topic 1 Flashcards
why should we understand evolution
• Understanding evolution is critical to understanding biology
○ It is the only scientific explanation for the diversity of life - explains striking similarities in various walks of life, populations, etc
○ Fundamental and unified concept for describing the natural world
○ Underlies improvements in food cultivation - ex. Crops
§ Environmental conservation efforts
describe evolution as a fact
- Ideas re: evolutionary change, like ideas about gravity, date back at least to a few ancient Greek thinkers
- Countless evidences from paleontology, comparative anatomy, developing biology, molecular biology, and most recently comparative genomics (= branch of molecular biology concerned with the structure, function, evolution, and mapping of genomes)
- Darwin did not introduce the idea - he compiled it
describe evolution as a theory
Natural selection - central mechanism in evolutionary theory
describe evolution as a path. what kind of factual details does it involve?
• Evolution as path
• Deals with general processes and mechanisms, but also unique historical particulars
• Deals with factual details of life’s history
○ Major events, relatedness of modern species, timing of lineage splits, and the characteristics of extinct ancestors
§ Ex investigating if birds are descedents of dinos, when did flight first evolve, what changes have occurred since
• Guides other areas of technology
○ Geanology alogrithms
why should we STUDY evolution
• Appreciate the place of evolution within modern biology and science in general
• To develop an understanding of main kinds of evidence of evolution and the main areas in need of further research
• To be able to understand and evaluate studies that use or illustrate evolutionary concepts
• To be able to judge the reliability of statements made in the news media and in popular literature
• To be able to explain evolutionary concepts to
people who are not trained evolutionary biologists
what is evolution?
• Origin: latin word evolutio meaning “to unfold or unroll” to reveal
• Presently, simply means change
○ Changes in anything - ie evolution in fashion
define biological evolution
Descent with modification (?)
two major themes of evolution
○ Process - microevolution
§ How the process occurs
§ Evolution going on right now!
□ Ex. Mutations in the bacterial genomes in our feces
§ Evolution is constant
○ History - macroevolution
§ Process created history with many unique events
ancient misconceptions - aristotle
• 384-322 BC - Aristotle
○ He comes from a line of academic descent
○ Socrates taught plato who taught aristotle who taught alexander the great
○ Proposed the ides Scala naturae (scale, nature)
§ Latin concept
§ Great chain of being
§ Ladder of nature/life
□ Linear evolution from simple to complex organisms
® Small organisms at the bottom, humans at the top
ancient misconceptions: pliny
• AD 23-79 - Pliny the elder ○ Roman naturalist ○ Author of natural history ○ Fossils, like shark teeth, fell to the earth during lunar eclipses - tongue stones (glossopetrae) Other fossils grew within the earth
look at timeline for context of darwins ideas
ok
who was carl linnaeus
1. Carolus linnaeus (1707-1778) • Carl linnaeus/ carl von linne • Swedish botanist, doctor, naturalist Binomial system of naming organisms - his contribution (even though he didn’t believe in evolution) Species plantarum, 1753 Starting point for names of most plants Systema naturae (10th ed.), 1758 Starting point for names of animals
who was jame hutton? contributions (two)
- James hutton (1726-1797)
• Father of modern geology
• Scottish
• Theory of earth (1785)
○ The earth is ancient (he is the first to mention this)
○ Uniformitarianism
§ Present is the key to the past
§ Geological forces at work presently are the same as the past
§ Changes in the earth’s crust resulted from continuous and uniform process
○ Gradualism
§ Features of the earth result from slow accumulation of events such as those we see now
who was malthus
- Thomas Robert Malthus (17666-1834)
• British scholar, father of demography (study of changing structure of human population)
• Famous for his essay - an essay on the principle of population 1798
○ Populations grow exponentially while agriculture grows linearly
○ As a result, populations will always outstrip their resource base (important to darwin, significant role)
who was lamarck
- Lamarck (1744-1829)
• French naturalist
• Theory of evolution 1809
○ A feature acquired in an individual life-time could be passed on to offspring
Regarded in france as the father of evolution
describe lamarckian evolution
• Multiple separate spontaneous generation events • Each species originated individually by spontaneous generation from non-living matter. • Species disappeared because they evolved into different species (he didn't believe in extinction). • Progress up the scala naturae (no splitting — not originated from common ancestor). • Most advanced forms, with humans at the top, originated earlier and have progressed further. • Incorrect on how evolution works but deserves credit being the first to propose a coherent idea of evolution.
who was curvier. contribution?
- Cuvier and Valenciennes 1828-1849
• Natural history of fishes, 22 volumes
• Georges Cuvier (1769-1832)
○ French naturalist and zoologist
○ Father of comparative anatomy and paleontologist
○ Strongly opposed evolution
○ Catastrophism
Only natural catastrophes, such as the “Great
Flood”, could account for the form and
nature of a 6,000-year-old Earth
• Areas later repopulated via immigration
Was not a gradualist
who was lyell? contribution?
- Charles Lyell (1797-1875)
• Scottish geologist
• Principles of geology (1830-33)
○ The earth is very old
○ Made hutton’s ideas accesible to a wide audience, including darwin
○ Advocated uniformitarianism and gradualism
○ Was reluctant to accept evolution yet became one of darwins most trusted colleagues
describe darwins background
○ Feb 12 1809- april 19 1882
○ Graandfather erasmus darwin
§ Famous physician, philosopher, physiologist
○ Father Robert Darwin
§ Doctor, well off
○ Darwin was a drop out from medicine
○ Then studied theology and natural history
○ HMS Beagle ship
§ 1831-1836: surveying south america
§ Proposal came from close friend botanist John Henslow
§ Darwin was invited as a companion to captain robert fitzroy
where did darwin travel
○ Canary islands, South America, Galapagos Islands, New Zealand, Australia, Tasmania
○ Darwin came back in 1826, got married in London
why was darwins downhouse significant
○ Located about 23 km out of London in Kent
○ In 1842 charles and emma darwin moved to the down house with their family and raised children
○ It was in this house and garden that darwin worked on his theory of natural selection
what were darwins goals and observations
○ Goal: find where species come from
○ Observations:
§ Populations have a high capacity to grow
§ Individual variation within population
§ Variation in reproductive success
§ Some traits can be passed onto descendants
Lyell’s discovery of deep time (world is much older than though) provided support for Darwin’s observations
describe wallace
○ 1823-1913
○ British naturalist, biologist, geographer, anthropologist, explorer
○ Father of biogeography
○ Independently proposed theory of evolution due to natural selection
○ Wrote to darwin who was scared to publish findings - inspired him
○ Darwin and wallace’s joint paper was presented at the Linnaean society of London by Charles lyell and joseph hooker in 1858
○ Always gave credit to darwin for the idea of natural selection
○ Darwins book is published in 1859
describe opponents and defenders of darwin and wallaces presentation
○ Was controversial at first
○ Opponents:
§ Richard owen (UK): botany, anatomy; evolution is more complex than darwin’s explaination
§ Louis Agassiz (Switzerland, USA): Ice age, fossil fishes; did not believe it
○ Defenders:
§ Joseph dalton hooker: botany
§ Asa gray: botany
§ Alfred Russel Wallace
§ Thomas Huxley: marine biology, anatomy
□ Darwins “bulldog”
□ Coined the term diagnostic
what is an example of the explanatory power of evolution by natural selection
missing link/ transition animals ie. archaeopteryx, lung fishes, tiktaalik
darwins contributions?
The concept of the tree oflife; natural selection;
classification by shared descent; selectivity of
extinction; depth of time; geographic isolation;
convergence; sexual selection; co-evolution; economy
of nature; stepwise change.
• Padian, K. 2008. Darwin’s enduring legacy. Nature 451:632-
describe evolutionary/modern synthesis
○ Term coined by julian huxley, grandson of thomas hux
○ This movement married darwinian evolution and natural selection with genetics, systematics, and paelontology
○ Microevolution explains macroevolution
