Exam 3 Flashcards
Why do we study evolution?
because evolution is the major unifying theme in biology
What negative impacts does evolution have on us?
-insecticide resistant mosquitos that transmit disease
-plants resistant to herbicides which decrease food production
-HIV evolves to have resistance to drugs that treat it
-coronavirus evolves to have new variants
-resistance of bacteria to antibiotics
EVOLUTION IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF THIS
Misunderstandings of evolution
-Eugenics movement: we can improve the human race to decide better characteristics and who gets to reproduce (stop criminals, mentally ill, poor by sterilizing them)
-“fitter family” competitions: blond hair, blue eyes, lots of kids
Why is the eugenics movement a misunderstanding of evolution?
-we can’t change characteristics in the human race
-we can’t eliminate genes from the genes pool
Theory (in laymen’s terms)
a theory is just an idea that lives in someone’s head, rather than an explanation rooted in experiment and testing. Anybody can choose to believe or not believe this
ex) speculation, ideas, hypothesis
A scientific theory
an explanation of some aspect of the natural world that has been substantiated (proven) through repeated experiments or testing, it is accepted as fact to nearly every scientist
-facts about the natural world
ex) can’t choose to not believe in the theory of gravity, you will fall off the cliff
Progressive Theory of Evolution
*evolution was not a new idea in the mid-1800s
-Lamarck said “things change over time”
-inheritance of acquired traits improves the population (so it’s an adaptation)
ex) giraffes necks increase over time to reach leaves
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
-1744-1829
-progressive theory of evolution
1) adaptations are acquired by individuals ex) the characteristics of an individual change over time
2) acquired characteristics (traits) are passed on to offspring
3) so species change over time
Modern def of evolution
evolution: a change in heritable characteristics (traits or allele freq.) in a population over time
-contains patterns of evolution and processes of evolution
Patterns of evolution
observations of the natural world (what we see)
1) species change over time
2) species are related (based on similarities with other species)
3) species are adapted to environments in which they live
4) new species develop (speciation)
processes of evolution
the mechanisms that produce the patterns of evolution
1) involve natural selection
2) involve mutations for adaptations to form
3) gene flow- adaptations occur because moved around
4) genetic drift
*mechanisms scientists have helped us discover to learn more about the world around us
Which of the following would Lamarck and Darwin have agreed upon?
I. species are not unchanging, fixed types
II. individuals change traits to adapt to their environments
III. species evolve to become more complex over time
IV. traits are passed on yo offspring
answer: I and III
Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection
-the idea of evolution by natural selection jointly proposed in 1858 by Darwin and Wallace was new
-“survival of the fittest”
What inspired the theory of evolution by natural selection?
1) world travel: saw lots of patterns in natural world (Darwin was around the world over 5 years, Wallace was in Amazon and Maylasia)
2) artificial selection: breeding of different animals (both did it, Darwin used pigeons)
Charles Darwin
wrote the book “On the Origin of Species”
Alfred Russell Wallace
-came up with the idea independently in his book later
-forced Darwin to publish his book
Charles Lyell
-wrote “Principles of Geology” which said that most geological processes are small changes except rarely when there are earthquakes
-the earth is very old and what we se is a result and sudden events happening
-more offspring are reproduced (humans), more offspring caused more competition, there is a limit they can survive to reproduce
Thomas Malthus
-economics
-wrote essay on population increase
-said that resources are limited