Chapter 4 Evolution and Biodiversity

THINKING Goals
See bulleted list of questions on p. 83 of text.

Objectives
1. 2. 3. #. %. &. (. 8. ,. Briefly describe the evolution of life from chemical evolution to the development of eukaryotic cells. Describe the tools available to researchers for learnin the evolutionary history of life. Briefly describe the theory of evolution! bein sure to include the roles played by variation "ithin the ene pool and natural selection! extinction! speciation! and adaptive radiation. Define natural selection and the three conditions that are necessary for evolution of a population by natural selection. Summari$e and address t"o common misconceptions about evolution. Define coevolution. Distin uish bet"een a specialist and a generalist. 'valuate the conditions that favor these t"o approaches. Define ecological niche. Distin uish bet"een condition and resource) fundamental niche and realized niche. *ist the factors that determine the reali$ed niche. Define speciation and compare allopatric speciation "ith sympatric speciation. +ndicate "hich of these mechanisms is more common. Define extinction and distin uish bet"een back round extinction and mass extinction. Discuss the role of humans on the rate of extinction at present.

1-. Discuss the pros and cons of artificial selection and enetic en ineerin . .onsider the possible environmental impacts on resource use! pollution and environmental de radation. 11. +ndicate "hat it is that has allo"ed humans to have such a profound influence on their environment.

Key Terms /0erms are listed in the same font style as they appear in the text.1
adaptation /p. 8&1 adaptive trait /p. 8&1 arti icial selection /p. ,#1 bac!"round e#tinction /p. ,31 biolo"ical evolution /p. 831 biological evolution /p. 831 biopharming /p. ,&1 chemical evolution /p. 831 clone /p. ,&1 coevolution /p. 8&1 designer babies /p. ,&1 di erential reproduction /p. 8&1 ecolo"ical niche /p. 8,1 endemic species /p. ,21 evolutionary divergence /p. ,11 e#tinction /p. ,21 fitness /p. 8(1 fossil record /p. 8%1 ossils /p. 8%1 undamental niche /p. 8,1 "ene splicin" /p. ,%1 "eneralist species /p. 8,1 generalists /p. 8,1 "enetic en"ineerin" /p. ,%1 genetic variability /p. 8%1 "enetically modi ied or"anisms $G%Os& /p. ,%1

"eo"raphic isolation /p. ,21 heritable /p. 8&1 horizontal gene transfer /p. 8&1 hybrid /p. 8&1 hybridization /p. 8&1 mass depletion /p. ,31 mass e#tinction /p. ,31 mutagens /p. 8%1 mutations /p. 8%1 natural selection /p. 831 natural selection /p. 8%1 niche /p. 8,1 reali'ed niche /p. 8,1 recombinant (N) /p. ,%1 reproductive isolation /p. ,21 scientific theory /p. 831 selective breeding /p. ,#1 specialist species /p. 8,1 specialists /p. 8,1 speciation /p. ,11 synthetic biology /p. ,&1 tectonic plates /p. 8&1 trans"enic or"anisms /p. ,%1

Outline
2ri ins of *ife 3. .hemical evolution of or anic molecules! biopolymers! and systems of chemical reactions "ere needed to form the first cell. +t took about 1 billion years B. Biolo ical evolution follo"ed! from sin le4celled prokaryotic bacteria to sin le4celled eukaryotic or anisms to multicellular or anisms. +s has been continuin for 3.( billion years. .. 5no"led e of past life comes from fossils! ice4core drillin ! chemical analysis and D63 analysis. 0hese records are incomplete 'volution! 6atural Selection and 3daptation 'volution is the chan e in a population7s enetic makeup over time. 3. 8opulations evolve by becomin enetically different. B. 3ll species descend from earlier! ancestral species9theory of evolution. .. :icroevolution describes the small enetic chan es that occur in a population over time. 1. 2ver time! a population7s ene pool chan es "hen mutations /beneficial chan es1 in D63 molecules are passed on to offsprin . 0here may be several different forms /alleles1 of a sin le ene. 2. Sexual reproduction leads to random recombination of alleles from individual to individual. 3. 0he population develops enetic variability brou ht about by mutations. a. :utations are random chan es in the structure;number of D63 molecules in a cell. b. :utations occur in t"o "ays. 11 <ene D63 is exposed to external a ents like = rays! chemicals /muta ens1 or radioactivity. 21 >andom mistakes that occur in coded enetic instructions. c. 2nly mutations in reproductive cells are passed to offsprin . d. :any mutations are neutral! some are deadly) a fe" are beneficial. D. 6atural selection7s role in microevolution occurs "hen members of a population have enetic traits that improve their ability to survive and produce offsprin "ith those specific traits. 1. ?or natural selection to evolve in a population! three conditions are necessary@ a. 0he population must have enetic variability. b. 0he trait must be heritable! capable of bein passed from one eneration to another. c. 0he trait must enable individuals "ith the trait to produce more offsprin than individuals "ithout the trait) this is differential reproduction. 2. 3daptation or adaptive traits are heritable traits that help or anisms to survive and reproduce better under prevailin environmental conditions. 3. 'nvironmental chan es require adaptations also. 2r anisms must@ a. 3dapt to the ne" conditions. b. :i rate to an area "ith more favorable environment. c. Become extinct. #. :icroevolution follo"s this process@ enes mutate! individuals are selected! and populations evolve. '. +nteractions bet"een species can result in microevolution in each of their populations! a process called coevolution. Sometimes the predators have the advanta e) sometimes the prey is better adapted. ?. +ndividuals of t"o species can crossbreed to produce a hybrid and some species can exchan e enes "ithout sexual reproduction throu h hori$ontal ene transfer. <. 6atural selection can only act on existin enes and is limited by reproductive capacity. A. 6atural selection does not strive to create the perfect or anism) the purpose is to leave the most descendants. <eolo ic 8rocesses! .limate .han e! .atastrophes! and 'volution 3. 8rocesses such as the shiftin of tectonic plates! volcanic eruptions! and earthquakes influence earth7s climate and in turn affect evolution by removin and;or isolatin habitats and species. B. *on 4term climate chan es relocate ecosystems! thus determinin "here certain species can live.

.. 3steroids and meteorites have caused environmental stress and mass extinctions. 'colo ical 6iches and 3daptations. 3. 3n ecolo ical niche is a species7 "ay of life in an ecosystem! everythin that affects its survival and reproduction. 1. 0he niche includes the members7 adaptations) its ran e of tolerance for physical and chemical conditions! its interactions "ith other components of the ecosystem! and its role in ener y flo" and matter recyclin . 2. 0he fundamental niche is the full potential ran e of conditions and resources a species could potentially use. +ts reali$ed niche is the part of the potential niche that allo"s a species to survive and avoid competition "ith other species for the same resources. B. Some species have broad ecolo ical roles and are termed eneralist species. 1. 0heir livin ran e is broad! includes many different places. 2. 0hey can eat a variety of foods! and tolerate a "ide ran e of environments. 3. +f environment is chan eable! the eneralist "ill survive better than the specialist. .. Some species have narro" ecolo ical roles and are termed specialist species. 1. Specialist species can live only in very specific environments. 2. 0his makes them more prone to extinction "hen environmental conditions chan e. 3. +f the environment is constant! specialists have fe"er competitors. #. +ntense competition may lead to evolutionary diver ence of a sin le species into variety of similar species "ith speciali$ed niches. D. 3 population7s ene pool and its rate of reproduction limit the population7s ability to adapt to ne" environmental conditions. 1. 0he only enetic traits that can adapt are those already in the ene pool. 2. 3 population7s reproductive capacity limits those enes that can adapt. a. <enetically diverse species that reproduce quickly! can often adapt quickly. b. 8opulations that reproduce slo"ly take a lon time to adapt throu h natural selection. c. ?or a ne" favorable trait to predominate most of an existin population "ould have to die prematurely. Speciation! 'xtinction! and Biodiversity 3. 6atural selection can lead to development of an entirely ne" species. +n speciation! t"o species arise from one "hen some members of a population cannot breed "ith other members to produce fertile offsprin . Speciation occurs in t"o phases@ 1. <eo raphic isolation! physical separation for lon time periods. 2. >eproductive isolation. 0he ene pools are so chan ed that members become so different in enetic makeup that they cannot produce fertile offsprin . B. Bhen population members cannot adapt to chan in environmental conditions! the species becomes extinct. 1. 3 species mana es to survive one to ten million years before extinction occurs. 2. *ife has had to cope "ith many maCor natural disasters that may reduce or eliminate species. 3. +ntroduction of ne" species into an area has also led to reduction in number or elimination of species. .. Bhen local environmental conditions chan e! some species "ill disappear at a lo" rate) this is called back round extinction. D. :ass extinction is a si nificant rise in extinction rates above the back round extinction level. Dsually! from 2%4(-E of species are lost. >ecent evidence su ests that there have been t"o mass extinctions on earth. 0here appear to have been three mass extinctions on earth. '. 3daptive radiations are recovery periods after mass extinction "hen numerous ne" species evolve to fill niches in chan ed environments. +t takes one to ten million years to rebuild biolo ical diversity after a mass extinction;depletion. ?. 0he earth7s biodiversity is decreasin because of human activities. 1. Biodiversity equals speciation minus extinction. 2. Aumans are causin the premature extinction of species! estimated to be 1-- to 1!--- species per million species.

3. +t has been predicted that by the end of the 21st century "e may see the extinction of half of the present species no" on earth. #. Aumans and their activities are also destroyin ;de radin ecosystems that mi ht be centers for future speciation. <enetic 'n ineerin and the ?uture of 'volution 3. :an has used artificial selection to chan e the enetic characteristics of populations. 1. Be use selective breedin to obtain specific desired traits. 2. 0raditional crossbreedin is a slo" process) it takes many enerations of selection for the desired trait. 3. <enetic en ineerin ; ene splicin are techniques that isolate! modify! multiply and recombine enes from different or anisms. <enes from different species that "ould never interbreed in nature are bein transferred to each other. #. <enetically modified or anisms /<:2s1;trans enic or anisms are the results of this ene splicin . a. <ene splicin takes half as much time to develop a ne" crop;animal! as does traditional crossbreedin . b. .lonin produces a enetically identical version of an individual. c. Biopharmin is a ne" field "here enetically en ineered animals act as biofactories to produce dru s! vaccines! antibodies! hormones! etc. B. <enetic en ineerin is an unpredictable process and raises privacy! ethical! le al and environmental issues. +t is a trial and error process. 1. 0he avera e success rate of enetic en ineerin experiments is about 1E. 2. 0here are many questions about ene therapy@ "ho "ill be helped "ith enetic kno"led e9 only those "ho can pay for itF +f one has a defect! "ill s;he be able to et health insurance! or a CobF Should "e clone spare parts for people7s bodiesF 3. 3 backlash developed in the 1,,-7s a ainst increased use of enetically modified food plants and animals. #. 8roponents of more careful control of enetic en ineerin point out that most ne" technolo ies have had unintended! harmful consequences! so that caution should be practiced re ardin enetic en ineerin . .. Aumans have become such a po"erful species so quickly due to t"o evolutionary adaptations@ complex brain and stron opposable thumbs. 1. Aumans have quickly developed po"erful technolo ies to meet our needs and "ants. 2. Aumans need to chan e our "ays in order not to be called Homo ignoramus instead of Homo sapiens sapiens! the doubly "ise.

*ummary
1. *ife emer ed on the earth throu h t"o phases of development@ a chemical evolution of the or anic molecules! biopolymers! and systems of chemical reactions to form the first cells and the biolo ical evolution from sin le4celled prokaryotic bacteria to sin le4celled eukaryotic creatures to! then! to multicellular or anisms. 'volution is the chan e in a population7s enetic makeup over time. 'volution forces adaptations to chan es in environmental conditions in a population. 0he diversity of life on earth reflects the "ide variety of adaptations necessary and su ests that environmental conditions have varied "idely over the life of the earth. 3n ecolo ical niche is a species7 "ay of life or its functional role in a community. 'verythin that affects its survival and reproduction /temperature tolerance! "ater needs! space needs! interactions "ith other or anisms! etc.1 is a part of that niche. 0he ecolo ical niche helps a population survive by the adaptive traits that its or anisms have acquired. 'xtinction of species and formation of ne" species constantly chan es the biodiversity of the earth

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+n the future! evolution "ill continue to influence our environment. :an7s use of artificial selection and enetic en ineerin to evolve species may have unintended consequences because evolution is a lon ! slo" process and is unpredictable.

%ore (epth+ Conceptual Term ,aper Topics

1. 'volution@ the theory of evolution! supportin and detractin evidence! fossils) embryolo ical homolo ies! structural homolo ies) biochemical evidence) D63 evidence. .ontrast the vie"s of slo"! radual chan e and relatively rapid /punctuated1 chan e. Biolo ical 'volution@ endosymbiont hypothesis) <aia hypothesis) extinctions and radiations) natural selection and enetic drift) adaptations and their limits) radualism and punctuated equilibrium. Diversity of species@ choose a kin dom. <enetic en ineerin @ ho" humans are chan in the course of evolution.

2. 3. #.