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BIOL*2400 Evolution > History of Evolutionary Thought > Flashcards

History of Evolutionary Thought Flashcards

1
Q

Special Creation

A
  • Each organism originated independently
  • Each organism has remained the same since the time of creation
  • All organisms were created recently
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2
Q

Aristotle

A

“Great Chain of Being”

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3
Q

Carolus Linnaeus

A

He
- Established conventions for naming organisms in mid-1700s - taxonomy
- Sharp discontinuities between species
- Argued that species are immutable (unchanging)

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4
Q

Nicolaus Steno

A

He
- Discovered fossils by observing an old sharks teeth
- Rock layers (strata) provide a record of earth’s history
- Study of strata = stratigraphy

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5
Q

Georges Buffon

A
  • Creatures were made up of ‘particles’ that came together at the start of life
  • The ‘particles’ make up an ‘internal mould’ that determined the nature of a species
  • As a species moved to a new place its particles could change
  • First hints of evolution
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6
Q

Greek Philosophers

A
  • Tried to explain nature through material principles - the basis of scientific thought
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7
Q

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

A
  • First detailed theory of evolution
  • Species change through time by inheritance of acquired characteristics
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8
Q

Importance of Lamarck’s ideas

A

He
- Recognized that life forms are connected
- Recognized that there is variation in traits
- Recognized that inheritance is an important aspect of adaption
- Provided a mechanism for evolution

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9
Q

Charles Robert Darwin

A
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10
Q

Voyage of the Beagle

A
  • Collected many fossils and living organisms
  • Uniformitarianism: Natural processes that can be observed and show responsibility for events in the past
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11
Q

Darwin’s observation #1

A
  • Lots of diversity of similar forms
    - He thought he had collected wrens, blackbirds, and finches - they
    were all finches!
  • Nearby islands had different species - why?
  • Species seemed to fit well with their environments
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12
Q

Darwin’s observation #2

A
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13
Q

Darwin’s observation #3

A

Fossils were recognizably associated with extant fauna but yet wee dramatically different
- ‘Law of Succession’ - fossils and living organisms from one area were similar to each other but different from those in other areas
- Observed previously

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14
Q

Darwin’s observation #4

A
  • Humans, seals, bats, and other mammals look superficially different
  • Closer examination indicates similar bone arrangements
  • Similarities are due to common ancestry (homologies)?
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15
Q

Darwin’s conclusion

A

Species were not specially created but instead evolved through descent with modification

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16
Q

Taxonomy

A

The practice and science of categorization
- Species
- Genus
- Family
- Order
- Class
- Phylum
- Kingdom

17
Q

1700 Geology and Paleontology

A
  • Geologists accepted that rocks form very slowly
    - Earth must be old
  • Fossils differed from species seen today - species can go extinct
  • Similar fossils tended to be found in similarly aged layers of rock with different ones in newer layers - species appear and disappear
  • Gradual changes in geology appear to be explained by processes we see today
18
Q

Darwin’s postulates

A
  • Individuals within species are variable
  • The variations are, at least in part, passed from parents to offspring
  • In every generation, some individual are more successful at surviving and reproducing
  • Survival and reproduction are not random, but are determined by the traits’ variation
19
Q

Darwin’s Logic

A

The critical ingredients for evolution by natural selection

20
Q

Darwin’s contribution

A
  • Natural selection as a mechanism
  • Population thinking
  • The non-constancy of species
  • The descent of all organism from common ancestors
  • The gradualness of evolution
  • The multiplication of species
21
Q

Darwin’s big knowledge gap

A
  • How variations are passed on to offspring (Genetics!) There was no concrete idea on ‘inheritance’ at the time
  • His natural selection theory was challenged
  • How variability was generated in populations (Mutation!)
  • There was a lack of knowledge on mutations
  • The relative short age of the Earth (15 - 20MY) does not allow for slow and gradual changes to accumulate (4.5 billion years!)
  • They believed the earth was ALOT younger than it was
22
Q

Evolution after Darwin

A
  • In 1900 rediscovery of Mendel’s work with peas led to alternative explanations (rather than natural selection)
  • In 1930/40 scientists joined ideas and concepts to form a New vison of evolution: “Modern Synthesis”
23
Q

Mutationism

A

A mutation is any change in the DNA sequence in a cell. Mutations cause discrete variation which results in new species

24
Q

Fruit flies

A

They have a very simple genetic structure and a quick reproduction rate - easy to see pros and cons of certain mutations

25
Q

Competing theories

A

Saltationism: Evolution proceeds in major steps by abrupt transformation

Neo Lamarckism: Evolution is coordinated addition of developmental stages in a species, not natural selection

Orthogenesis: Characteristics of organisms are directed towards pre-determined goals

These theories have no mechanisms proposed - which is important in proving evolution theories

26
Q

Modern Synthesis (1937-

A
  • Scientists joined ideas/concepts from genetics, paleontology, and systematics into a new vision of evolution (Scientist dream team) They took parts from all the older theories and built off them to create this theory
  • Mendelian and population genetics were applied to the process of Natural Selection
  • The ‘Synthesis’ emphasized the interaction among random mutation, natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow in microevolution
  • It was suggested that these evolutionary processes were sufficient to account for macro-evolution
27
Q

Principles of the synthetic theory

A
  • Mutations are rare, amplified by recombination
  • Allele frequency change by genetic drift and natural selection
  • Natural populations are variable; natural selection is intense
  • Geographic population of a species are often adaptive; continuum of degree of differentiation of populations
  • Fossil records include examples of gradual changes
28
Q

Recombination

A

Pieces of DNA are broken and recombined to produce new combinations of alleles

BIOL*2400 Evolution (11 decks)

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