theme 3C- what is evolution Flashcards
what does biological diversity reflect?
an interaction between the forms that preceded them and an ongoing process of change (previous and on going)
why is everything temporary?
constant state of change
what is the goal of evolution?
devine perfection
what are the 4 ways we study evolution?
- genetics
- population and quantitative genetics
- paleobiology
- integration of genetics and morphology
what does genetics answer?
how does inheritance work
what is population and quantitative genetics?
how do allele frequencies change in populations over time and space (real time evolution)
what is paleobiology?
how do large scale evolutionary changes affect groups of organisms (fossils)
what is integration of genetics and morphology?
developmental patterns and evolutionary transitions (similarities conserved over time)
what are the 4 ideas for evolution to be possible?
- some species survive while others go extinct
- earth must be really old to have underhhone change
- species are capable of changing
- must be pressure to force adaptation
what was georges cuviers findings?
many species have gone extinct, the number of species were declining
what was charles lyells findings?
-landforms were not fixed but changed slowly as a result of geological processes that can be observed today
- earth was much older than accepted age
what is lamarckism?
aquired traits can be inherited, lost through disuse
what did jean-baptiste lamarck believe?
that species changed over time - transmutation
what were thomas malthus thinkings?
human population can increase increase faster than food suply- which leads to competition and survival of the fittest
-principle of populations
what are examples of limited resources?
food, shelter, mating
what does the struggle for existance from limited resources result in?
favourable variations tend to be preserved and unfavourable ones tend to be destroyed
what is charles darwins circle?
varoation in traits, natural selection, differences in fitness, inheritance
what are darwins 4 postulates?
- individuals within a 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
how did wallace contribute to evolution?
came up with the theory of natural selection independantly of darwin, puplished with darwin
what were the 2 charles darwins ideas?
-biological evolution is change in species over time
-natural selection is just a mechanism
when is evolution as a response to natural selection inevitable?
-variation in a trait
-variation is heritable
-some variants survive and reproduce more than others
-life is closely associated with the environment (traits to evolve predation/ catch prey)
what are the implications of darwins finshes and the galapagoes islands?
-terrestrial species on the islands won’t have many relatives nearby
-neighboring islands will have close relatives
-LITTLE GENE FLOW BETWEEN ISLANDS
what is adaptive radiation?
a process in which organsisms diversify rapidly from an ancestral species into many new form
can natural selection occur without heritability?
yes
