Lecture 1 - Natural Selectoin and Evolution Flashcards
Types of natural selection resulting in evolution
- Stabilizing selection (Mean/Average)
- Directional selection (one end of spectrum)
- Disruptive selection (Opposite ends of spectrum)
Toba Volcano Theory
- Example of Human population bottleneck
- Supervolcanic eruption 70,000 years ago
- 6-10 year long global volcanic winter
- population reduced to 3-10k individuals
Sum of allele frequencies
=1
Stabilizing Selection
- Favors average individuals
- Mean does not change but variation is reduced
q
recessive allele
1 - p = q
Process: Evolution by Natural Selection
Variant for a trait
–>
Differential survival or reproductive success (fitness) depending on trait value
–>
transmission of trait value to next generation (trait variation must be heritable)
–>
Change in allele frequencies
Population Bottleneck
- Normally large population may pass through a period in which only a small number of individuals survive
- Composition of population is changed
- Genetic variation is reduced (natural disasters, epidemic diseases, hunting and habitat destruction)
Peppered Moth
Example of natural selection
- Initial: most moths had light coloration, camouflaged with the light trees
- Industrial revolution turned trees black
- Light moths were disadvantaged, dark moths survived with camouflage
- Post rev: Dark moths flourished
How Evolutionary Theory is observed
- Genetic mutations arise
- Affects form and function of organisms
- New genetic variation spreads through a population
Observations for Evolutionary Theory (5)
- All species have the capacity, in terms of fertility, to increase without bounds
- Populations tend to be relatively stable in size
- Resources are limited
- Individuals vary in their characteristics
- Some of this variation is heritable
Non-random mating (4 scenarios)
- individuals in population do not choose mates at random
- self-fertilization
- mating preferentially with individuals of same genotype
- mating preferentially of individuals with different genotype
- Sexual selection - mating preferentially with individuals with a specific trait
Natural Selection
Differential survival and reproduction of individuals in a population based on variation in their traits
Mutations
- Change in nucleotide sequence of an organisms DNA
- Occur randomly
- Most are harmful or neutral
- a few are beneficial
- Rate is so low that they only account for very small deviation from HW by themselves
- Can create genetic variation on which selection can act
Mechanisms of Evolutionary Change (5)
- Mutation
- Gene flow
- Genetic drift (small pops, bottleneck, founder effect)
- Non-random mating
- Natural selection
Inferences of Evolutionary Theory
- Only a fraction of offspring survive
- “More fit” individuals are more likely to survive
- This leads to a gradual accumulation of individuals with more favorable traits
Hardy-Weinberg Establishment
- Founder population will have different genotype frequencies, but establish p and q
- subsequent generations will have predicted genotype frequencies because of random mating
Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium (conditions)
- Absence of evolution
- Allele frequencies are constant
- p and q do not change
Genetic Drift - Founder Effect
- A few pioneering individuals colonize a new region
- Unlikely to have all alleles found in members of its source population
ex: European fruit fly came to Chile
Genetic Drift
- Random changes in allele frequencies in small populations from one generation to the next (small pop size)
- Can produce large changes in allele frequencies over time (May result in loss of alleles from a population)