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Scientific knowledge is:
1.) Empirical- based on observations of the world (often quantitative) 2.) Testable- potentially falsifiable, often through experimentation, repeatable (including by independent observers)
Examples of Empirical Knowledge
science and engineering
Examples of Non-Empirical Knowledge
ethics, morality, law, religion, & philosophy
Scientific Theory
well-established explanation of some part of the natural world that can incorporate FACTS, LAWS, INFERENCES, AND TESTED HYPOTHESIS
True or False: No amount of validation can change a multi-part theory into a law.
TRUE
Biological Definition of Evolution
change in gene/allele frequencies (1) within a population (2) from one generation to the next (3)
Gene
small section of DNA that codes for a protein
Alleles
variants of the same gene
Microevolution
studies genetic changes within a species in a short time frame (months, years)
Macroevolution
studies origin and extinction of a species in a long time frame (often millions of years)
What are the 2 levels of evolution?
Microevolution & Macroevolution
Claudius PTOLEMY
proposed the planetary hypothesis -the Earth is the center of the universe
James USSHER
-used the Bible to calculate the exact date of the beginning of the Earth -Sunday, October 23, 4004 BC
PLATO
-wrote "World of Ideals" & "Theory of Forms" -there is a pure counterpart of every material object -if species have an "ideal" form, how can they show directional change or one give rise to another?
ARISTOTLE
-classified things -"Scala Naturae" i.e. the Ladder of Nature of the Great Change of Being
Scala Naturae
organisms can be grouped on a linear scale from simple to complex (humans most complex)
True or False: The Scala Naturae doesn't still influence our thinking today.
False, i.e. lower primates and higher primates
Teleology
the use of ultimate purpose or design as a means of explaining natural phenomena (divine purpose)
Middle Ages Knowledge:
1.) The Earth is young and at the center of the universe. 2.) Fixity of species (no evolution, everything has an ideal form) 3.) Humans at the top of Scala Naturae. 4.) Organisms are successful because that's how they were designed.
Who were the first challengers of the medieval consensus of the natural world?
Copernicus and Galileo
COPERNICUS
-Earth not at the center -used hypothesis testing and empirical data
GALILEO Galilei
-identified craters on moon's surface -discovered 4 of Jupiter's moons -supported Copernicus' idea of heliocentric universe
Carolus LINNAEUS
founded modern taxonomy with Linnaeus Taxonomy
binominal classification
used common attributes to group organisms
shifted the idea of humans' place in nature
Richard OWEN
anti-evolutionist
homology
archetypes are divinely-ordained for living organisms
identified similarities in very different groups of organisms
Homology
the same organ in different animals under every variety of form and function
George Louis Leclerc, Comte de BUFFON
author of 44 vol. encyclopedia, Historie Naturelle
suggested that Earth is older than 6000 y.o., species change over time, and that there were anatomical similarities between humans and apes that indicated a possible common ancestry -proposed no mechanism of evolution
Jean Baptiste LAMARK
Philosophie Zoologique
evolutionist
proposed first coherent explanation of the mechanism of evolution (STRIVING AND AQUIRED CHARACTERISTICS) -stability of species is proportional to the stability of the environment
True or False: Lamark's mechanism of evolution was correct.
False
Georges CUVIER
critic of Lamark
anti-evolutionist
fossil guy
established extinction as a fact
Catastrophism
provided evidence that the Earth is old
Charles LYELL
didn't agree with catastrophism
geologist
uniformitarianism
Uniformitarianism
Geological processes are observable in the present and happened in the past
small changes -> big effects
proves Earth is old
Thomas MALTHUS
Essay on Principle of Population
Essay on Principle of Population
European pop. growth vs. food production
an unchecked pop. grows faster
disease and other factors keep pop. in check
Charles DARWIN
Origin of Species
correctly identified one mechanism of evolution, natural selection
Darwin's Observations
1.) Within any pop., no two individuals look alike. There's a lot of natural variation and some variation must be inherited. 2.) Huge ability for animals to reproduce, but populations seem stable. Therefore, mortality must be high. "Struggle for Existence" said being an animal is hard.
True or False: Darwin was the first evolutionist.
False
3 Points of Natural Selection:
1.) Ability of a pop. to expand is infinite, but the carrying capacity of the environment is finite. 2.) Individuals of a given species vary in morphology and behavior leading to different survival and reproduction tactics. 3.) Some variation is inherited from parents to offspring. Advantages are retained/ "selected for". Disadvantages disappear/ get "selected against"
True or False: Darwin's work supported the fixity of species, making it well-received by the scientific community.
False, Darwin waited a long time to publish the Origin of Species because it was controversial by not supporting the idea of the fixity of a species.
Alfred Russel WALLACE
-English Naturalist -INDEPENDENTLY CAME UP WITH NATURAL SELECTION -worked in Amazonia and Malay Archipelago -like Darwin, was also inspired by Malthus
True or False: Natural selection was an idea whose time had come.
True, Darwin and Wallace's discovery was a product of its' time, an obvious thought from years of previous ideas/research.
In order for natural selection to occur:
1.) the trait must be heritable 2.) there must be variation in the trait within the population 3.) there must be differential reproductive and survival success
True or False: Even when all three components of natural selection are present, evolution still might not occur.
False, if all three components of natural selection are present, then evolution is inevitable.
Fitness
RELATIVE measure of lifetime reproductive success
Natural selection _________ variation in a _____________ by removing less fit variants.
decreases; population
Blending inheritance
intermediate form of a characteristic (PROVEN WRONG BY MENDEL)
Gregor MENDEL
monk
worked out basics of genetics and inheritance
PEA PLANTS
pointed out problems with blending inheritance
masked variation
Mendel's Conclusions:
2 factors control each discrete trait; one inherited from each parent
some traits mask others (dominant vs. recessive)
traits are discrete
there is no blending inheritance, just seems to be present if you look at features controlled by multiple factors
Mendel's Contributions:
basic rules of heritability
Principles of Segregation and Independent Assortment
genotype vs. phenotype
NO blending inheritance; variation IS maintained in population from one generation to the next
True or False: Mendel discovered DNA.
False, Mendel didn't know about DNA at all.
DNA
big molecule in cells that contains genes
genes provide the "recipe" for producing different proteins
All living organisms are primarily composed of:
water, proteins, and things made by proteins.
Where does new variation come from?
Mutation
Mutation
the random process by which environmental factors or "errors" in cell duplication change an individual's genetic material/genome, adds new variation via definite changes in allele frequencies
Nucleotide Base A
adenine
Nucleotide Base G
guanine
Nucleotide Base C
cytosine
Nucleotide Base T
thymine
Nucleotide Base U
uracil
What nucleotide base in DNA is replaced by uracil in RNA?
thymine
DNA molecules are made up of ____________.
nucleotide bases
DNA is a _________ molecule; gets damanged over time.
delicate
True or False: The body has one main mechanism for repairing damage to DNA.
False, the body has multiple mechanisms for repairing damage.
Examples of mutagens from the environment that can cause mutation:
radiation
chemicals
viruses
True or False: Errors inevitably happen as genes are copied during mitosis and meiosis.
True, errors inevitably happen as genes are copied during mitosis and meiosis.
Is meiosis or mitosis more important for evolution?
Meiosis because it controls the reproductive cells that get inherited.
Why are there still individuals with lower fitness?
1.) no blending inheritance 2.) mutation 3.) environments change
Most mutations are ________.
neutral
True or False: Much of your genetic material has little or no apparent function.
True, much of your genetic material has little or no apparent function.
Some disadvantageous traits are selected _________.
against
Some advantageous traits, given the current state of the environment, are selected ____.
for
Natural selection occurs in ____________.
INDIVIDUALS
Mutation occurs in ___________.
INDIVIDUALS
Evolution occurs in ____________.
POPULATION
In order for evolution to occur the gene must be passed on. Therefore, the mutation must occur in your _______.
gametes
4 mechanisms of evolution:
1.) natural selection 2.) mutation 3.) gene flow 4.) genetic drift
Sexual selection
a "special case" of natural selection that results from the differential mating success of one sex, Darwin's peacock "Dissent of Man"
2 kinds of sexual selection:
intersexual selection and intrasexual selection
Intersexual selection
selection driven by members of one sex showing preferences for mates with specific characteristics
Intersexual selection favors:
evolution of traits that make the displaying sex more likely to be chosen by the choosy sex
Example of intersexual selection in primates:
flanges/cheek pads on male orangutans as secondary sex characteristics
Intrasexual selection
selection driven by members of one sex engaging in contest competition for access to individuals of the opposite sex
Intrasexual selection favors:
characteristics that make the competing sex more successful in contest competition in access to mates
Example of intrasexual selection in primates:
male gorilla size and baboon canines
Gene flow
change in allele frequencies within a population due to migration from interbreeding with individuals from another population, all happens within the same species
Genetic drift
the sum effect of random changes in allele frequencies within a population that aren't caused by mutation (RANDOM FALLING TREE)
Effects of genetic drift are most pronounced in:
small populations
Genetic drift is often modeled as a _______________ in allele frequency across generations.
"random walk"
Over time, random processes can have a ___________________ effect.
large, cumulative
Natural selection & other mechanisms of evolution PLUS laws of heritability (Mendel & others) PLUS understanding protein synthesis EQUALS...
modern synthesis
species
smallest fundamental unit in the Linnaean hierarchy, all individuals of a given specific type
biological species
a group of organisms that are (1) actually or potentially interbreeding and (2) are reproductively isolated from other groups (no gene flow allowed)
reproductive isolation
prevention of gene flow between populations by genetically determined differences between them
-AKA something that prevents mating or production of fertile offspring
What's an example of reproductive isolation?
mules
What's the problem with the biological definition of species?
Some very different groups CAN produce viable offspring i.e. Tigons and Guenons
ecological species concept:
species that are interrelated and share the same niche, emphasizing the role of natural selection in maintaining species boundaries, gene flow can occur but natural selection can act against hybrids
Baboons are __________ species but not _______________ species.
ecological; biological
ecological species
groups of interrelated organisms that share the same niche (gene flow allowed)
True or False: Niches are flexible.
True, niches are flexible.
3 modes of speciation:
1.) Allopatric speciation 2.) Parapatric speciation 3.) Sympatric speciation
Allopatric speciation
occurs when a population is divided by a type of physical barrier and then the separated population diverge over time.