Studied by 0 peopleJames Hutton
principle of uniformitarianism
principle of uniformitarianism
that the geological forces have shaped the earth, not the hand of God
Nicolaus Steno
principle of superposition
principle of superposition
lower layers of rock are older than top layers due to other substances forming on top of them like lava
carolus linnaeus
came up with the scientific classification system
Georges Cuvier
principle of catastrophism
principle of catastrophism
sudden geographical catastrophes occur and cause mass extinctions
what did Cuvier contribute
the idea that species can go extinct and that the earth has changed
Thomas Malthus
essay on principles of population
war, disease, and famine
forces that work against an increasing population
Jean Baptiste Lamarck
inheritance of acquired traits
inheritance of acquired traits
an organism can change its body plan and can pass these acquired traits to their offspring
Charles Lyell
principles of geology
principles of geology
One must explain past events in processes they can observe now, such as volcanoes and erosion.
evolution
species change over time
macroevolution
process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient organisms
microevolution
heritable changes in characteristics in a population from one generation to the next
theory
a well tested explanation that unifies a broad range of disciplines and observations
why is evolution theory important
gives insight to medicine, agriculture, environmentalism, and to answer to the question “where do we come from?”
beliefs of the church during this time
1: the earth and all its forms was created 4,000-6,000 years ago
2: the forms of life have not changed since God created them
3: man is separate from and above the Animal Kingdom
Malthus’ essay on population led to two questions…
what causes individuals to live or die in different species?
what factor or factors improved the chances of whether certain individuals survive and reproduce?
what Darwin noticed after his trip
biological diversity, geological forces, discovered fossils, artificial selection
biological diversity
species vary globally, locally, and over time
globally (bio. diver.)
certain continents, islands, areas have different features to their respective species; similar habitats have shaped them to become similar; convergent evolution/analogous structures
locally
among individuals of a species there are differences, or “natural variation”
time
found fossils from species that look nothing like we have today; helped him realize that animals can go extinct
natural selection
nature can select which individuals of a species will survive in an environment and reproduce, passing on those traits that enabled it to survive
artificial selection
when people breed plants and animals according to the traits that they find desirable
Alfred Russel Wallace
came up with the same idea that Darwin had about natural selection and sent him a manuscript about it; created the Wallace line
Wallace line
deep sea trench between Asia and Australia, different organisms on either side of the line
south of the Wallace line
marsupial type mammals, Australian
north of the Wallace line
oriental type species, placental mammals
the descent of man
(Darwin) states that man came from an ape-like ancestor
adaptations
these inherited characteristics, can increase an organisms chance of survival
survival of the fittest
the ability of an individual to survive and reproduce in its specific environment
three big ideas in biogeography
1: closely related species (and sub-species) are slightly different when found in different environments
2: a species’ closest relative is (generally) found nearby and not a far away place with a similar habitat
3:species from different lineages can develop similarities when found in similar habitats
divergent evolution
similar structures because of common ancestry
convergent evolution
similar structure because of a similar environment
comparative embryology
looking at the similarities and differences during the development from zygote to fetus to birth
genes
control the development of the embryo
ernst haeckel
his pictures of early development tend to make embryos seem more similar than they should
comparative morphology/anatomy
similarities and differences of body plans in different species
more closely related means..
more similarity
vestigial structures
structures that no longer serve a purpose, or have a reduced function from the original function, in a species (tail bone, appendix, muscles that move our ears)
molecular biology
comparing nucleotide sequences for genes and amino acid sequences for proteins, based on mutation rates
the more similar the gene or protein between two species means…
the more recent the common ancestor
a more different sequence means…
a more distant ancestor
what was the first protein to be compared between species
cytochrome C
evidence that suggests that two chromosomes fused together (chromosome #2)
1: similar banding patterns
2:ghost centromere in humans
3: ghost telomeres in humans
Denton’s big mistake
compared all of the species at the point where they all shared a common ancestor, causing them to all have roughly the same amount of differences
The Modern Synthesis
the blending of our understanding of genetics and evolution
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