Theme 3 Flashcards
What was Darwin’s definition of evolution
Descent with modification, which results from changes in populations over time
What is our definition of evolution
Changes in allele frequency over time
What was george Cuvier theory for evolution
Some species survive while others go extinct
Shows that bones from species no longer exist
What was Lyells evolution idea
The earth must be much older than believed and undergoing change
What was lamarks theory what did he propose
Species themselves must be capable of changing
Proposed transmutation (acquired traits can be inherited and lost through disuse)
Helped Darwin start thinking about inheritance
What was malthuss theory
There must be a pressure to force adaptation
Populations grow faster (exponentially) than the available resources (linearly), so only the fittest survive
What is the Charles Darwin triangle of evolution
Variation in traits causes natural selection where fittest survive, and now there is diff in fitness and favourable traits are inherited. Then this loops
What are Darwin’s four postulate
Individuals within species vary
Some variation is inherited
More offspring are produced than can survive and reproduce
Survival and reproduction is not random, but related to phenotypic variation
When can natural selection occur. When can evolution by natural selection not occur
Natural selection can occur without heritability
But evolution by natural selection cannot
What is paleobiology
Study of how large scale evolutionary changes affect groups of organisms
What did Alfred russel Wallace do
Came up with theory of natural selection after Darwin
Started working together with Darwin after seeing they had the same ideas, pushed Darwin to publish his own work
What did Darwin not know?
Didn’t know the connection of DNA to variation
What is adaptive radiation
Process where organisms diversify rapidly from ancestral species into many new forms
