Evolution of an Idea (02) (Evolution) Flashcards
What did people believe before the theory of evolution was a thing?
That all organisms were immutable (They could not change, whatesoever)
-> All living things were creared in their present form, no changes were possible
What does mutable mean?
Ability to change!
-> What we found out as humans
Timeline of connections: (Who started the brainstorm, who proposed the idea, who found the evidence?)
Who created Catastrophism?
Who created Uniformitarianism?
1) Buffon (Made an observation, and led to the brainstorm of evolution)
2) Linneaeus and Darwin (Proposed the idea of evolution, had no evidence whatsoever, created the hypothesis)
3) Lamark, a student of Buffons. (Offered pieces of evidences, through the first 2 fundemental evolutionary principals)
Catastrophisms: Carter
Uniformitariniasm: Lyell
Competetion with population: Malthus
Who started the brainstorm/made the first observation of evolution? What was his idea/observation?
“Buffon” - Started of the idea, which streamlined into others prooving it
Observation: After examinning animal body parts, he found “Vestigial body parts”
-> Body parts with no purpose or only slight functionaility.
-> Connected to the idea that, if species were created in their most perfect form, why would they have body parts that were not in use?
–> He thought that the environment changes overtime, which is the reason why animals/spicies didn’t use these body parts.
What are examples of vesgital body parts? (Explain it breifly) and what is its connection to evolution?
Structures within the body with little to no use: which challenges the idea that speicies are immutable
Humans: Wisdom teeth, appendix, etc.
Pigs: two toes that do not touch the ground
Whales: Hip bones
Who proposed the idea of evolution? Made the hypothesis but did not have any evidence?
Linneaus: proposed the idea that organisms changed overtime
Darwin: proposed the idea that all organisms originate from a single source
-> No evidence
Who had evidence for the idea of evidence?
What were there two principals? What does this contribuite to (3 main principals)?
Lamark! A student of buffers (the original observer)
1) Use and disuse (Use it or lose it)
2) Inheritance of aquired traits (Aquired: traits/skills that can be gained within your life time, so you are not born with it)
->Created the foundations of our evolution. Helped us understand that…
1) All specifies evolve overtime
2) They evolve as a response to the environment (Adapting to the environment)
3) Changes are passed on from generation to generation
What is use and disuse?
-> Similar to vistgial body parts, body parts become larger/stronger the more they are used, but become weaker and smaller the less they are used.
->I.E. Muscles, easy to lose if not training, but able to build very big.
Connection to the environment: if the environment changes, you may not need some body parts, or you may use things less (ie. ability to gain food easier, can lead to reduction in jaw)
What is inheritance of acquired traits?
The idea that indivduals can pass down traits (to their offspring) that they gained/got.
-> i.e. if i learned how to be good at drawing within my lifetime, my offspring will be good at drawing
connection to environment: theory that giraffes got their long necks from stretching it. That adult griaffes stretched their necks to reach for food, and then their offsprings continued which allowed them to be born with long necks/.
What are the signifncant flaw of Lamarks 2 principals?
Aquiring traits does not mean that they are inheritable. (features that are able to change [stamina, endurances, skills] CANNOT be inheritable because they do not change your DNA/are not within your DNA) (Inheritance of aquired traits)
Just because you use something doesnt mean it gets better, many feautures/structures do not change in response to use. (Using your eyes does not mean better eyes) Use and disuse
Patterns of change, what is the physical evidence of evolution?
Fossils! (Perserved ancient remains) (Usually hard impressions/moldings of dead organisms within rocks)
->the dead organisms are “mineral deposists”
How are fossils made (4 steps)
1) Dead organism within low-oxygen environemnt
-> Organism is usually underwater
-> Goal/reason why it needs to be a low-oxygen environment is that we need to prevent the organism from decomposing
2) Organism is burried and compressed under many layers of sendiment
-> More layers = easier/more visible compression
Sendiment = pressure and ability for the oragnism to be minieralized
3) So many layers = high pressure + chemical changes within the organism = Formation of the fossil becoming mineralized and sendimentary rock.
4) Rock becomes exposed/found by erosion/excuvation = a fosil
Facts about fossils:
They are generally what type of animal?
What is able to be fossilized easier?
Can fossils only be made from rocks?
Generally, fossils are aquatic, because land animals tend to decompose due to high amounts of oxygen
Hard body parts are more likey to be perserved (Because they are easier to make an impression on)
-> Shells
-> Bones
-> Teeth
You can have fossils/impressions on amber, volancic ash and ice.
How can you tell if a fossil is recent or old? What evidence explained that fossils were older than 100 years old?
A fossil is old if…
1) The organism is unknown/unusal (Use to live on land, and now are extinct)
2) No fossils for the current living species because they have yet to form
3) Burried within deep rocks (more than 1km deep within the earths layers) (Older the rock = older the fossil)
4) They are found within unexpected locations such as mountains and deserts (Back in the days, these areas were not mountains and deserts, and signifies the changes that the earth goes through) (Connection to uniformtarianism)
What is palenotology? What does it tell us about fossils?
The study of prehistoric life through fossils
-> First layer of rock is the newest layer, and has more complex organisms, the more you go down, the older, as well as they simplier the organisms get.
1) Unicellular/simple organisms are found at all depths of rock (They exist within every time-line)
2) Complex organisms (ie. humans) are found near the top/younger rocks (Organisms become more complex as they evolve, as a response to the environment)
3) Fossils near the top are more likely to resemble the living organisms/species
4) Organisms within the fossils vary within each layer, which showcases the timeline of earth.
