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ANT203 > Evolutionary Theory 1 > Flashcards

Evolutionary Theory 1 Flashcards

1
Q

What is evolution?

A
  • change in organisms over generational time - a change in allele frequencies over time
  • ongoing biological process
  • change in traits of phenotype
  • changes in genotype do not always result in changes in phenotype
  • genetic/genotype level
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2
Q

phenotype

A
  • observable trait or characteristic
  • physical traits like eye colour, but also things like blood type or hormone levels
  • behavioural traits are also phenotypes that are shaped by evolution
  • controlled only in part by genotype
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3
Q

genotype

A
  • genetic component that determines a characteristic (genes/alleles)
  • genetic change may not result in phenotypic change
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4
Q

microevolution

A

genetic changes within populations that may cause populations of a species to vary in trait frequencies (eg. lactase persistence)

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5
Q

macroevolution

A

genetic changes in populations over larger spans of time that may result in the appearance of new species

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6
Q

how do we know about evolution?

A

scientific method

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7
Q

what does misconceptions and distrust in science create

A

misconceptions and distrust in evolutionary research

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8
Q

scientific method

A
  • evidence based
  • with new evidence ideas are re-evaluated
  • often quantitative
  • observe and test to understand the world, NOT prove a scenario
  • a cycle or series of procedures used in scientific research to gain knowledge and stimulate new information/discoveries
  • OBSERVATIONS AND TESTS
  • must me repeatable and reproducible
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9
Q

what is the cycle of the scientific method

A
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10
Q

observation

A

observe directly or take cues from previous research

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11
Q

hypothesis

A
  • testable explanation of observations
  • written as a statement that, if untrue, may be disproven by evidence obtained during data collection
  • null hypothesis (claim that effect being studied does not exist)
  • alternate hypothesis (opposing theory to null hypothesis, tested to disprove null hypothesis)
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12
Q

data collection

A
  • process of acquiring new information or evidence
  • feasibility versus strength of data field or laboratory based
  • two types of data: quantitative and qualitative
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13
Q

analysis of information

A

various methods and models

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14
Q

interpretation

A
  • did the hypothesis explain the observation
  • is there evidence and data to support hypothesis, does it accept/reject the null/alternate hypothesis
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15
Q

scientific theory

A
  • proposed explanations of robust relationships between natural phenomena that collectively help explain patterns in the natural world
  • when a hypothesis stands up to repeated testing
  • ex. germ theory, evolutionary theory
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16
Q

self-correcting

A
  • can be altered over time with further experimentation and new technologies
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17
Q

biological anthropology as a science

A
  • reliance on the scientific method
  • interpreted in evolutionary framework
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18
Q

biological anthropology as a social science

A
  • people cannot be divorced from their social and cultural context
  • importance of the biocultural perspective
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19
Q

Plato on evolutionary theory

A
  • eidos or ‘theory of forms’
  • ideal and imperfect worlds
  • perfect forms and imperfect manifestations
20
Q

Aristotle on evolutionary theory

A
  • system of classifications
  • gradation of species in terms of “complexity”
  • ladder increasing towards perfection
21
Q

plotinus on evolutionary theory

A
  • a single higher transcendent ‘one’
  • everything exists in a state of greater or less perfection
22
Q

view from greek philosophy of evolutionary theory

A
  • have a ‘proper’ place in natures
  • fixity of species and uniformity; species are unchanging, variation either undesired or unimportant
23
Q

scala naturae

A
  • ladder of life, great chain of being
  • integrating greek philosophy and christian ideas (midieval europe)
24
Q

Al-Jahiz view on evolutionary theory

A
  • translation of Aristotle
  • struggle for existence
25
Q

Ibn Khaldun on evolutionary theory

A
  • muqaddimah
  • different stages of development; abiotic components - plants - animals
  • noted similarities and discussed possibility of relationship between primates and humans
26
Q

the scientific revolution

A
  • early 17th century europe
  • increasingly questioning the nature of the world
  • made observations that led to questioning of earlier ideas
  • discovery of the new world, earth is round, earth revolves around the sun and solar system, physics, new scientific instruments
  • laying groundwork for development of scientific method and seeking to explain for natural phenomena
27
Q

John Ray

A
  • pastor, naturalist
  • classification according to observation
  • definition of species through reproductive isolation
28
Q

carolus linnaeus

A
  • taxonomy: description and classifications of life forms
  • binomial nomenclature and the systema naturae; standardized genus and species names
  • type specimen for our species
29
Q

carolus linnaeus system of classification

A
  • systema naturae; inclusive hierarchical system, general to specific, taxa (units representing different levels of grouping)
30
Q

georges-louis leclerc, comte de buffon

A
  • regional variation in plants and animals
  • environmental factors as agents of change
  • greater age of the earth; how could all this variation have arisen in a short time period?
31
Q

James ussher

A
  • biblical scholar; chronology
  • calculated age of the earth; october 23rd, 4004BC
32
Q

Erasmus darwin

A
  • idea of a common ancestor
  • expanses of time
  • competition for resources and role of the environment
  • zoonomia or ‘the laws of organic life’; “the strongest and most active animal should propagate the species, which should thence become improved”
33
Q

jean-baptiste lamarck

A
  • increasing complexity > environment pushing organism to perfection
  • proposed a mechanism for evolution
  • inheritance of acquired characteristics; use-disuse theory, a trait acquired by an animal during its lifetime can be passed on to offspring
34
Q

james hutton

A
  • Uniformitarianism; the continuity of geological processes
  • gradualism; slow and steady change
35
Q

georges cuvier

A
  • extinction; fossils from extinct life forms
  • castastrophism; fixity of species
36
Q

charles lyell

A
  • principles of geology
  • Consolidated the theory of uniformitarianism; geological processed have remained consistent, rate of processes are constant, so the earth is very old
  • defining geological epochs with fossils
37
Q

thomas malthus

A
  • an essay on the principle of population
  • populations can increase in size indefinitely without limits in place; i.e. subsistence, diseases
  • population increases limited by resource availability; if population exceed food resources - catastrophe
  • improvement in conditions>increase in population>competition
38
Q

orgins of evolutionary theory

A

by early 19th century
- deep time and geological processes
- relationship between environment and variation
- change between generations
- competition for resources
- BUT, no valid mechanism for change between generations or production of variation

39
Q

charles darwin

A
  • darwin and wedgood families; intellectual circles
  • University of edinburgh (medicine) ; not for doctor
  • university of cambridge (theology); appreciation for natural history
  • joined scientific expedition on the HMS beagle; naturalist and gentlemans companion, documentation and chronicling of natural features
40
Q

route of HMS beagle

A

sailed aroung tip of south america, coast of chile, galapagos islands off the western coast of ecuador

41
Q

HMS beagle

A

observations
- fossils bear similarities to living species
- huge diversity in living forms
- many parts of the world (galapagos islands)

42
Q

galapagos islands

A

observations
- some variation in traits in close otherwise similar animals

43
Q

darwin’s finches

A
  • each island has its own type of finch
  • varied beak size, shape variation, diet
  • brought finches back to UK
  • explored variation with ornithologist John Gould after return to england
  • facilitate resource exploitation in different niches (difference sized seeds etc.)
  • had a common mainland ancestor; modified in different island habitats, minimised competition for resources
  • observations were curcual to development of idea of evolution due to natural selection
44
Q

evolution by natural selection

A

when Darwin returned from voyage in 1836, integrated;
- ideas of evolution
- the ideas of thomar malthus about competition for resources
- his observations in the galapagos

  • theorized natural selection as a mechanism for evolutioon
45
Q

natural selection

A
  • the process by which some organisms with features that enable them to adapt to the environment preferentially survive and reproduce; results in increase in the frequency of those beneficial features in the population
  • can also remove deleterious traits
46
Q

elements of natural selection

A
  • variation exists in all populations
  • traits are inherited through reporduction
  • there are limited resources, and therefore competition for those resources

ANT203 (11 decks)

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