Lecture 1

Understanding Natural Selection and Genetics

• Natural selection acts on variations of phenotype, which includes observable traits such as morphological structures, neural properties, and behaviors.
• Phenotypes are produced by an organism's genotype in combination with environmental and activity-dependent mechanisms.
• Genotype refers to the total collection of genes within an individual, and genes are the heritable part of the natural selection equation.
• Sources of genetic variation include Mendelian variation, chromosome mutation, and gene mutation.
• Adaptation refers to a phenotype arising from genetic variation that increases the probability of an individual producing offspring.
• Analogy and homology are concepts used to explain similarity and resemblance based on function and common ancestry, respectively.
• The behavior of an animal is influenced by internal and external events, experience, genetic makeup, and adaptive value, and it has evolved over time.
• Specialized navigational skills are observed in various species, such as insects, fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals, which use different methods of navigation.
• The Saharan Desert Ant (Cataglyphis fortis) is an example of an organism with highly sophisticated navigational skills, including the ability to measure distance using optic flow and time-lapse integration.
• The relationship between hippocampal and telencephalic volumes influences navigational abilities in different species.
• Brain weight and its proportion to body weight, as well as the concept of allometry and encephalization quotient, are used to understand the importance of brain size in different species.
• The study of natural selection and genetics involves understanding how behaviors and traits have evolved over time, the role of genetic variation, and the influence of environmental factors on phenotype.