Evolution Flashcards
What is the relationship of ecology with evolution?
Because evolution can occur very rapidly, ecologists must be aware of evolution at all times.
Bolgard
A transgenic cotton variety that produces Bt toxin, a biological insecticide that is poisonous to larvae of butterflies and moths.
What is evolution?
(1) change in the composition of a population from one generation to the next.
(2) change in allele frequencies across generations or between populations
When does evolution happen?
Evolution happens when individuals with certain traits survive and reproduce at higher rates than others.
What would a graph of offspring vs parents look like if offspring tend to resemble their parents?
Linear
What would a graph of offspring vs parents look like if offspring tend NOT to resemble their parents?
Scattered plot
What is the theory of natural selection?
The theory of evolution by natural selection is that when there is variation (1) in a population that is heritable (2) and that influences survival and reproductive success (3), the composition of the population automatically changes from one generation to the next (evolution happens!).
Traits associated with survival and reproduction become common; traits associated with untimely death and reproductive failure become rare.
What are the assertions of the theory of natural selection?
(1) Individuals vary
(2) Heritable traits (children resemble parents)
(3) Selective survival/reproduction (non-random)
What happens when one or more of the assertions of natural selection does not apply?
The composition of the population may fluctuate across generations, but substantial change will accrue only slowly, if at all
What is the relationship between natural selection and population genetics?
The theory of evolution by natural selection can be rephrased in the language of modern population genetics.
How can you rephrase the theory of natural selection in terms of modern genetics?
(1) Individuals vary in phenotype. That is, they look, function, and act differently.
(2) Differences in phenotype are at least partly due to differences in genotype. That is, some of the variation among individuals in appearance, function, and behavior arises because they carry different alleles for some of their genes.
(3) Some phenotypes, and thus some genotypes, survive and reproduce at higher rates than others.
As a result, the relative abundances of genotypes change from one generation to the next (evolution!).
Phenotype
An individual’s phenotype is any observable or measurable aspect of its appearance, structure, behavior, or physiological function.
Genotype
An individual’s genotype is the combination of alleles the individual carries. Less formally, its genotype is its genetic make-up.
Alleles
Alleles are different versions of a gene. The term may be used to distinguish versions of a gene that differ in nucleotide sequence, amino acid sequence, or both.
Fitness
An individual’s lifetime comparative reproductive success. In practice, this is often measured as the number of offspring that are produced that themselves grow up to produce offspring.
Codominant
Codominant describes the relationship between two alleles when heterozygotes (Aa individuals, for example) have a different phenotype than either of the homozygotes (AA and aa individuals).
Typically used when the phenotype of the heterozygotes is intermediate between the phenotypes of the homozygotes.
When will phenotype not necessarily reveal genotype?
When the alleles are not codominant. (e.g. Aa looks like AA)
Frequency
Relative abundance (#with a trait/ #total individuals)
Calculate the frequency of the ll genotype if there are 4 ll individuals in a population of 10.
0.4
How can you calculate genotype counts?
individuals with genotype/#total individuals
How can you calculate frequencies of alleles A and B in a population?
Frequency of allele A = (2(AA) + AB)/(population*2)
Frequency of allele B = (2(BB) +AB)/(population*2)
Blending theory
Antiquated theory of inheritance where offspring would have some intermediate level of a trait found in both parents (e.g tall + short parents = medium height offspring)
Factors
Mendel’s initial term for what we now know as genes. He realized that inherited traits were discrete and passed on discrete factors.
What are the ways that selection could happen?
(1) Stabilizing selection
(2) Directional selection
(3) Disruptive selection