Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

ENVS 212 > Lecture 2: History of Evolution > Flashcards

Lecture 2: History of Evolution Flashcards

1
Q

Biological essentialism

A

a viewpoint that attributes certain characteristics, behaviors, or roles to individuals based on their biological makeup, particularly their sex or gender

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What was the pre-Darwinian view?

A

Variation is accidental imperfection

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Uniformitarianism

A

The same geological processed operated in the past as in the present. Geological data can be explained by causes that we now observe

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Who championed uniformitarianism?

A

James Hutton and Charles Lyell

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Catastrophism

A

Sudden, violent and short-lived events were responsible for the current state of the earth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What did Georges Cuvier believe?

A

He recognized that fossil forms were likely extinct. He established extinction as a fact

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What theories did Lamarck, Jean-Baptiste Pierre, and Antoine de Monet develop?

A

Theories of phenotypic evolution and speciation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Theory of phenotypic evolution

A

Traits acquired during the course of an individual’s lifetime were passed on to offspring.

Ex: lengthening of giraffe’s necks, thickening of blacksmith’s arms

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Which theory addresses the inheritance of acquired characteristics?

A

Lamarck’s theory of phenotypic evolution

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Lamarck’s hypothesis for giraffes

A

Giraffes evolved long necks because individuals in ancestral giraffe populations stretched their necks to reach higher leaves on trees. This stretching led to the elongation of their necks, and this acquired trait was then passed on to their offspring. Over time, this process resulted in the evolution of giraffes with long necks.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Darwin hypothesis for giraffes

A

Giraffes with longer necks were more likely to survive and reproduce because they could access more food from taller trees. Over successive generations, the genes for longer necks became more common in the population through the process of natural selection

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Theory of speciation

A

Species originate from spontaneous generation and have not originated from common ancestors

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Where are the species and common ancestor on a bifurcating tree of life?

A

Species: tips

Common ancestor: root

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

How does natural selection play a role in the Peppered Moths example?

A

In the 18th century, the white form of the moth was the only form known.

In 1848, dark moths were discovered as they were camouflaged on trees where soot from coal-burning had darkened tree bark.

After coal-burning decreased in the 1960s, the white form became prevalent again

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What are the 5 components of Darwin’s Origin of Species?

A

1) Evolution

2) Common descent

3) Gradualism

4) Population change

5) Natural selection

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is common descent?

A

Tree of life

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is gradualism?

A

Slow incremental change with intermediate forms

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What is population change?

A

Evolution occurs by changes in the proportions of individuals within a population that have different inherited characteristics

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What is natural selection?

A

Changes in proportion of individuals with different characteristics are caused by differences in their ability to survive and reproduce

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Who independently conceived natural selection?

A

Alfred Russell Wallace

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What did Alfred Russell Wallace spur Darwin to write?

A

The Origin of Species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Who is the father of biogeography?

A

Alfred Russell Wallace

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What is Wallace’s Line?

A

Major biogeographic barrier between Australasia and Asia

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What does Wallace’s Line tell us?

A

Many groups of organisms are found only north or south of this line

25
Q

What is the Wallace Effect?

A

Natural Selection can contribute to reproductive isolation of incipient species (recently derived species) by creating barriers to breeding and geneflow between populations and ultimately leading to speciation

26
Q

What is mutationism?

A

Discretely different organisms arose via mutation and natural selection is not required for the origin of new species

27
Q

What was Richard Goldschmidt’s idea named?

A

Hopeful monsters

28
Q

What does the Hopeful Monsters idea say?

A

Sudden drastic changes reorganize the heritable material in an organism and create “hopeful monsters” – most of this massive genetic change would be deleterious and the individuals wouldn’t survive, but some would and this would lead to speciation

29
Q

Mendel’s pea plant experiment led to what laws

A

The laws of phenotypic characters, also known as Mendelian genetics

30
Q

What is the Modern Synthesis?

A

A combination of Darwin’s evolution and Mendel’s genetics

31
Q

What is the product of the Modern Synthesis?

A

Neo-Darwinism

32
Q

What is Neo-Darwinism?

A

Adaptive evolution is caused by natural selection on mendelian genetic variation

33
Q

Who were the 4 big players in the Modern Synthesis?

A

Ronald A. Fisher
J. B. S. Haldane
Sewall Wright
Ernst Mayr

34
Q

Raw material of natural selection

A

Mutation is not an alternative to natural selection, but rather it’s raw material

35
Q

Founder effect

A

Occurs when a subset of individuals of a population “move to an isolated island,” forming a founding population

36
Q

Genetic drift

A

Random genetic changes that can cause evolution

37
Q

What were Ernst Mayr’s 3 major contributions?

A

1) Biological species concept (BSC)

2) Theory of geographic (allopatric) speciation

3) Theory of founder effect speciation

38
Q

What is the biological species concept (BSC)?

A

Species are groups which are reproductively isolated from other groups. They do not exchange genes from other groups

39
Q

What are two ways that diverging species could become reproductively isolated?

A

1) Premating isolating mechanism, such as phenotypic preference

2) Postmating isolating mechanism, such as infertility

40
Q

What is the theory of geographic (allopatric) speciation?

A

New species form when populations become geographically isolated, and thus can undergo genetic divergence

41
Q

What is the theory of founder effect speciation?

A

Drastic reductions in population size promote speciation

42
Q

What are the 4 causes of evolution within species?

A

1) Mutation (creation of new variants)

2) Geneflow/migration (movement of genes or variants of genes)

3) Natural selection (differential reproductive success of phenotypic variants)

4) Genetic drift (random effects such as founder events that cause changes in gene frequencies over time)

43
Q

Phenotype vs Genotype

A

Phenotype: observed characteristics

Genotype: set of genes in an individual’s DNA

44
Q

Reproductive isolation

A

species with barriers to genetic exchange and interbreeding

45
Q

Great tree of life/common ancestor

A

All organisms form a great “tree of life” or phylogeny. All forms of life have descended from a single common ancestor in the remote past

46
Q

Which 3 people are credited with the discovery of DNA’s stucture?

A

Watson, Crick, Rosalind Franklin

47
Q

Who published the Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution?

A

Motoo Kimura

48
Q

What is the Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution?

A

Most of the evolution of DNA sequences occurs by genetic drift rather than natural selection

49
Q

Wobble Position

A

Mutations on the third position won’t change the amino acid. These mutations are silent as the phenotype doesn’t change

50
Q

Who were two important players in Sociobiology?

A

William D. Hamilton and Robert Trivers

51
Q

Cooperation

A

Organisms work together for common benefits

52
Q

Kin selection

A

An animal risks its survival to help relatives, an example of altruistic behavior

53
Q

3 examples of Conflict

A

Parent vs offspring
Sibling vs sibling
Male vs female

54
Q

What are genomics and phylogenomics being used for?

A

Understanding individual genetic variants across genomes and populations that yield phenotypic variations

55
Q

What were genomics and phylogenomics used to sequence?

A

The entire genome of the virus that causes COVID-19

56
Q

What did Thomas Malthus believe?

A

The rate of human population growth is higher than the rate of increase in food supply, leading to famine

57
Q

What is an intermediate fossil?

A

A fossil that shows an intermediate state between an ancestral trait and that of its later descendants

58
Q

What is geneflow?

A

The movement of genes or variants of genes

59
Q

What was the major gap in Darwin’s theory?

A

It didn’t explain heritability

ENVS 212 (10 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions