Chapter 17: Evolutionary Theory

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Questions and Answers

In what year did Charles Darwin embark on his voyage on the HMS Beagle?

  • 1851
  • 1801
  • 1821
  • 1831 (correct)

Which scientist proposed that natural laws are constant through time (uniformitarianism)?

  • Charles Lyell (correct)
  • Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
  • Charles Darwin
  • James Hutton

Which example was given for global variation?

  • Finches in Galápagos with different beaks
  • Lions in Africa and tigers in Asia
  • Ostriches in Africa and rheas in South America (correct)
  • Glyptodonts and armadillos

Who stated that the geological processes are connected to Earth's geological features?

<p>James Hutton (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT one of the three types of diversity mentioned in the notes?

<p>Geographical variation (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What happens when there is variation in fitness in the struggle for existence?

<p>Natural selection (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What principle explains that all species descend from common ancestors and are diverse because of adaptation?

<p>Principle of Common Descent (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which type of structure is inherited from a common ancestor but has lost much of its original size and function?

<p>Vestigial structures (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What provides evidence that modern organisms descended from extinct ancestors?

<p>Fossils (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which field of study looks at where organisms and their ancestors live now and where they lived in the past?

<p>Biogeography (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the estimated age of the Earth according to the content?

<p>4.5 billion years (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What did Jean-Baptiste Lamarck incorrectly believe about how organisms evolve?

<p>Organisms change by using or not using certain body parts. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

According to Thomas Malthus, what would happen if the population grew unchecked?

<p>Resources would become depleted. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Who had evidence to support their beliefs about evolution?

<p>Charles Darwin (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for a heritable characteristic that helps an organism thrive in its environment?

<p>Adaptation (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How is 'fitness' defined in the context of natural selection?

<p>How well an organism can survive and reproduce in its environment. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does population genetics support?

<p>Darwin's theory (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is allele frequency?

<p>The percentage of a specific allele among all alleles for a given gene in a population (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the three ways genetic variation can occur?

<p>Lateral gene transfer, mutation, and genetic changes in sexual reproduction (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How many genetic combinations are possible in humans due to sexual reproduction?

<p>8.4 million (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does natural selection on single gene traits affect populations?

<p>It causes changes in allele frequencies, which in turn changes phenotype frequencies. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the effect of nonrandom mating in a population?

<p>It causes nonequilibrium due to sexual selection. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is true about small populations in terms of evolution?

<p>Evolution occurs easier. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What causes the gene equilibrium to offset in natural selection?

<p>When different genotypes have different fitness levels. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which form of reproductive isolation occurs when populations develop different habitats?

<p>Behavioral isolation (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How do new genes evolve?

<p>Through duplication and modification of genes (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the molecular clock use to estimate the age of species?

<p>Mutation rates in DNA (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which type of selection occurs when individuals at one end of the curve have higher fitness than all others?

<p>Directional selection (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What results in individuals with a certain allele randomly having more offspring than others?

<p>Genetic drift (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which effect describes a change in allele frequency due to a dramatic reduction in population size?

<p>Bottleneck effect (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How do allele frequencies change in the founder effect?

<p>Due to migration of a population subgroup (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What condition occurs when a population is not evolving, and allele frequencies remain the same?

<p>Genetic equilibrium (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which principle states that allele frequencies should remain constant unless some factor causes them to change?

<p>Hardy-Weinberg principle (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

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Study Notes

A Voyage of Discovery

  • Charles Darwin formulated evolutionary theory to explain the diversity of life on earth
  • Born on Feb 12, 1809, Darwin traveled around the world on the HMS Beagle in 1831
  • Influenced by other scientists: Hutton, Lyell, and Malthus

Types of Diversity

  • Global variation: ostriches in Africa, rheas in S America
  • Local variation: finches in Galapagos, similar but different beaks
  • Fossil variation: Glypthodonts, armadillos

Natural Selection

  • Occurs in the struggle for existence when there is variation in fitness
  • Principle of Common Descent: all species descend from common ancestors and are diverse due to natural selection and adaptations

Evidence of Evolution

  • Biogeography: where organisms and ancestors live now and where they lived
  • Patterns in species: fossils and living organisms, and geology
  • Closely related organisms have different common ancestors
  • Distantly related organisms have similar but uncommon adaptations
  • Earth is estimated to be 4.5 billion years old

Fossils

  • Show how modern organisms came from extinct ancestors
  • Homologous Structures: similar among different species and adapting to different things
  • Vestigial Structures: ancestor-inherited but lost size and function
  • Analogous Structures: similar function, different structures
  • Evidence of a common ancestor

Embryological Development

  • Similar genes in all cells, using DNA, RNA
  • Natural Selection in the richest (most varied) environments

17.3 Darwin's Theory

  • Alfred Russell Wallace believed in natural selection, but Darwin had evidence
  • Struggle for Existence: offspring number greater than carrying capacity, they compete for resources
  • Adaptation: a heritable characteristic that helps an organism thrive
  • Survival of the Fittest

Genes and Variation

  • Population genetics supports Darwin's theory
  • Gene pool: genes in a population
  • Allele frequency: percentage of alleles for 1 gene present in a gene pool
  • Evolution contains all changes in allele frequency
  • Three ways of genetic mutation: lateral gene transfer, mutation, and genetic changing in sex reproduction

Evolution as Genetic Change

  • Single gene natural selection can change allele frequencies, then changing phenotype frequencies
  • Polygenic traits: many genotypes and even more phenotypes

Changes in Allele Frequency

  • Polygenic natural selection can change fitness of phenotypes in:
    • Directional selection
    • Stabilizing selection
    • Disruptive selection
  • Genetic drift: change in allele frequency due to random events
  • Bottleneck effect: change in allele frequency after a dramatic reduction in population size
  • Founder effect: allele frequencies change due to migration of a population subgroup
  • Genetic equilibrium: population is not evolving, allele frequencies remain the same

Hardy-Weinberg Principle

  • Allele frequencies should be constant unless some factor causes a change
  • Nonrandom factors: mating, small population, gene flow, mutations, and natural selection

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