Midterm Flashcards
what is evolution?
a change in heritable characteristics of a population over generations
darwin evolution
descent with modification
population genetics
change in population allele frequencies
what are darwins 4 postulates
- variation
- heritability
- overproduction
- selection
difference of evolution as fact and theory
-descent with modification from common ancestors is fact
-theory of evolution is facts, laws, hypotheses concerning the causes of evolution (still incomplete)
what is an adaptation?
-heritable trait that increases individual’s fitness in comparison to others that do not have the trait
what did Lamarck do?
-described the inheritance of acquired characteristics (giraffes grew longer necks in their life time to reach leaves)
what did Cuvier and Hutton do?
Cuvier: Catastrophism
Hutton: Uniformitarianism
Catastrophism vs. Uniformitarianism
Catastrophism: periods of calm then catastrophe; new species generated after catastrophe
Uniformitarianism: Geological events over billions of years
what is transformism?
-theory that changes occur within a lineage of populations but that lineage does not split; there is no speciation, and lineages do not become extinct
what is the evidence for evolution?
- species change
-species go extinct
-fossil species resemble living species
-transitional forms exist
-vestigial traits occur
-the earth is ancient
-populations change - species are related
-related species live in same area
-homologies exist
what are vestigial traits
-traits that are small and useless in one organism, but well developed and used in related organisms
what is homology
-similarity due to shared ancestry between structures or genes in different species (yes or no)
what is analogy
-similarity of a trait or characteristic’s form and/or function in different species but not as a consequence of common ancestry
how does evolution happen?
- natural selection
- genetic drift
- mutation
- migration/ gene flow
what is natural selection
-differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype; leads to differences in individuals’ contribution to the next generation (results in change in frequency of heritable phenotypes)
-acts on phenotypes but leads to change in allele frequency
-acts on individuals but evolution occurs in populations
-has no greater purpose
what is fitness affected by
- viability or mortality selection
-ability to survive and reach reproductive age - sexual selection
-ability to get a mate - Fecundity selection
-family size which is usually measured as the number of female eggs produced
how to calculate allele frequency
-allele frequency= # copies of allele in population/ sum of alleles in population
how to calculate genotype frequencies
-AA=pxp=p^2
-Aa=2pq
-aa=qxq=q^2
p^2+2pq+q^2=1
Hardy-weinberg assumptions
- mating is random
- mutations do not occur
- the population is large, so genetic drift is minimal
- there is no migration or gene flow between populations
- natural selection does not occur
what are the three models of selection
- Directional selection
-favours one extreme phenotype and the average phenotype changes
-genetic variation is reduced - stabilizing selection
-favours phenotypes near the middle of the range, maintaining the average
-genetic variation is reduced - disruptive selection
-favours both extreme phenotypes (at the ends) with little or no change to the population mean
-genetic variation is increased
what is assortative mating
when individuals choose specific mates based on their phenotypes (not a random process)
what is positive assortative mating
when individuals choose mates that share a particular phenotypic trait
-increases homozygote frequency (change in genotype frequency)
-does not change allele frequency (not evolutionary mechanism)
what is negative assortative mating
-individuals choose mates with a different phenotype than themselves
-increases heterozygosity (change in genotype frequency)
-does not change allele frequency (not evolutionary mechanism)
what is inbreeding
-when individuals mate with close genetic relatives
-self fertilization is the strongest kind of inbreeding
-increases homozygosity (changes genotype frequency)
-can lead to bad alleles in population
-leads to reduced fitness (inbreeding depression)
-does not change allele frequency (not evolutionary mechanism)
what is genetic drift
-random changes in allele frequency as a result of randomly sampling gametes each generation
-allele frequency changes over time (is an evolutionary mechanism)
what is fixation
-when genetic drift occurs and over time one of the alleles will be lost
-the only remaining allele is fixed
what is the founder effect
-form of sampling error
-small number of individuals start another population and allele frequencies in the new population can differ from the original population
-changes allele frequency
what is a bottleneck
-sharp decline in population size that cab change allele frequency
what is a mutation
-permanent change in DNA sequence
-creates genetic diversity by creating new alleles
-is a mechanism of evolution
-often create deleterious alleles
-only interested in heritable mutations
what is migration
-movement of individuals and their alleles into or out of populations
-changes allele frequency (mechanism of evolution)
what is speciation
-evolution of new species
-ancestral species diverge
-happens when gene flow stops (mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift act independently on the populations)
what is the morphological species concept
-populations from the same lineage look similar
-problem when populations that look similar can’t interbreed and populations that don’t look similar interbreed
what is the biological species concept
-species are groups of actually or potentially interbreeding natural populations which are reproductively isolated from other groups
-problem that it only applies to sexually reproducing organisms and is difficult to determine if populations could interbreed when they are physically separated
what is reproductive isolation
Prezygotic
-formation of zygote is prevented (cannot physically mate)
Postzygotic
-zygotes form but do not survive (zygote doesn’t form or is sterile)
what is ecological species concept
-populations that use the same ecological resources and face the same selection pressures
-problem: different species can have similar ecological roles
what is phylogenetic species concept
-define species based on evolutionary history (genetic similarity)
-species defined as the smallest monophylectic group in a phylogenetic tree
-requires no a priori categorization of groups
-can be applied to living and dead
-can be applied to asexual species
-problem: depends on availability of phylogenetic information and genetic material
what is allopatric speciation
-populations become geographically isolated from each other, preventing gene flow between them
what is a ring species
-species disperse around a barrier and thus change
what is dispersal
-individuals from a larger population move to a new habitat and start a new population that is isolated from the original population
what is vicariance
-a larger population is divided by physical barriers into smaller, isolated populations
what is sympatric speciation
-populations become reproductively isolated but are not geographically separated
-usually due to disruptive selection or assortative mating
-also occurs from meiosis errors that form polyploid offspring
-often a polymorphism forms (due to patchy habitat)
what is polymorphism
-the existence of more than one distinct form of individual (phenotype) in a population
similarities and differences of allopatric and sympatric speciation
similarities:
-both involve the formation of a new species via reproductive isolation of the gene pool from an existing species
-both occur when reproductive isolation over time results in genetic divergence between the new and ancestral population
Differences:
-allopatric involves physical separation of populations in different geographical areas
-sympatric involves a reproductive or behavioural separation among populations that occupy the same geographical area
what is secondary contact
-when isolated populations come back into contact
-either they cannot mate due to prezygotic barriers
-can interbreed and form hybrids
-if hybrids are not viable or have lower fitness than the parents then the species will become more divergent
-if hybrids have equal fitness then the two parental linages may interbreed and become one population
-if hybrids have higher fitness then hybrids may form a new species
what is reinforcement
-occurs when natural selection favours the formation of pre-zygotic barriers between the populations
what is ecology
-the study of how organisms interact with each other and their environment
-basic unit of ecology is the organism
-an organism’s environment is everything around it
what is intraspecific
-intraspecific interactions occur among organisms of the same species
what is interspecific
-interspecific interactions occur between organisms of different species
what is organismal ecology
-focuses on morphological, physiological, and behavioural adaptations that allow individual organisms to live successfully in a particular environment
what is population ecology
-studies the changes in population demographics over time
what is community ecology
-examines the interactions among species and how they are affected by environmental changes
what is ecosystem ecology
-focuses on the movement of energy and nutrients among organisms and the physical environment (air, soil, water)
what is global ecology
-studies how the exchange of energy and matter between ecosystem and the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere influence global conditions
what is biogeography
-the objective of biogeography is to understand the distribution and abundance or organisms
-an organism’s range is the geographic area over which it is found
-the range of every species is limited by abiotic and biotic conditions
what is a niche
the full set of conditions an organism can tolerate and the full range of resources it can use
what is a fitness trade-off
-an evolutionary compromise between two traits that cannot be optimized simultaneously
what are hadley cells
-circular cells of air moving between 30° and equator
-warm air can hold more moisture than cold air
-air that is heated near the equator expands and rises
-as it rises it cools and expands even larger due to upper atmosphere and loses its moisture as precipitation
-this lowers its density and temperature
what is the rain shadow effect
-air absorbs moisture off of ocean and mountain range on coast forces air up
-rain falls on mountain side closer to ocean
-no more precipitation on other side of mountain