learning objectives 2 Flashcards
What was the prevailing view regarding evolution and species in Europe in the 1800s?
Species were thought to have been individually created by God (special creation) and did not change over time.
Who was Charles Darwin, and what is he known for?
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) is known for his work “On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection,” where he proposed that species change over time due to natural selection.
What were Darwin’s two key observations that led to his theory of natural selection?
- Observation 1: Members of a population often vary in their inherited traits.
- Observation 2: All species can produce more offspring than their environment can support, leading to many offspring failing to survive and reproduce.
What were Darwin’s inferences based on his observations of natural selection?
Inference 1: Individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to survive and reproduce.
Inference 2: Over time, this leads to the accumulation of favorable traits in the population, resulting in evolution by natural selection.
What is the principle of uniformitarianism, and who proposed it?
Uniformitarianism is the idea that slow, gradual changes over long periods can explain Earth’s geological features. It was proposed by Charles Lyell.
What evidence did Darwin find in Punta Alta, Argentina, supporting Lyell’s theory?
Darwin discovered the bones of extinct giant mammals, recognizing their similarity to living species, which supported the idea of gradual change over time.
How do the biogeographical patterns Darwin observed support the theory of evolution?
Similar species in a region resemble ancient species from the same area (principle of succession), indicating descent with modification. Additionally, different environments on the Galapagos Islands led to different adaptations in species, such as tortoises.
What is the principle of succession, and how does it provide evidence for descent with modification?
The principle of succession states that living organisms resemble the fossils in their region because they are descended from those ancestors with modifications over time.
How did Darwin use artificial selection to understand natural selection?
Darwin bred pigeons to observe how selecting for certain traits over time could create new body shapes, analogous to natural selection in the wild.
What is adaptive radiation, and how did it occur in Darwin’s finches?
Adaptive radiation is the diversification of species from a common ancestor to fill various ecological niches. In Darwin’s finches, different beak shapes evolved to exploit different food sources on the Galapagos Islands.
What are the two main ideas in Darwin’s “Origin of Species”?
- All organisms evolved from a common ancestor via descent with modification.
- Natural selection drives the evolution of species, with traits that provide an ecological advantage being favored.
How can plants and animals colonize new habitats, according to Darwin’s experiments?
Darwin concluded that plants and animals could disperse across oceans and colonize new islands, allowing ecosystems to develop on volcanic islands.
How does local adaptation contribute to the process of adaptive radiation?
Local adaptation to different environments can lead to divergence between populations, resulting in new species and contributing to adaptive radiation
