One-Way Ticket Flashcards
What differentiated Theodosius Dobzhansky from other biologists of his time?
He bridged the gap between lab and field biologists. (Also he studied a different kind of fruit fly)W
What did Thomas Hunt Morgan’s rejection of natural selection likely stem from?
His misplaced belief that there was some homologous “wild-type” and that no natural variation existed.
How did Theodosius Dobzhansky react to the more mathematical approaches of studying evolutionary ideas?
He couldn’t understand the math (same dude), but did his best to interpret the findings and generally agreed with the conclusions.
Why would Theodosius Dobzhansky begin to study a diffferent kind of fly?
Drosophila melanogaster was so domesticated that it could barely be used as a model of a real natural organism.
What feature of the new fruit fly allowed Theodosius Dobzhansky to study its genetics?
The chromosomes in their salivary glands were huge, and pretty easy to view. Banding could be catalogued for different genotypes.
What 3 major observations did Theodosius Dobzhansky make in his studies of fruit flies?
- Genetic drift
- Speciation (reproductive isolation)
- Gene flow.
How did the Theodosius Dobzhansky mark his experimental flies when he released them?
By breeding flies with a mutant gene which would change their eye colour.
How did the study of genetics serve to strengthen Darwin’s ideas of evolution by natural selection?
They turned it into an experimental science with real quantifiable results.
