Evolutionary Force

The hierarchical nature and processes of different

levels of ecological systems: now we focus on the
population…
Population: Evolutionary Unit

Population Ecology

Genetics Evolution

Darwin’s finches…
 Objectives
• Understand (micro)evolution and its relation to
genetics
• Sources of genetic variation
• Forces causing change in gene frequency in pop
Natural selection
Small population size
Assortative mating
Gene flow
*** A ‘pre-test’ on phenotypic variation,
genetic variation, natural selection,
fitness, evolution, adaptation (pre-adapt)

Cyanide experienced by
Non-Cyan- an insect population
resistant

Cyan-resistant
individuals

Use these words to explain TIME

evolution of cyanide resistance.
• What is definition of (micro)evolution?
• Change in allele frequency in a
population through time…

• What must be present for natural selection to

cause evolutionary change?
• Genetic (allele) variation

• What is the ultimate source of genetic variation?

• Mutation, a change in nucleotide in DNA
• ---> change in amino acid it specifies
• ---> change in phenotype of organism
Genetic variation
is also produced by chromosome recombination during
1)meiosis and by 2) fertilization.
this slide show phenotypic or genotypic variation?
what underlies different patterns of coloration (different
phenotypes) in the population?
***How much genetic variation exists?
***Why is genetic variation important?

• In changing environments, the reservoir

of genetic variation may take on positive
survival value.

• Rapid environmental change by humans

may exceed the capacity of a population
to respond by evolution --> extinction
 ***Are most mutations beneficial?
Are most mutations dominant?
What happens to harmful mutations?
• Most mutations are harmful and recessive, natural
selection weeds out most deleterious alleles,
leaving those that best suit organisms to their
environments.

• Mutations are likely to be beneficial when the

relationship of the organism to its environment
changes; organism is pre-adapted to change.

• Selection for beneficial mutations is the basis for

evolutionary change, enabling organisms to
exploit new environmental conditions.
***What forces can cause change in genotype
frequency?
1) Natural selection --> differentiates
subpopulations

2) Effects of small population size

a) Genetic drift
b) Founder effect
c) Population bottlenecks

3) Assortative (non-random) mating

4) Gene flow (= dispersal/migration) --> homogenizes

subpopulations
1. Evolution by natural selection…

Finches beak size changes in response to change in seed

hardness in drought years.
Natural selection:
• change in the frequency of traits in a
population because of differential survival
and reproduction of individuals with those
traits.

• Individuals with the most offspring are

selected and the proportion of their genes
increases over time.

• Fitness: the genetic contribution by an

individual to future generations
(keberhasilan dlm meneruskan gen ke
generasi selanjutnya)
SELEKSI TERARAH
Seleksi yg menyebabkan adaptasi ke lingkungan
baru. Misal ; sebelum revolusi industri, juml.
Kupu-kupu Biston betularia berwarna cerah
lebih banyak daripada kupu-kupu Biston
betularia berwarna gelap. Sebaliknya setelah
revolusi industri, Biston betularia bersayap gelap
lebih banyak daripada yg berwarna cerah.

SELEKSI STABILASI
Adalah seleksi yg bekerja pada varian
tertentu dari satu populasi ygmenghasilkan
populasi adaptif dan menyisihkan varian yg
tidak adaptif

SELEKSI PEMUTUS
Terjadi jika kondisi lingkungan berbeda,
menyebabkan satu populasi terbagi
menjadi dua subpopulasi.
2 a. Genetic drift:
5 of 10 plants 2 of 10 plants
leave offspring leave offspring

Generation 1 Generation 2 Generation 3p

p =.7, q =.3 p = .5, q = .5 p = 1.0, q = 0

Change in allele frequency due to random variation

in births and deaths.
2 b. Population Bottleneck:
period of small pop. size.

…subject to genetic drift

Population bottlenecks often result in reduced
or no genetic variation (e.g. cheetahs).
Small populations experience genetic drift,
founder events, and population bottlenecks.
Each causes a loss in genetic variation.

+ genetic
drift
Allele
becomes
fixed = no
variation.
***Summarize the results.
What is the potential consequence for small populations?

% polymorphic
genes

Population size
3. Assortative mating: when individuals
choose mates non-randomly with respect
to their own genotypes.

• Negative: mates differ genetically -->

increases proportion of heterozygotes
• Most individuals do this to avoid
inbreeding.

• Positive: like mating with like (includes

inbreeding) --> increases proportion of
homozygotes
Positive assortment
• increases the proportion of homozygotes
• unmasks deleterious recessive alleles -->
inbreeding depression (decrease in fitness)
% homozygosity depends on level of
inbreeding.
4. Gene flow (migration)--> mixes alleles between
subpopulations and homogenizes them.

• Maintains genetic variation

• ***What represents gene flow in

animals?
plants?

• Animals: dispersal of the adult animal or

gametes

• Plants: dispersal of pollen and seeds

 Summary of forces
Remove genetic variation:
• Natural selection
• Small population size

Maintain genetic variation:

• Mutation
• Gene flow
• Varying selective pressures in
time and space