Evolution Notes

originally, there were 2 competing theories of how life evolved over time: 1. Jean Baptiste de Lamarck made 2 laws (1800): a) Law of Use & Disuse body parts used frequently become more developed those not used atrophy (ie. they reduce in size or disappear completely) b) Law of Inheritance & Acquired Characteristics traits obtained during an organisms lifetime will be passed on to its offspring Lamarck believed that an animal/plant could change within its lifetime. The animal/plant would have to WANT to change and USE the adaptation. The change would occur quickly in an animal/plant, but slowly throughout a species. 2. Charles Darwin and Wallace created the Theory of Natural Selection (1850s): a) Populations should increase exponentially. b) BUT natural populations remain relatively constant. c) The above statements contradict each other. This is because of a lack of space and food (as well as competition and inability to find a mate). d) Variations occur within a species. e) Favourable traits increase the chance of survival (Survival of the Fittest). f) These favourable traits are passed on to offspring. Darwin took a voyage around the world in a ship called the HMS Beagle where he made many observations. He noticed giant fossils resembled current animals some species replaced closely related species over time great variations within a species (eg. finches, tortoises on the Galapagos Islands) How would a giraffe get a long neck according to Darwin and Wallace? Giraffes should be reproducing exponentially, but they actually have a (relatively) constant population due to competition for food, mates, and space. There is variation in neck length in the giraffe population: those with the longest necks could reach more leaves and thus, survive. The long neck trait would be passed on to offspring. (Therefore, after many generations, all the giraffes with short necks would have died off, and all the remaining giraffes have a longer neck). Organisms cannot change within their lifetime. Traits in a species would change very slowly. Goulds Theory One thing that both Darwin and Lamarck agreed upon is that evolution should occur at a slow, steady rate throughout a species. However, when Gould looked at the fossil records, he found that evolution did NOT occur at a steady rate. Why? In times of plenty, most animals survived. Both long necked giraffes and short necked giraffes would survive and pass on genes. In times of stress, there would be less leaves and long necked giraffes would be more likely to survive.

His theory is called Punctuated Equilibrium or Punctuated Evolution. Where does variation come from? from mutations; mutations are changes to the DNA code in your body sunlight, radiation, chemicals such as benzene, smoking mutations are generally BAD positive mutations can occur but are very rare Other Key Words in Evolution

divergence - two groups change and become different from their common ancestor

convergence - two or more groups develop in a way that they have structures for a common purpose (for instance, birds, bats, and insects have developed structures for flying) extinct - when a species has completely died out homologous structures - structures from a common ancestor that now have a different function

Convergence same function different structure eg. shark fin and whale fin

Divergence similar structures, different functions (ie. homologous structures) eg. bird beaks have different shapes

artificial selection - traits are selected by humans, not the environment (eg. dogs, cows) chromosome - protective protein + DNA gene - segment of DNA that codes for a particular protein allele - one of a number of different forms of the same gene for a specific trait genetic drift* - random chance determines the alleles in the population B - dominant gene b - recessive gene

eg. 5 blue dogs and 3 red dogs were in an area. Lightning strikes and kills off all the blue dogs. In the next generation, most dogs would be red, not because red is better, but through random chance. *2 types of genetic drift: Bottleneck Effect - change alleles by random death

Founder's Effect - a new colony is started by a few members of the original population

Evidence for Evolution 4 ways to show how plants and animals are related to one another: 1. Fossil Records fossil records show gradual change in organisms over hundreds of millions of years bones grow larger or smaller, showing the transition from ancestor species to current day organisms fossils can be dated by using radioactive dating a common isotope used for short term dating is carbon-14 (14C) - 5730 years half-life absolute dating - eg. Mr. Wilkie is 10 000 years old. relative dating - eg. Mrs. Aaronson is WAAAY older than Mr. Wilkie. older fossils are found lower in sedimentary rock (oldest) fish amphibians reptiles mammals and birds (youngest) 2. Homologies since organisms have common ancestors, we can see similarities in structures, even if they have different functions for instance, dogs, humans, and bats are all mammals; even though our fore limbs have different functions (ie. walking, grasping, flying), they all have similar structures vestigial organs - structures which have atrophied and are no longer used; eg. human tailbone and appendix, snake pelvis and leg bones 3. Embryology the study of embryos: the embryos of many different animals look similar during development, land animals have webbed feet, gills, and tails 4. Comparative Bio-Chemistry all organisms are based off of the same basic genetic code DNA most animals have large sections of DNA which are all the same the more DNA two organisms share, the more closely related they are eg. monkey and human: 98% the same