L1 - What is Evolution Flashcards
What is evolution not?
Concerned with the origin of life, about origin of humans, discovered by Darwin, something that happens to humans, an accidental process, have any evidence against it, contrived to undermine religion, deny the existence of god, conflict with any religion.
What is evolution - Dobzhansky?
Nothing in biology makes sense except in light of evolution
What is evolution - Plato?
Believed in 2 worlds - real world (ideal and eternal), and a illusionary world (imperfect and perceived through the senses). Typological view of nature - individual variation as the imperfect manifestation of ethos.
What is evolution - Aristotle?
All living organisms could be arranged in a ‘scale of nature’ or great chain of being. The ladder of life consists of graduation from inanimate material through plants, through lower animals and humans to other spiritual beings.
What is evolution - Al-Beruni?
Believed that man ‘migrated’ through the ‘kingdoms’ of minerals, plants and animals ‘in order to reach perfection and therefore contains within himself the nature of the creatures of the other realms
What is evolution - Al-Jahiz?
Believed organisms developed new traits to survive in their environments. Al-Jahiz also believed that animals evolved with the help of God, and that God wanted to keep nature in order
What is evolution - Linnaeus?
Established the modern system of taxonomy in an attempt to discover order in the diversity of life ‘for the greater glory of god’
What is evolution - Darwin and Chambers?
transmutation of species
What is evolution - first articulated theory?
By Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de Lamarck. Organisms continually arise by spontaneous generation, ‘nervous fluid’ acts to move each species up the ‘great chain of being’, organisms develop adaptations to changing environment through the use and disuse of organs, adaptations are inherited.
Finally what is evolution?
Descent with modification. Evolution only occurs when there is a change in gene frequency within a population over time. These genetic differences are heritable.
What is evolution - farmers and breeders?
Farmers and breeder allow only the plants and animals with desirable characteristics to reproduce, causing the evolution of farm stock. This process is called artificial selection.
What are mechanisms of change?
How we get ‘a change in gene frequency within a population over time. Mutation, Migration, Genetic drift, Natural selection
What is Genetic variation and what mechanisms of change cannot occur unless there is genetic variation?
Genetic Drift and Natural selection cannot operate without genetic variation. Genetic variation is when there are differences in individuals.
What is natural selection an example of?
One of the basic mechanisms of change
What is Natural Selection?
There is variation in traits e.g. colour of beetles, there is differential reproduction e.g. green get eaten, brown don’t, there is heredity e.g. brown beetles have brown babies as trait has genetic basis, end result e.g. process continues with beneficial adaptation
What can descent with modification lead to that explains the diversity of life?
Diversity of organism on our planet
What can descent with modification lead to that explains the extinction of life?
Adaptation leads to extinction of organism from our planet
What can descent with modification lead to that explains the weird and wonderful?
Provides an explanation for ridiculously exaggerated phenotypes we see in nature
What can descent with modification lead to that explains the cooperation and conflict?
Explains why we see complex social behaviour and cooperation in animal societies
