Forces of Evolutionary Change Part 1

Question 1

What is evolution

Answer 1

change over time; ‘descent with modification’

Question 2

where does evolution occur?

Answer 2

in a population - individuals don’t evolve, the population changes over multiple generations

Question 3

What are evolutionary changes based on?

Answer 3

the gene pool’s allele frequencies

Question 4

allele frequencies

Answer 4

number of copies of that allele divided by the total number of alleles in the population; determines characteristics for a population - why populations look different

Question 5

What ship did Charles Darwin sail on and how long?

Answer 5

the HMS Beagle and a 5 year voyage

Question 6

Charles Darwin was a

Answer 6

naturalist

Question 7

What book did he write and when?

Answer 7

1859: On the Origin of Species

Question 8

Notes on finches

Answer 8

ornithologist: ate a variety of seeds; different beak types; 14 different types of finches; shared characteristics with those from the mainland

Question 9

Wrote notes about Galapagos tortoise’s…

Answer 9

neck length

Question 10

“Descent with Modification”

Answer 10

gradual change from an ancestor

Question 11

Thomas Malthus

Answer 11

wrote Essay on the Principle of Population - Food availability, disease and war limit population size…

Question 12

Darwin’s analysis on Malthus’ findings

Answer 12

this should be the same for all species right?

Question 13

natural selection

Answer 13

occurs when environmental factors cause the differential reproductive success of individuals with particular genotypes

Question 14

artificial selection

Answer 14

choosing of desired traits

Question 15

Modern Evolutionary Synthesis

Answer 15

Genetic mutations create heritable variation and this variation is what natural selection acts on (acts on the phenotype)

Question 16

Theory of Evolution by natural selection

Answer 16

all organisms use the same genetic code, the same chemical reactions and many of the same proteins - homologous structures and embryonic development similarities; descent from a common ancestor

Question 17

Adaptations

Answer 17

Features that provide a selective advantage and improve survival and reproduction; it is heritable and becomes more common with each generation

Question 18

Natural selection is not a

Answer 18

random process

Question 19

Natural selection…

Answer 19

eliminates phenotypes by ‘weeding out’ certain phenotypes and as environment changes, so must those in it; those who change change to have the ‘best’ phenotype

Question 20

natural selection does not have a goal. why?

Answer 20

no way of ‘telling’ DNA to mutate; no way of knowing future; if you don’t have a certain allele for a change, you may go extinct

Question 21

survival of the fittest

Answer 21

fitness is one’s reproductive contribution to the next generation; survival is not enough… it’s how many alleles you can pass on.