “great chain of being”?
- depicted a hierarchy of beings with god at the top and minerals at the bottom.
- was thought by medieval christians to have been decreed by god; humans were placed closer to god than other species.
what was al-jahiz’s role in evolution?
- published the book of animals, in which he described over 350 species in zoological detail.
- introduced the idea and mechanisms of biological evolution 1,000 years before darwin proposed the concept of natural selection.
what was ibn al-haytham’s role in evolution?
- his methodology of investigation is similar to what later became known as the modern scientific method.
- discovered the laws of reflection and refraction.
what is natural selection?
process by which the survival and reproductive success of individuals or groups within an interbreeding population that are best adjusted to their environment leads to the perpetuation of genetic qualities best suited to that particular environment at that point in time.
what is episteme?
- fundamental cultural ideas, which organize the world and help to render it meaningful. - - similar to paradigm.
what is the scientific method?
method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting of systematic observation, measurement, experimentation, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.
who is francis bacon?
- first codified the scientific method.
- founder of empiricism for proposing a system for weighing the truthfulness of knowledge based solely on inductive reasoning and careful observations of natural phenomena.
what is empiricism?
- idea that all learning and knowledge derives from experience and observation.
- became prominent in the 17th and 18th centuries in western europe due to the rise of experimental science.
who was john ray?
- first person to publish a biological definition of species.
- classified plants according to similarities and differences that emerged from observation and claimed that any seed from the same plant was the same species, even if it had slightly different traits.
what is a species?
a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding.
who was carl von linne?
- established the system of binomial nomenclature.
what is binomial nomenclature?
system of classification in which a species of animal or plant receives a name consisting of two terms: the first identifies the genus to which it belongs, and the second identifies the species.
who was georges-louis leclerc, comte de buffon?
- said that species change over time.
- developed a technique of comparing similar structures across different species, called comparative anatomy.
what is comparative anatomy?
technique of comparing similar anatomical structures across different species.
who was georges cuvier?
- gave proof that some species had become extinct through detailed and comprehensive analyses of large fossil quadrupeds.
- made observations of stratified layers of rock, or sediment, each containing different species.
- drew conclusions that species were “fixed” and did not evolve, but then went extinct, and that different assemblages of fossils occurred at different times in the past, as evidenced by the sedimentary layers.
what does it mean to be extinct?
said of a species, family, or other group of animals or plants that has no living members; no longer in existence.
what is the theory of catastrophism?
- the earth’s geology has largely been shaped by sudden, short-lived, violent events, possibly worldwide in scope.
- compare to uniformitarianism.
who was james hutton?
- prominent proponent of uniformitarianism.
- concluded that the intersection of the vertical and horizontal rocks represented a gap in time of many millions of years, during which the lower rocks had been deformed and eroded before the upper layers were deposited on top.
what is uniformitarianism?
theoretical perspective that the geologic processes observed today are the same as the processes operating in the past.
who was charles lyell?
- intent on establishing geology as a science based on observation.
- published the principles of geology.
who was jean-baptiste lamarck?
- first western scientist to propose a mechanism explaining why and how traits changed in species over time, as well as to recognize the importance of the physical environment in acting on and shaping physical characteristics.
- developed the theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics that said that as animals adapted to their environments through the use and disuse of characteristics, their adaptations were passed on to their offspring through reproduction.
who was thomas malthus?
- created the theory of carrying capacity.
- noticed that despite significant challenges, some individuals always survived.
what is carrying capacity?
the amount of organisms that an environment can reliably support.
what was europe like in the 1600’s?
- thought that heaven was a tangible place and was out in space.
- the same rules that applied on earth, did not apply in heaven/space.
what was europe like in the 1700s?
learned that rules like gravity and motion existed in space as well as on earth.
who was thomas burnet?
speculated that a comet struck earth and caused the biblical flood.
who was edward tyson?
- published complete study of chimpanzees.
- showed a lot of physical similarities between humans and chimps.
what were the three problems that christian biologists faced?
- extinction, who, if not god, was responsible and fossils (distant) and dodos (recent).
- carl linnaeus’s attempt to categorize living organisms, not as how closely related to humans they are, but rather to each other.
- adaptation and biogeography, according to the bible all modern land animals descend from the two of each species that noah brought to ararat, but many animals were not adapted to that climate and wouldn’t have survived.
what is adaptation?
a fit between the organism and environment.
