Human Evolution & Microevolution Flashcards
What significant event occurred around -70,000 years related to human migration?
Humans left Africa and dispersed to the rest of the world
What does heterozygosity refer to in the context of human genetics?
Genetic variation
Where is the richest genetic variation found in human populations?
Ancestral areas in East Africa
What caused a bottleneck in the human population size?
Climate change
What species overlapped with modern humans for up to 5,000 years?
Homo neanderthalensis
How much Neanderthal DNA do non-Africans typically have?
Around 3%
What evidence suggests that Neanderthals lived in family groups?
Males appeared to stay in groups and females may have moved between groups
eDNA of 14 Neanderthals revealed father-daughter relationships
What type of artifacts did Neanderthals create?
Jewelry and cave art
True or False: Neanderthals are considered a separate species from modern humans.
False
What is the significance of the Denisovan tooth discovered in 2008?
It led to the identification of a previously unknown hominin group
What allele did Tibetans acquire from Denisovans?
EPAS1 allele
(Allows them to live in conditions of hypoxia)
Fill in the blank: The Denisovans are believed to have used _______ to disperse.
boats
What is Homo floresiensis commonly referred to as?
The Hobbit
What are key human behaviors mentioned in relation to what makes us human?
- Cooperation and how we run our societies
- Art
What is a major consequence of human tool use mentioned in the text?
Increased CO2 levels
What did the 2010 sequencing of the Neanderthal genome reveal?
Non-Africans interbred with Neanderthals
How many amino acid differences are there between humans and Neanderthals?
96
What is the estimated age range of the ‘Dragon man’ skull found in China?
138,000 - 309,000 years old
True or False: Denisovans were not sensitive to smells.
False
What is microevolution?
Microevolution is changes in the gene pool of a population of organisms over time.
Evolutionary events within a species or population
Microevolution plus chance events gives rise to macroevolution
What is the gene pool?
The gene pool is all alleles of all genes of all individuals in a population.
It represents all the genetic variation, the ‘raw material’ of evolution, in a population
Define macroevolution.
Macroevolution refers to evolution on a grand scale, including major evolutionary events above the level of the species, such as the evolution of major animal groups.
Examples include speciation and the emergence of new taxa.
What is the difference between microevolution and macroevolution?
Microevolution involves evolutionary events within a species or population, while macroevolution involves larger-scale evolutionary changes.
Microevolution plus chance events can lead to macroevolution.
What are the requirements for evolution by natural selection?
- Differential reproductive success
- Genetic differences between individuals (genetic variation)
Evolution changes the genetic structure of a population or species