Lesson 1B

Question 1

is evolution the theory for the origin of life?

Answer 1

no, it describes how life has changed since it originated

Question 2

does evolution give rise to traits that species need for survival?

Answer 2

no, selection can only act on exiting variation within a population

Question 3

are disease genes retained through evolutionary processes?

Answer 3

yes, disadvantage genes can be maintained by mutation, gene flow, or late oinset

Question 4

are humans still surviving my natural selection?

Answer 4

yes, continuous adaptation to environment conditions, selection of mating partners

Question 5

does evolution represent the gradual improvement of species?

Answer 5

no, adaptation to a particular set of trait often at the cost of other traits

Question 6

is evolution a slow and gradual process?

Answer 6

usually slow but can be punctuated by rapid bursts or short reproductive life spans`

Question 7

how many species have been described?

Answer 7

2.2 million extant species

Question 8

for every extant species, how many have gone extinct?

Answer 8

approx. 100, about 1 billion extant and/or extinct species since the beginning of life (this number varies wildly)

Question 9

what is biological diversity?

Answer 9

reflection of the interaction between the forms that precedes them and an ongoing process of change, the variety of life on earth, extinction is as much a part of nature as the formation of new species (man made idea, temporary)

Question 10

how do we explain the biological diversity on earth?

Answer 10

evolution

Question 11

what is the oxford definition of evolution compared to Darwin compared to biol 213?

Answer 11

ox- gradual process by which the present diversity of plant and animal life arose from the earliest and most primitive organisms, which is believed to have been continuing for the past 2 billion years

Darwin- evolution=descent with modification that results from changes in populations over time (knew it was a population level effort, not indv level)

biol 213- change in allele frequencies in a population over time

Question 12

what is genetics in regards to evolution?

Answer 12

the study of how inheritance works

Question 13

what is population and quantitative genetics in regards to evolution?

Answer 13

how do allele frequencies change in populations over time and space? looking at evolution in real-time

Question 14

what’s paleobiology in regards to evolution?

Answer 14

how the study of large scale evolutionary changes affect groups of organisms?

Question 15

what integration of genetics and morphology in regards to evolution?

Answer 15

developmental patterns and evolutionary transitions

Question 16

how is the stickleback fish a study of evolution?

Answer 16

ocean ancestors isolated in freshwater lakes flowing glacial retreats, different predators different adaptations causing key genetic changes to occur independently around the world, fossils show timeline differences

Question 17

who were the three scientists who thought about evolution before darwin?

Answer 17

Erasmus drawing (grandfather 1794) in zoonomia
Patrick Mathew (1831) in on naval timber and arboriculture, appendix
Robert chambers (1844), in vestiges if the natural history of creation

Question 18

how do we study evolution?

Answer 18

genetics, population and quantitative genetics, paleobiology, integration of genetics and morphology

Question 19

what big ideas inspired Darwin?

Answer 19

1. some species survive while others go extinct (Cuvier)
   -existence of fossilized bones from species that no longer exist
2. the earth must be much older than believed and undergoing change (Lyell)
   -landforms form gradually from geological processes not catastrophes
3. species themselves must be capable of changing (Lamarch) (proven wrong)
   -proposed “transmutation”, a mechanism of inheritance of acquired traits roundly dismissed
4. there must be a pressure to force adaptation, ex competition for resource (Malthus)
   -human populations grow faster than available resources, so “fittest” individuals survive

Question 20

who’s Georges Cuvier?

Answer 20

1769-1832, leading comparative anatomist and paleontologist of his time

Question 21

what did Georges Cuvier find?

Answer 21

many species have gone extinct (he thought floods), the number of species were declining, showed that large bones n USA belonged to extinct mastodon, not modern elephants

Question 22

what did lamarck find?

Answer 22

believed species changed over time (transmutation), lamarckism, started Darwin thinking about the importance of inheritance

Question 23

what did Charles Lyell discover?

Answer 23

“principles of geology”, landforms (mountains, valleys, etc) not fixe but changed slowly as a result of geological processes that can be observed today (not catastrophes), earth was much older than the accepted age

Question 24

what’s lamarckisim?

Answer 24

acquired traits can be inherited, lost through disuse

Question 25

what did Thomas Malthus discover?

Answer 25

"principle of populations", human population can increase faster than food supply leading to competition for survival, those that are better suited to compete are more likely to survive

Question 26

when did Darwin start thinking about evolution?

Answer 26

1836 began organizing his sample collection and notebooks, first ideas about natural selection written in his notebooks in 1838 but didn't publish bc he wanted to ensure theory was sound and unassailable due to harsh critics and threats from other attempts by other writers

Question 27

who's Alfred Russell Wallace

Answer 27

came up with theory of natural selection indep of Darwin but later in 1858, spurred Darwin to publish his own work on the subject

Question 28

what did Darwin say about the relationship of variation in traits -> reproductive success -> inheritance -> variation in traits?

Answer 28

natural selelction, struggke for existance from limited resources = faoureable varitaion tend to be preserved and unfavorable ones destroyed

Question 29

Darwin's major conclusions?

Answer 29

indv w/in a species vary and some variations are inherited, more offspring are produced than can survive and reproduced, survival and reproduction is not random but related to phenotypical variation

Question 30

what is adaptive radiation?

Answer 30

a process in which organi9sims diversify rapidly from an ancestral species into many new forms

Question 31

can evolution by natural selection occur without heritability?

Answer 31

no

Question 32

can natural selection occur without heritability?

Answer 32

yes

Question 33

evolution in response to natural selection is inevitable if?

Answer 33

there is variation in a trait whcih is heritable and some variants survive and rproduce more thyan other,

Question 34

can specific feature of the environment generate natural selection on a trait?

Answer 34

yes

Question 35

what's a scientific theory?

Answer 35

an explanation about some aspect of the natural world, incorporates all available evidence, facts, natural laws and tested hypotheses and is subject to0 revision upon new evidence, has stood up to constant and repeated testing and still held true

Question 36

how did Darwin's world view shape his work?

Answer 36

attempted to provide a naturalistic explanation of human morality and intelligence and sexual selection, very androcentric and Eurocentric perspective (ex. white men were pinnacle of intelligence and attractiveness and evolution)