Chapter 22

Descent with Modification: A

Darwinian View of Life
PowerPoint Lectures for
Biology, Seventh Edition
Neil Campbell and Jane Reece

Lectures by Chris Romero

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 Overview: Darwin Introduces a Revolutionary

Theory
A new era of biology began on November 24,
1859
The day Charles Darwin published On the
Origin of Species by Means of Natural
Selection

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 The Origin of Species

Focused biologists attention on the great
diversity of organisms

Figure 22.1
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 The historical context of Darwins life and ideas

Linnaeus (classification)
Hutton (gradual geologic change)
Lamarck (species can change)
Malthus (population limits)
Cuvier (fossils, extinction)
Lyell (modern geology)
Darwin (evolution, nutural selection)
Mendel (inheritance)
American Revolution
1750

Wallace (evolution, natural selection)

French Revolution
U.S. Civil War
1800
1850
1900
1795 Hutton proposes his theory of gradualism.
1798 Malthus publishes Essay on the Principle of Population.
1809 Lamarck publishes his theory of evolution.
1830 Lyell publishes Principles of Geology.
18311836 Darwin travels around the world on HMS Beagle.
1837 Darwin begins his notebooks on the origin of species.
1844 Darwin writes his essay on the origin of species.
1858 Wallace sends his theory to Darwin.
1859 The Origin of Species is published.
1865 Mendel publishes inheritance papers.

Figure 22.2
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Resistance to the Idea of Evolution

The Origin of Species
Shook the deepest roots of Western culture
Challenged a worldview that had been
prevalent for centuries

The Greek philosopher Aristotle

Viewed species as fixed and unchanging

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 Carolus Linnaeus
Interpreted organismal adaptations as evidence
that the Creator had designed each species for
a specific purpose
Was a founder of taxonomy, classifying lifes
diversity for the greater glory of God
Classification system is still in use ( Binomial
nomenclature)

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Fossils, Cuvier, and Catastrophism

The study of fossils
Helped to lay the groundwork for Darwins ideas

Fossils are remains or traces of organisms

from the past
Usually found in sedimentary rock, which appears
in layers or strata

Figure 22.3
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 Paleontology, the study of fossils

Was largely developed by French scientist
Georges Cuvier

Believed in catastrophism, speculating that

each boundary between strata represents a
catastrophe

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Theories of Gradualism ( James Hutton/ Charles

Lyell)
Gradualism
Is the idea that profound change can take
place through the cumulative effect of slow but
continuous processes

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Lamarcks Theory of Evolution

Lamarck hypothesized that species evolve
Through use and disuse and the inheritance of
acquired traits
Remember giraffe example

Figure 22.4
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Darwins Research
As a boy and into adulthood, Charles Darwin
Had a consuming interest in nature

Soon after Darwin received his B.A. degree

He was accepted on board the HMS Beagle,
which was about to embark on a voyage
around the world

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The Voyage of the Beagle

During his travels on the Beagle
Darwin observed and collected many
specimens of South American plants and
animals

Darwin observed various adaptations of plants

and animals
That inhabited many diverse environments

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 Darwins interest in the geographic distribution

of species
Was kindled by the Beagles stop at the Galpagos
Islands near the equator west of South America
England
NORTH
AMERICA

EUROPE

ATLANTIC
OCEAN

PACIFIC
OCEAN
Galpagos
Islands

AUSTRALIA
Cape of
Good Hope
Cape Horn

Figure 22.5

HMS Beagle in port

SOUTH
AMERICA
Andes

Darwin in 1840,
after his return

AFRICA

Tierra del Fuego

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Tasmania
New
Zealand

Adaptive radiation
From studies made years after Darwins
voyage
Biologists have concluded that this is indeed
what happened to the Galpagos finches

(a)

Cactus eater. The long,

sharp beak of the cactus
ground finch (Geospiza
scandens) helps it tear
and eat cactus flowers
and pulp.

Figure 22.6ac

(c)

Seed eater. The large ground

finch (Geospiza magnirostris)
has a large beak adapted for
cracking seeds that fall from
plants to the ground.

(b) Insect eater. The green warbler

finch (Certhidea olivacea) uses its
narrow, pointed beak to grasp insects.

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 In 1844, Darwin wrote a long essay on the

origin of species and natural selection
But he was reluctant to introduce his theory
publicly, anticipating the uproar it would cause

In June 1858 Darwin received a manuscript

from Alfred Russell Wallace
Who had developed a theory of natural
selection similar to Darwins

Darwin quickly finished The Origin of Species

And published it the next year

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The Origin of Species

Darwin developed two main ideas
Evolution explains lifes unity and diversity
Natural selection is a cause of adaptive
evolution

The phrase descent with modification

Summarized Darwins perception of the unity
of life
States that all organisms are related through
descent from an ancestor that lived in the
remote past
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 In the Darwinian view, the history of life is like a tree

Sirenia
Hyracoidea (Manatees
(Hyraxes) and relatives)

Figure 22.7
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Mammuthus

Stegodon

Platybelodon

Mammut

Barytherium

Deinotherium

Elephas Loxodonta Loxodonta

maximus africana
cyclotis
(Africa)
(Asia)
(Africa)

Moeritherium

Millions of years ago

Years ago

With multiple branchings from a common trunk

to the tips of the youngest twigs that represent
the diversity of living organisms

 Observation #1: For any species, population

sizes would increase exponentially
If all individuals that are born reproduced
successfully

Figure 22.8

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 Observation #2: Nonetheless, populations tend

to be stable in size
Except for seasonal fluctuations

Observation #3: Resources are limited

Inference #1: Production of more individuals
than the environment can support
Leads to a struggle for existence among
individuals of a population, with only a fraction
of their offspring surviving
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 Observation #4: Members of a population vary

extensively in their characteristics
No two individuals are exactly alike

Figure 22.9
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 Observation #5: Much of this variation is

heritable
Inference #2: Survival depends in part on
inherited traits
Individuals whose inherited traits give them a
high probability of surviving and reproducing
are likely to leave more offspring than other
individuals

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 Inference #3: This unequal ability of individuals

to survive and reproduce
Will lead to a gradual change in a population,
with favorable characteristics accumulating
over generations

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Artificial Selection
In the process of artificial selection
Humans have modified other species over
many generations by selecting and breeding
individuals that possess desired traits
Terminal
bud

Lateral
buds
Brussels sprouts

Cabbage

Flower
cluster

Leaves

Cauliflower

Kale

Flower
and
stems
Broccoli

Stem
Wild mustard

Figure 22.10
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Kohlrabi

Artifical Selection Results

Forces speed of evolutionary change to occur
too quickly
Genetically engineering organisms leads to
higher prevalence of disease and disorders
( small gene pool)

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 Natural selection can produce an increase over time

In the adaptation of organisms to their

environment
(a) A flower mantid
in Malaysia

(b) A stick mantid

in Africa

Figure 22.11
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Differential Predation in Guppy Populations

Researchers have observed natural selection
Leading to adaptive evolution in guppy
populations
EXPERIMENT
Reznick and Endler transplanted guppies from pike-cichlid pools to killifish pools
and measured the average age and size of guppies at maturity over an 11-year period (30 to
60 generations).
Pools with killifish,
but not guppies prior
to transplant
Experimental
transplant of
guppies

Predator: Killifish; preys

mainly on small guppies
Guppies:
Larger at
sexual maturity
than those in
pike-cichlid pools

Predator: Pike-cichlid; preys mainly on large guppies

Guppies: Smaller at sexual maturity than
those in killifish pools

Figure 22.12
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RESULTS

185.6
161.5

67.5 76.1

Males

Females

Age of guppies
at maturity (days)

Weight of guppies
at maturity (mg)

After 11 years, the average size and age at maturity of guppies in the transplanted
populations increased compared to those of guppies in control populations.

CONCLUSION

85.7 92.3
48.5

58.2

Males

Females

Control Population: Guppies

from pools with pike-cichlids
as predators
Experimental Population:
Guppies transplanted to
pools with killifish as
predators

Reznick and Endler concluded that the change in predator resulted in different variations
in the population (larger size and faster maturation) being favored. Over a relatively short time, this altered
selection pressure resulted in an observable evolutionary change in the experimental population.

Copyright 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings

The Evolution of Drug-Resistant HIV

In humans, the use of drugs
Selects for pathogens that through chance
mutations are resistant to the drugs effects

Natural selection is a cause of adaptive

evolution

Copyright 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings

 Researchers have developed numerous drugs

to combat HIV

Percent of HIV resistant to 3TC

But using these medications selects for

viruses resistant to the drugs
Patient
No. 1
Patient No. 2

Patient No. 3

Weeks

Figure 22.13
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 The ability of bacteria and viruses to evolve

rapidly
Poses a challenge to our society
Multiple resistant strains of bacteria are
evolving rapidly
MRSA ( methicillin resistant Staphylococcus
aureus)- AKA flesh eating bacteria
Mycobacterium tuberculosis

vancomycin resistant
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Homology, Biogeography, and the Fossil Record

Evolutionary theory
Provides a cohesive explanation for many
kinds of observations

Homology
Is similarity resulting from common ancestry

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Anatomical Homologies
Homologous structures between organisms
Are anatomical resemblances that represent
variations on a structural theme that was
present in a common ancestor

Human

Cat

Figure 22.14
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Whale

Bat

 Comparative embryology
Reveals additional anatomical homologies
early in development

Pharyngeal
pouches

Post-anal
tail

Chick embryo
Figure 22.15
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Human embryo

 Vestigial organs
Are some of the most intriguing homologous
structures
Are remnants of structures that served
important functions in the organisms ancestors

Human examples: appendix, coccyx

Whales: hip bones

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Molecular Homologies
Biologists also observe homologies among
organisms at the molecular level
Such as genes that are shared among
organisms inherited from a common ancestor

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 Anatomical resemblances among species

Are generally reflected in their molecules, their
genes, and their gene products
Species

Percent of Amino Acids That Are

Identical to the Amino Acids in a
Human Hemoglobin Polypeptide
100%

Human
Rhesus monkey

95%

Mouse

87%

Chicken

69%

Frog

Figure 22.16

Lamprey

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54%

14%

Biogeography
Darwins observations of the geographic
distribution of species, biogeography
Formed an important part of his theory of
evolution

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Convergent Evolution
Some similar mammals that have adapted to
similar environments
Have evolved independently from different ancestors

Sugar
glider

NORTH
AMERICA

AUSTRALIA

Flying
squirrel

Figure 22.17
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The Fossil Record

The succession of forms observed in the fossil
record
Is consistent with other inferences about the
major branches of descent in the tree of life

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 The Darwinian view of life

Predicts that evolutionary transitions should
leave signs in the fossil record

Paleontologists
Have discovered fossils of many such
transitional forms

Figure 22.18
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