Lecture 1

Is mutation random in nature

yes

Is natural selection random or directional

directional

gene flow

is random or directional

genetic drift

also random

Factors necessary for natural selection to work

1. Variation in a population

2. Genes must be heritable

3. Differential reproduction

macro and micro evolution

Difficult to get the whole evo scale of 4 billion years

Typological species concept

describes them as immutable, has to have an archetype of the species

Morphological species concept

takes evolutionary history into account (most practical)

Biological species concept

• Based of reproduction and who can reproduce with each other

• The one that is discussed the most (bias towards animals)

Phylogenetic species concept

Individual species that can form a clade

Ecological species concept

• Two species cannot occupy the same ecological niche

allopatric speciation

groups from an ancestral population evolve into separate species due to a period of geographical separation

In sympatric speciation

groups from the same ancestral population evolve into separate species without any geographical separation