Evolution (General)

Question 1

MOST IMPORTANT MEMO

Answer 1

POPULATIONS EVOLVE, NOT INDIVIDUALS

Question 2

MOST Basic Requirement for Evolution

Answer 2

change in allele frequency

Question 3

Biological Evolution

Answer 3

change in the gene pool of a population, measurable as changes in allele frequencies in a population over time

Question 4

Evolution

Answer 4

any change in the heritable traits within a population across generations

Question 5

Evidence for Evolution

Answer 5

1. Geological and Fossil Record
2. Homologies (body plans, structures, DNA sequences)
3. Common biochemistry (AA, genetic code)
4. Evolutionary relationships (gene sequence comparisons agree with fossil records about COMMON ANCESTORS)

Question 6

Homologous

Answer 6

similarity due to inheritance from a common ancestor

(similarity by descent)

Question 7

Analogous

Answer 7

features that look similar or have the same function, but not caused by sharing a common ancestor (not inherited - it is a coincidence)
- EX: wings in a bird and bat

Question 8

Common Misconceptions About Evolution

Answer 8

1. Individuals do not evolve, populations evolve
2. Evolution is NOT a directed progress with a fixed-end
3. Organisms/their genes DO NOT behave for the “good of the species”
4. Selection DOES NOT always result in the best possible fir of an organism to its environment
5. Mutations ARE NOT caused/induced to respond to environmental change

Question 9

DARWIN vs MODERN: Evolution Concept

Answer 9

• Darwin: evolution is descent with modification
• Modern: evolution is the change in frequency of genetic variants (alleles) in the population

Question 10

Typological Species VS Individual Variation

Answer 10

• species were thought to be immutable, where there was a single ideal manifestation of the species
• individual variation was considered a failure of reality
  THIS VIEW WAS IMPORTANT TO THE INITIAL INTELLECTUAL RESISTANCE TO EVOLUTIONARY IDEAS
• Revolution in evolutionary thinking: organisms are unique individuals and variation is integral to real populations

Question 11

Early Evidence for Biological Evolution (how Darwin figured it out)

Answer 11

1. Homology
2. Fossil Record
3. Geological evidence