LECTURE 2 Flashcards
Evolution
Accumulation of inherited changed in populations over time
Population
group of individuals of one species that live in the same geographic area at the same time
Species
Group of Connected populations consisted of individuals with similar phenotypes and capable of interbreeding
What is the meaning of evolution?
The process by which different kinds of living organisms are believed to have developed from earlier forms during the history of the earth
What is the biological definition of Evolution?
the inherited change within a lineage
Definition of inherited
reproduction promotes the passing on of genes and associated traits from parents to offspring
Definition of Change
each offspring is not a copy of its parents by a combination of them
Definition of Lineage
reproduction of individuals from one generation to the next creates an uninterrupted chain of genetic inheritance from ancestors to descendants
Variation
the difference among individuals in a population
Why is change important?
Random genetic mutations change the genetic composition of the next generation and introduce variation among individuals. More reproductively successful parents contribute more off spring to the next generation
Ernst Mayer 1904 (Germany)
studied speciation and punctate equilibrium. Defined what a species is
How does evolution work?
- Natural Selection
- Genetic Drift
- both of these processes are dependent upon variation
Definition of Hypothesis
How or why a phenomenon occurs. Hypotheses are repeatedly tested, and refined through scientific method
Definition of Scientific method
the process of scientific inquiry for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, and correcting and integrating previous knowledge.
Scientific method must be based on observable, measurable evidence collected by observation, and or experimentation
What is some evidence of Evolution?
- Animal and plant forms have changed over time
- the time span of evolution is immense
- extinction is a fate of most species that ever existed
- environments in every locale have changed, often dramatically so
homologous Features
derive from same structure as common ancestor
- similar anatomy, dissimilar functions
- similar developmental pattern
-similar in structure and origin
Homoplastic (analogous) features
similar functions in distantly related organisms demonstrates covergent evolution
- dissimilar in anatomy
- develop in unrelated animals and not inherited from a common ancestor
-development pattern not similar
-dissimilar in structure and origin
Vestigial Structures
remnants of structures indicating adaptations. For example, the appendix in the human
Developmental Homologies
Refers to similarity in embryo morphology and or patter of tissue differentiation
convergent evolution
unrelated mammals eat ants and termites in similar ways
Theory of Evolution
- Explains the similarities (common ancestry) and differences (adaptations and diversity) of extinct and lost species
- provide clues for how life will continue in the future
- is important to under how viruses and bacteria evolve so that better drugs can be designed to cure diseases.
