Lecture 1 Evolutionary concepts

Question 1

what was the Greek perspective on the organisation of life?

Answer 1

Organisms are arranged in a “scale of nature” or Great Chain of Being. Ladder from inanimate to plants, lower animals and humans
-the hierarchy of organisms was based on some being more sophisticated and intelligent than others

-Each species isolated
-Perfectly designed
-Matched to environment

Question 2

how old did Archbishop James Ussher (1581-1656) think the world was?

Answer 2

Calculated Earth was precisely 5,668years old based on religion

Question 3

in the XVII Century -Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) classified organisms how?

Answer 3

*Classified organisms by their structure
*Developed a BINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE naming system still used today: (Genus, species)
example being- Panthera pardus

Only the genus is in capital letter
Genus and species are both always in Italics

Question 4

what is the Linnaeus’hierarchical system?

Answer 4

Kingdom, Phylum, Class Order, Family, Genus, Species

Question 5

what are the different domains of life?

Answer 5

Bacteria (Prokaryotes)
Archaea (Prokaryotes)
Eukarya (Eukaryotes)

Question 6

what are the different kingdoms in the domains?

Answer 6

Domain: Bacteria
-Kingdom Bacteria

Domain: Archaea
-Kingdom Archaea

Domain: Eukarya
-Kingdom Protista (Protists)
-Kingdom Fungi
-Kingdom Plantae (Plants)
-Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
-Kingdom Chromista (sometimes included under Protista)

Question 7

did Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) identify that species can change over time?

Answer 7

yes

-The pattern of his system reflected a divine plan
“There are as many species as the Infinite Being produced diverse forms in the beginning,”
-Admitted that some species might change in time (hybrid

Question 8

what did Nicolaus Steno (1638–86) develop and how?

Answer 8

Nicolaus Steno (1638–86): Developed ideas on geology and stratigraphy and questioned accepted knowledge of the natural world

-1666 dissected a large shark-Teeth similar to“tongue stones”

Proposed that teeth gradually transformed into stones

-People started studying similarities of organs between species.

Question 9

what is the Legend of Snakes and Stones? what is this referring too?

Answer 9

St. Hilda was said to have decapitated snakes and turned them into stones (1586) she was referring to fossils resembling snakes

Question 10

how did Paleontology show evidence that life changed?

Answer 10

Georges Cuvier (1769-1832)
-Fossils similar (but different) to modern species
-showed Many past species are extinct

Mary Anning (1799–1847)
-Discovered several species of extinct marine reptiles

Question 11

Extinction: in the past some species had simply died out. why was this controversial?

Answer 11

It was controversial because it implied:
➔not all God’s creations were perfect, and some doomed to failure
➔Life changes

further:
-Discovery that different rock layers contain distinct groups of fossils
-Different layers, different age
-Marine fossils in the mountains?

Question 12

what did Charles Lyell state in Principles of Geology (1830)?

Answer 12

“The formation of Earth’s crust took place through countless small changes occurring over vast periodsof time, all according to known natural laws”

-Earth is much older
-The processes at work today are the same as those that have been operating throughout the entire history of Earth

Question 13

what were Georges Buffon’s (1707–88) early ideas of evolution

Answer 13

-Earth was older than previously thought (at least 70,000 years)
-Life transformed when environment changed (ex: skin pigmentation

Question 14

what were Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck’s (1744–1829) early ideas of evolution

Answer 14

-Species evolve through natural processes
-Organisms arise by spontaneous generation
-Adaptation occurred through the inheritance of acquired changes

Question 15

what was the classic view before Darwin?

Answer 15

-Earth 6,000 years old
-Each species immutable since creatio

Question 16

what was the mordern view before Darwin?

Answer 16

-Earth must be very old
-Earth transformed gradually over vast amounts of time
-Species get extinct and leave fossils
-Life emerged as distinct types; transformed when the environment changed
-Species evolve through natural processes
-Adaptation occurred through inheritance of acquired change

Question 17

when was the HMS Beagle voyage?

Answer 17

Charles Darwin -HMS Beagle Voyage (1831-1836)

Question 18

what did Darwin determine with finches?

Answer 18

Relationship amongst species

-Each island had a distinct species of finch
-The species were similar (colour, size, shape), but separate species
-A small population of an ancestral species arrived at the islands from the mainland a long time ago
-Because of the isolation, subpopulations gradually diverged into different species

Question 19

what is adaptive radiation?

Answer 19

Adaptive radiation is an evolutionary process in which organisms rapidly diversify into a multitude of new forms, particularly when a change in the environment makes new resources available, creates new challenges, or opens new environmental niches. This diversification often results in the development of new species that are adapted to exploit different ecological niches.

Question 20

what is Artificial & Natural Selection?

Answer 20

Natural selection is the process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. This mechanism, first proposed by Charles Darwin, explains how species evolve over time.

Artificial selection, also known as selective breeding, is the process by which humans breed plants and animals for particular genetic traits. Unlike natural selection, artificial selection is intentional and directed.

Question 21

What did Darwin know beforehand?

Answer 21

The Principles of Geology(1830–33)
-Earth landscape formed by series of small changes
-Earth (and life) are much older

Essay on the Principle of Populations (1798)
-Populations reproduce exponentially-Finite resources limit the population
-More organisms are born that can possibly survive

Question 22

who was Alfred Russel Wallace?

Answer 22

Britishnaturalist , explorer,anthropologist &geographer

-“Fatherofbiogeography”
-Malay Archipelago: identified the Wallace Line (faunal divide) separates the Indonesian archipelago into two distinct parts:

Independently conceived the theory of evolution through natural selection

Question 23

where did Darwin present evolution by Natural Selection?

Answer 23

in “On the Origin of Species ” by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life (24 November 1859)

Main message: Evolution as meaning of changes in organisms

Question 24

what does Evolution by Natural Selection suggest?

Answer 24

1. Individual variations within a population -morphology, physiology, behaviour
2. Variation is heritable
3. Some forms are more successful at surviving and reproducing than other in a given environment

Differential reproductive success based on the traits of the organicm

Question 25

what is the definition of evolution?

Answer 25

“Change in the frequency of alleles in a population time“

Question 26

what is an allele?

Answer 26

A variant of a gene or trait

Question 27

what is a population?

Answer 27

A localized group of organisms which belong to the same species

Question 28

what are genotypes and phenotypes?

Answer 28

Genotype: the set of genes that an organism carries
-usually with reference to a specific trait

Phenotype: observable trait of an organism-traits is the expression of a genotype and can be measured, (hair or eye colour)

Some genes enable an individual to survive/reproduce most effectively.
➔Differential reproduction of genotypes

But Natural selection operates on the variation of phenotypes!

Question 29

what is an adaptation?

Answer 29

ADAPTATION: trait that has been selected by Natural selection and provides some improved function

Individuals with these traits tend to survive better and/or reproduce more => Better adapted

Question 30

what is a selective pressure?

Answer 30

Selective pressure refers to any environmental factor that influences the survival and reproductive success of individuals within a population. It is a key mechanism driving evolution through natural selection. Selective pressures can be biotic (living) or abiotic (non-living) factors that affect an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce.

Question 31

do individuals evolve or do populations evolve?

Answer 31

it is always populations

The whole population evolves

Question 32

how does Evolution by Natural Selection occur?

Answer 32

1.Individual variations within a population
2.Variation is heritable
3.Some forms are more successful at reproducing