|
|
Race see end |
1) Who is the person most credited with first explaining evolution?
2) What are the basic principles of evolution?
3) Describe
Micro and Macroevolution
4) Is it populations or individuals that evolve?
5) Name the sources of variation that allow for evolution to occur.
6) How does selection act on mutations
7) What
are the main
points
to the theory express by
8) Describe genetic drift and gene flow, how do they change populations.
9) How does one species become two species?
10) Describe the punctuated equilibrium model of evolution
11) How do fossils form?
12) How does comparative morphology show evolutionary relationships?
13) Describe homologous and analogous structures?
14) Describe comparative biochemistry and nucleic acid comparisons
15) Give the basic format of vertebrates
16) Give the basic format of a mammal
17) What is the habitat of most primates
18) Give the basic format of a primate
19) What ate the key evolutionary trends of humans, IE what separates us form other primates?
20) Explain what is meant by the statement, “modern evolution is cultural, not biological”?
1. On floods and fossils
2. A little evolutionary history
1)
As a child (early 1800’s)
2) Botanist
John Henslow arranged for
3) Throughout
the trip,
1) Thomas Malthus had suggested that as a population outgrows its resources, its members must compete for what is available: some species will not make it.
2)
3. Introduction
to some basic principles of evolution
A. Evolution is the change in lines of descent over time.
1) Microevolution refers to the cumulative genetic changes that give rise to new species: it also takes account of the changes in allele frequencies.
2) Macroevolution applies to the large-scale patterns, trends and rates of change among groups of species.
B. Variation in Populations
1) Populations evolve, not individuals.
2) A population is a group of individuals belonging to the same species, occupying the same given area, and showing certain morphological physiological and behavioral traits in common.
3) A population exhibits immense variation in its individual members, all of which by definition are of the same species, but vary in the details of their shared characteristics. Just like a group of people
1) Gene mutations create new alleles.
2) Crossing over at meiosis leads to new combinations of alleles.
3) Independent assortment is meiosis mixes paternal and maternal chromosomes.
4) Fertilization between genetically varied gametes produces “new” combinations of genes.
5) Changes in chromosome structure or number leads to the loss, duplication, or alteration of alleles.
3. Processes of Microevolution
A. Mutation: is the sole source of new alleles.
1) Mutation is a heritable change in DNA and is the only source of new gene forms.
a) Mutations are rare events.
b) Whether they are harmful (lethal mutation), or neutral, or beneficial depends on how the altered gene product performs under prevailing conditions.
2) The majority of mutations are probably harmful, altering traits in such a way that an individual cannot survive or reproduce.
1) Natural selection is a major microevolutionary process that results in the differential survival and reproduction of individuals of a population that differ in one or more traits.
2) The main points of the theory as expressed by Charles Darwin in On the Origin of Species are:
a) Individuals of a population vary in form, function, and behavior
b) Much of the variation is heritable
c) Some forms of a trait are more adaptive: i.e. they improve chances of surviving and reproducing.
d) Natural selection is the difference insurer survival and reproduction that has occurred among individuals that differ in one or more traits.
e) A population is evolving when some forms of a trait are increasing/decreasing—indicating changes in allele frequencies.
f) Life’s diversity is the result of these changes over time, they may result in the splitting of a single species into tow related forms.
C. Genetic Drift and Gene Flow
1) Genetic drift is the random fluctuation in allele frequencies over time due to change occurrences alone.
a. it is more rapid in small populations.
b. In the founder effect, a few individuals (carrying genes that may/may not be typical of the whole population) leave the original population to establish a new one.
2) In gene flow, genes move with the individuals when the move out of , or into , a population.
a) the physical flow (and resultant shuffling) tends to minimize genetic variation between populations.
b) It decreases the effects of mutation, genetic drift and natural selection.
D. Reproductive Isolation and speciation.
1) A species is one or more populations of individuals who can interbreed under natural conditions and produce fertile offspring.
2) These individuals are reproductively isolated from other populations.
a) In geographic isolation, barriers restrict gene flow between populations.
b) Reproductive isolating mechanisms include isolation of gametes, structural isolation, isolation in time, unworkable hybrids, and behavioral isolation.
3) Divergence is the process whereby local units of a population become reproductively isolated form other units and thus experience changes in gene frequencies between them, which may be enough to halt interbreeding and lead to speciation.
E. Rates of Evolutionary change.
1) According to the gradualism model, new species emerge through many small changes in form over long spans of time.
2) In the punctuated equilibrium model, most evolutionary changes occur in bursts, with change occurring in a relatively rapid pace with very long periods of little change.
4. A introduction to Macroevolution: Evidence form Biogeography and fossil
A.
Biogeography.
1) Biogeography addresses the question of why certain species occur where they do on the surface of the earth.
2) The simplest answer is that they evolved there from ancestral species, or because they dispersed from someplace else.
3) The study of plate tectonics reveals that the continents were once in different locations, thus shedding light on the possible dispersal routs for species.
1) A fossil is recognizable evidence (bones, teeth, shells, leaves, seeds, tracks, burrows) of an organism that lived long ago.
a) for fossil formation, body parts or impressions must be buried in rock before decomposition.
b) Fossil records vary according to type of organism (hard parts preserve well, soft parts do not) and stability of the geographic region (sea floor versus eroding hill, for example)
c) Fossilization begins with burial in sediments or volcanic ash.
2) Similar fossil containing layers of sedimentary rock (stratification) extend over vast areas even on different continents.
C. Interpreting the fossil record.
1) The fossil record is incomplete
a) Large-scale movements in the earth’s crust have obliterated evidence from crucial periods.
b) Hard-bodied organisms preserve better than soft-bodied ones.
c) Population densities skew the record.
2) The fossil record is heavily biased toward certain environments that produced and protected fossils.
5. Evidence from comparative Morphology
A. Through comparative morphology, researchers reconstruct evolutionary history on the basis of information contained in the observed pattern of body form.
B. Comparative embryology
1) different organism may show similarities in morphology during their embryonic stages that often indicated evolutionary relationships.
2) Such similarities are one of the reasons why fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals are said to belong to the same subphylum.
3) Some of the variation seen in adult vertebrates is due to mutations in regulatory genes that control the rates of growth of different body parts.
C. Vestigial structures are apparently useless structures that re left over from a time when more functional versions were important for an ancestor.
D. Homologous and analogous structures.
1) Homologues structure are the same body features that have become modified in different lines of decent through common ancestors.
2) In morphological divergence, features have departed in appearance and or function from the ancestral form (example: bones in forelimbs of vertebrates).
3) Analogous body parts are used for similar functions in dissimilar and distantly related species.
4) Morphological convergence is the adoption of similar function over periods of time but with no purposeful direction (example: fins in sharks, penguins, and porpoises).
A. Genes and gene products (proteins) of different species contain information about evolutionary relationships.
1) The degree of similarity of amino acid sequences is a measure of species relatedness.
2) Cytochrome c analysis confirm the relatedness of members of primates.
B. Nucleic Acid Comparisons
1) the degree of similarity of nucleotide sequences of DNA reveals information about evolutionary relationships.
2) If a single strand of DNA form one species is allowed to recombine with a single strand of DNA from anther species (DNA-DNA hybridization) the degree to which they match up is a measure of similarity.
7. Evolutionary Trees and Their Branching.
A. Evolutionary Trees: the fossil record and comparative studies provide information on a continuity of relationship among species that is conveniently shown on treelike diagrams in which branches represent lines of descent.
B. Extinction’s and Adaptive Radiation’s
1) “Background extinction” is the steady rate of species disappearances over time as local conditions change.
2) Mass extinction is a disappearance of major groups of species on a global scale due to catastrophic events.
3) In adaptive radiation, new species arise through bursts of microevolutionary activity following a mass extinction.
4) Radiations take place to fill available adaptive zones (ways of life).
C. Organizing the Evidence: Classification
1) Phylogeny reflects the evolutionary relationships of groups of plants and animals.
a) a classification scheme is a useful way of retrieving information about organisms
b) Taxonomy is the work of assigning unique names to each species.
2) Carolus Linnaeus devised a system of binomial nomenclature (genus and species) plus a system of hierarchical categories (taxa).
8. Evolution and Earth History
A. Origin of the earth
1. About 4.5 billion years ago, earth’s atmosphere (no oxygen) was forming, liquid water was being retained by gravity, and primitive living cells were emerging.
2. Exploding masses of gases and dust in space gradually cooled and formed suns and planets including earth, which has an atmosphere of hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.
B. Conditions on the early earth
1) Components for building biological molecules accumulated on the primitive earth, and energy (lightning, heat) was present.
2) The eventual emergence of the first cells required the existence of biological compounds and metabolic pathways.
9. The origin of life
A. Biological molecules must come about through chemical evolution
B. Synthesis of biological molecules
1) Stanley Miller used a lab apparatus to demonstrate synthesis of amino acids form hydrogen, methane, ammonia and water under abiotic conditions.
2) One scenario of chemical synthesis proposes that clay templates served as “enzymes” to favor bond formation among chemicals.
C. The first metabolic pathways.
1) Enzymes, ATP, and other molecules could have assembled spontaneously in places where they were in close physical proximity.
2) Their close association would have promoted chemical interactions—the beginnings of metabolic pathways.
D. The first self-replicating systems.
1) From accumulated organic compounds emerged replicating systems consisting of DNA, RNA, protein and enzymes.
2) Perhaps RNA strands were capable of enzyme activity (as has recently been demonstrated) and promoted protein synthesis.
E. The first cells.
1) The first cells were probably membrane bound sacs containing nucleic acids that served as templates for proteins.
2) Sidney Fox has produced mircopsheres, which self assemble and have selectively permeable membranes.
1.
The cave at
2. Human Evolution in Perspective
1) Like all vertebrates, mammals have a nerve cord within a vertebral column and a skull containing a three-part brain.
2) Mammals have several distinctive features.
a) Mammals have hair
b) There is an extended period of infant dependency (mammary glands for nutrition) and learning.
c) There is flexibility in their responses, because the mammalian brain has a large capacity for memory and learning.
d) Dentation, which is number, type and size of teeth, is indicative of what an mammal eats and hence also of its life style.
1) Primates include prosimians, tarsoids, and anthropoids, including monkeys, apes and humans.
A) Hominoids: apes and humans.
B) Hominids: humans lineage’s only.
2) Most primates live in forests, woodlands, or savannas and are tree dwellers.
3. From primate to human: Key evolutionary Trends.
1) Early primates were probably Arboreal (tree dwelling) and our current features reflect this beginning.
2) Primates have limber shoulder joints for swinging and holding onto branches.
3) dexterous hands to hang onto branches and manipulate food.
4) Nails have replaced claws so that we have a better sense of touch with our fingertips.
5) Eyes are close together in the front of the face. the overlapping fields of view give us enhanced depth perception so that distances between branches could be viewed.
6) A brain large enough to allow for excellent hand eye coordination.
7) Usually single births with lots of time for parental care.
1) Upright Walking
a) Bipedalism is the habitual two legged gait characteristic of humans.
b) Compared with monkeys and apes, humans have a shorter S shaped somewhat flexible backbone, which works with shoulder blades and pelvic girdle to allow bipedalism.
2) Precision grips and power grips.
a) Prehensile movements allowed fingers to wrap around objects in a grasp.
b) Opposable thumb and fingers allowed more refined use of the hand.
c) The precision and power grip movements of the human hand allowed for tool making.
3) Enhanced daytime vision: resulted form forward directed eyes (depth perception) with their increased ability to discern shape, movement color and light intensity.
4) Changes in Dentation: resulted in humans having smaller teeth of more uniform length: generally the jaws and teeth became less specialized.
5) Changes in the brain and behavior
a) The bran increased in size and complexity, resulting in new behaviors.
b) Culture evolved as the behavior patterns passed between generations by learning and symbolic behavior, especially language.
1) The first primates (>60 million years ago) resembled tree shrews: they were nighttime omnivores.
2) Some evolved into tree living forms (54-38 million years ago, Eocene) with increased brain size, a shorter snout, enhanced daytime vision, and refined grasping movements..
3) Anthropoids, the ancestors of monkeys, apes and humans evolved by 35 million years ago (Oligocene): they were distinctive tree dwellers.
4) Hominoids appeared during the Miocene (23-5 million years ago) as major landmasses moved and climate became cooler and drier.
5) By 13 million years ago, adaptive radiation produced the dryopiths that led to gorillas, chimpanzees and eventually humans.
1.
The first
hominids.
1) Cooler and drier weather encouraged the transition of hominids to mixed woodlands and grasslands.
2)
The plasticity of early hominids was the result
of the capacity to lean to adapt.
B. Australopiths
1) Gracile (slightly built) forms have been designated Australopithecus afarensis and A africanus, robust (muscular) forms are A boisei and A robustus.
a) All
were bipedal and left footprints.
b) Cranial
capacity was about 400cc,
c) Dentation indicates omnivore or vegetarian habits.
1. Hominids began to use stone tools about 2.5 million years ago to get marrow out of bone and to scrape flesh form bones.
2. Early homo has a smaller face, more generalized teeth, and a larger brain (with more developed cerebral cortex ) than austraopiths.
3.
Manufactured tools have been found at
B. Form early Homo to H. sapiens
1) Early humans were challenged by the rigors of the Pleistocene Ice ages between 1.8 and 400,000 year ago
2) Homo
erectus made advanced stone tools and used fire as they migrated out of
3) From 300,000 to 200,000 years ago H sapiens modern humans evolved form H eretus
4) Neanderthals arose abut 130,000 years ago an were in some ways similar to modern humans but disappeared 35,000 40,000 years ago.
5) From 40,000 years ago to today, Human evolution is cultural, not biological.
Some good links that I have
found over time.
Interesting link to anthropology and how it is done.
Nkko http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/b-sklar/basic387.html
A personal theory of how human evolution occurred http://home.onestop.net/mhh/INDEX.HTM
http://www.cruzio.com/~cscp/index.htm east of
Nkko
http://www.earthsky.com/1996/es960126.html a school description of this topic
this site has some good descriptions and links http://www.leeds.ac.uk/chb/h1060.html
http://www.eskeletons.org/ this site has pictures of the bones and a comparison among a couple of primates to look at the similarities and the differences.
A discussion of race on the PBS
website http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm
Multiple-choice
questions:
1.
a) the early 1800’s b) early 1900’s c) 1940 d) 1700’s e) last year
2. Evolution is described as the change in lines of descent over time. Which of the following statement is in line with this definition.
a) Two bald faced monkeys play on a tire
b) When a person has a tattoo applied their offspring will also have tattoo’s
c) A random genetic mutation in the gonads becomes a permanent part of the DNA in that individuals offspring’s genome.
d) If a person has brown eyes, they will pass those genes onto their offspring
e) Basketball players are tall
3. Which of the following evolves
a) the egg evolves into the fetus
b) The child evolves into the adult
c) Certain segments of a population will evolve into a new population
4. The source of genetic variation on which natural selection works are
a) cancer b) genetic mutations c) crossing over to produce new combinations
d) changes in chromosome structure and number e) the environment in which one lives
5. Natural selection is known to
a) change the genome to a form that will survive in a given area
b) insure that a previously changed genome will produce offspring
c) insure that a previously changed genome will not produce offspring
d) insure that the organism best fit for an environment will produce offspring
e) make sure that all organisms produce offspring
Answers 1) a 2)c 3)c 4) b,c,d 5)b
www.bluemts.com.au/vision/_articles/evolution.htm actually an anticreationist site. Things taken out of context and things that are just plain wrong. Hmmmmm
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Lab/8853/index.html gives a comparison of Lucy and other bones, would be good to use
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/species.html
Interesting site on origins of species.
http://www.sprl.umich.edu/GCL/paper_to_html/selection.html a lesson about this topic. Should not bee too bad.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/evolution.html
http://www.aaas.org/spp/dspp/dbsr/ dialog on science ethics and religion set up by the AAAS
http://www4.nas.edu/opus/evolve.nsf national academy of science, also includes a handbook on teaching creationism.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/282/5396/1985 from science magazine a review of the interactions of science and history
http://www.sciam.com/1999/0899issue/0899reviews1.html a review of the materials against creationism
http://newsweek.com/nw-srv/issue/03_98b/printed/us/sc0103.htm science finds god, a Newsweek article on scientists and religion.
http://www.becominghuman.org/ best science site webby goes over human development
The Physics of biological systems (available in the library) has a chapter on the physics of microevolution and macroevolution that appears to be very intriguing. Check it out.
|
QH325D345 1999 |
The fifth Miracle |
Paul Davies |
A good introduction into the origins of life and what is life from a physicist point of view |
|
QH375.L541999 |
Evolutionary Wars: A three billion year arms race |
Charles Kingsley Levy |
A really interesting book looking at the evolution of armaments and counterarmerment. A very interesting and entertaining book. |
|
QH325.M55 |
The Origins of Life on the Earth |
Stanley L. Miller and Leslie E. Orgel |
While dated this book gives for the time, some interesting detail of how life "may" have begun on earth. It really shows the diversity of the biological fields with some tough descriptions of everything from physical chemistry to Astronomy. If you want to fill in the details this is the book for you. |
Other Questions. (If you have more questions please post them on the bulletin board)
1. To understand how variation occurs in populations and how changes in allele frequencies can be measured.
2. To know how mutations, gene flow, genetic drift and natural selection can influence the rate and direction of population change.
3. To describe the types of selection mechanisms that help shape populations.
4. To characterize the mechanisms of isolation that promote speciation.
5. To be able to cite what biologists generally accept as evidence that supports their belief in evolution, and give examples
6. To understand the various classification schemes and realize the difficulty in determining from fossil evidence where the limits of one species end and the limits of another begin.
7. To describe how life might have spontaneously arisen on Earth approximately 3.5 billion yeas ago.
8. To understand the general physical features and behavioral patterns attributed to early primates.
9. Know their relationship with other mammals.
10. Trace primate evolutionary relationships.