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Pre-Darwinian theories
Catastrophism
Geologically only catastrophic events had changed
the geological structure of the earth
changes seen within fossilized bones were a result
of a previous catastrophic change where an entire
former and less perfect species was wiped out in
order to give rise to a new species.
Accounted for the discoveries of many "funny
looking bones" found throughout Europe and other
parts of the world
Lamarcks theory
Of use and disuse
Charles Darwin
Sailed as the naturalist of the
ship H.M.S. Beagle (1831-1836)
to survey the south seas (mainly
South America and the
Galapagos Islands)
Charles Darwin
1809-1882
Charles Darwin
Wrote On the Origin of Species by Means of
Natural Selection in 1859
Two main points:
1. Species were not created in their present
form, but evolved from ancestral species.
Mechanism of Evolution_
Natural Selection [3D
Animation].mp4
Natural selection
1. There is variation in traits.
For example, some beetles are green
and some are brown.
Natural selection
3. There is heredity.
The surviving brown beetles have
brown baby beetles because this trait
has a genetic basis.
4. End result:
The more advantageous trait, brown
coloration, becomes more common
in the population.
If this process continues, eventually,
all individuals in the population will
be brown.
Examples of abiotic
factors:
predators
competitors
mutualists
resource availability
physical conditions
chemical conditions
Fitness
Ability of a particular species to leave offspring in the
next generation compared to other species/variants
e.g., if brown beetles consistently leave more offspring
than green beetles because of their color, the brown
beetles has a higher fitness.
Fitness
A species' fitness depends on the environment in
which the organism lives
e.g., the fittest variant of a species during an ice age
probably not the fittest variant after ice age
Sexual selection
When natural selection acts on mate-finding and reproductive
behavior
acts on an organism's ability to obtain or successfully
copulate with a mate
often powerful enough to produce features that are harmful
to the individual's survival
Sexual selection
Selected traits
1. indicate the potential mate is in good
health/fertile
2. indicate the potential mate has good genes
3. exploit a sensory bias in the chooser
individuals with those attractive traits will have a
high reproductive success, spreading their genes
(and the trait) through the population
Sexual selection
2 components:
1. Male competition
The most dramatic and obvious way in which males
compete for mates is by fighting and ritualized
contests
males often have evolved weapons for fighting
Sexual selection
2. Female choice
Females often select males on the basis of
Masculinity/femininity
in faces
Preferences for
masculinity in male
faces vary across
studies, but
feminine female
faces are
consistently found
more attractive than
masculine female
faces
Male features
Male height
Women look for men who are taller than they are (but only
by ~9%)
Relative, not absolute, size: height not inherently attractive,
but being taller than they were was
How attractive women find two body types with and without
chest hair
4. Smell
A. Male scent
Findings:
People of both genders preferred potential dates of their
own race or ethnicity
Age matters, but differently, for males and females
OkCupid study
Men of all ages prefer women
in their early 20s, claims least
shocking study ever
Adaptation
Echolocation in bats is an
adaptation for catching insects
2. Stabilizing
Favors individuals with an average genetic
makeup
Only the middle reproduce; population looks more
similar over time
3. Disruptive (Diversifying)
Environmental conditions favor individuals at both ends of
the genetic spectrum
Population split into two groups
These happy face spiders look different, but since they can
interbreed, they are considered the same species: Theridion
grallator.
Speciation
Reintroduction
will no longer
result in
interbreeding
Causes of speciation
1. Geographic isolation
rivers change course, mountains rise, continents drift,
organisms migrate, and what was once a continuous
population is divided into two or more smaller
populations.
Speciation.mp4
Reproductive isolation
These damselfly penises illustrate just how complex insect genitalia may be.
Temporal isolation
2 species breed at different times of the day or during
different seasons.
Hybrid breakdown
1st - generation hybrids are fertile, but they cannot
produce fertile offspring in the next generation
e.g., different species of cotton
sterile
Good Morning America - Rare Italian-born Baby Zonkey in Good Health (ABC News)
The father is a zebra that was adopted by the animal reserve after he
was rescued from a failing zoo. The mother is a Donkey of Amiata, an
endangered animal species.
Reproductive barriers
Gametic
isolation
Reduce
hybrid
viability
Fertilization
GAMETIC ISOLATION
REDUCED HYBRID
VIABILITY
Reduce
hybrid
fertility
Hybrid
breakdown
Viable
fertile
offspring
Issues in speciation
1. Opportunity knocks:
environmental
factors
Change in environment
may have offered
opportunities for
specialization
e.g, loss of
competitors
A fragmented
environment might
make reproductive
isolation likely
2. Adaptive Radiation
Adaptive radiation
One species gives rise to many others in a geologically short
period of time
3.
Cambrian
Explosion
appearance in
the fossil record
of most major
animal body
plans about 543
million years
ago
The new fossils
appear in an
interval of 20
million years or
less
b. Extinction
~225 million years ago, >90% of the species alive at the time
went extinct in fewer than 10 million years
Some groups that were dominant before the extinction never
recovered
Set stage for massive diversification of taxa that filled the empty
niches.
Extinct species
Golden
toad, 1989,
Costa Rica
Dodos extinction
thought to be due to:
Inability to fly
Inability to adapt to
predators
Inability to adapt to
changing climates
The animals
usually rest on
sea ice but will
head to beaches
if that platform
is not available
Huge numbers of
Pacific walrus
have been
coming ashore in
northwest Alaska