Evidence for Evolution

Question 1

evidence for descent w modifications (5)

Answer 1

microevolution
speciation
macroevolution
common ancestry
age of earth and life

Question 2

microevolution

Answer 2

selective breeding

observations from natural populations
- ex. field mustard (growth pattern depends on past weather conditions)

vestigial structures
- cannot be explained by special creation
- makes sense under evolution
- ex. kiwi bird wings, python tetrapods, human tailbone & Arrector pili muscle (goosebumps), three-spined stickleback armour loss

Question 3

species meaning (BSC)

Answer 3

Species - Biological Species Concept: populations or groups of populations among which individuals actually or potentially interbreed, and outside of which they do not interbreed (Ernst Mayr)

Question 4

Speciation

Answer 4

• species meaning (BSC)
• reproductive isolation - can they produce viable offspring?
• ring species ex. Siberian greenish warbler expanded north in two directions -> west and east populations can no longer interbreed w each other (isolation by distance); not clear if one species or not

Question 5

macroevolution

Answer 5

extinction and succession
- Cuvier published list of 23 species from only fossils
- Clift & Darwin demonstrated that fossil & living organisms of same area resemble each other, distinct from organisms elsewhere (Law of Succession)

transitional forms
- ex. Archaeopteryx lithographica (feathers -> gliding)

Question 6

common ancestry

Answer 6

• evolution contends all organisms have a single common ancestor
• homology crucial evidence
• molecular homology (near universality of genetic code & codons)

Question 7

homology vs analogy

Answer 7

• Homologous: traits derived, evolutionarily and developmentally, from the same source structure
• Analogous: similar functions BUT derived, evolutionarily and developmentally, from diff source structures (ex. whale and shark)

Question 8

monophyletic meaning

Answer 8

includes ALL descendants under a common ancestor (not reptilians)

Question 9

age of earth and life

Answer 9

Uniformitarianism (Hutton/Lyell) vs Catastrophism

• geologists recognized a lot of time needed for mountains and observed geological strata in nature
• based on evidence, 6000 yo earth (Archbishop Ussher) & catastrophism does not make sense