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Evolution Discussion Questions
Evolution Discussion Questions
that the adaptations that species evolved were a result of environmental pressures
favoring these positive adaptations and eliminating negative adaptations—natural
selection—and that changes in the environment could change what phenotypic
traits were favored and selected for. Therefore, there could not be a perfect
organism because the environment could always change and an organism with
previously favorable phenotypes could be eliminated from the population.
7. How would Darwin’s explanation of the evolution of the giraffe’s long neck differ from
Lamarck’s explanation?
Lamarck would explain the giraffe’s neck to be an acquired trait; giraffes born
with short or normal necks stretched and used their necks to reach higher up
vegetation to feed on. This continuous stretching of their necks throughout their
lives resulted in these giraffes acquiring the trait of having longer necks. The
offspring of these giraffes would be born with slightly longer necks than their
parents originally had, and would also use and stretch their necks to acquire
longer necks, passing on traits for longer necks to their offspring. However,
Darwin would explain the evolution of a giraffe’s long neck using his theory of
natural selection by saying that the environmental pressure of few food resources
would select for giraffes with longer necks able to reach vegetation in the trees.
This variation of longer necks would be existent within the population, and
giraffes with longer necks would have more access to food, thus being able to
survive to reproductive age and pass on their genes for longer necks to their
offspring, who would also have longer necks. As food became more scarce,
giraffes with shorter necks would not be able to access food in the taller trees and
would die off, unable to pass their genes for shorter necks on to the next
generation. Therefore, the phenotype of longer necks would be more prevalent in
the next generation than the phenotype of shorter necks. If this environmental
pressure persisted, over a long period of time, all the giraffes would inherit the
gene for longer necks and would express this gene.
8. Looking at the phylogenic tree of fish evolution (page 3 in Evolution notes packet),
explain how the organisms relate to one another by answering the following questions:
(these questions should be answered briefly in a word, a phrase, or a few sentences).
a. How do the jawless fishes relate to the Coelacanths?
Jawless fishes are the ancestor of the Coelacanths from the Ordovician era.
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Galapagos Islands, the South American mainland, Australia, and other areas
around the world. Use the birds known as Darwin’s Finches as one example. In
this specific example, you should use the terms adaptive radiation, divergent
evolution, and reproductive isolation. In addition to the finches, describe one
other example of his observations on biogeography. (Don’t use marsupials in
Australia).
Biogeography demonstrates how many species of the world descended
from common ancestors in other geographical locations. For example,
Darwin’s Finches originated from a common ancestor on the South
American mainland, and somehow migrated to the different Galapagos
Islands. Through adaptive radiation, the finches filled the different niches
of the Galapagos Islands—some living in the trees, others living on the
ground. These different niches and environments encouraged divergent
evolution in the then separated finch populations; finches in the trees
eating insects had more use for thin beaks, and so natural selection favored
thin beaks for finches in the trees while finches on the ground eating nuts
were favored for thicker beaks.
attract more mates, and dominate territory would be able to survive and
pass on their genes to the next generation.
10. Using the four important points Darwin used to explain his theory of evolution (on page 2
of the notes), give an example of how the process of natural selection would act on the
evolution of a population of organisms. You can use a real example, or a made-up one.
All four points should relate to the same organism.
Spiders lay many eggs at one time. This is increases the chances evolutionary
success; the more offspring are produced at one time, the more likely that some
will survive long enough to be able to reproduce and pass down their genes to the
next generation—more offspring are produced than survive. Variations arise in
sexual recombination and random mutations and are existent within the
population before natural section can act upon them. These genetic variations can
be expressed as phenotypic adaptations such as the mimicry of harmless
organisms—for example, ant-mimicry in spiders that deceives prey into regarding
the spider as harmless so the spider is able to capture prey more easily. These
variations will be passed down to offspring through gametes and the variations
that promote the survival and reproduction of organisms will be selected for in a
population. Because ant-mimicry allows spiders to capture prey more easily, in
times of food scarcity, these spiders will be well fed and will survive better than
spiders that did not develop this type of mimicry, or spiders that do not have
accurate mimicry. Therefore, the spiders with the best ant-mimicry will be able to
reproduce and pass this adaptation to the next generation, while spiders that did
not have adequate mimicry or no mimicry will be eliminated from the population
because they could not capture prey as well and died without reproducing.
11. In your own words, what is differential reproduction? This should be 1-2 sentences.
Differential reproduction is the idea that an organism that expresses phenotypes
best suited to its environment—allowing the organism to survive and reproduce—
will be more likely to pass these traits to their offspring and therefore have
reproductively successful offspring as well.
12. Many people misinterpret the phrase “survival of the fittest.” What makes an organism
“fit” in an evolutionary sense?
In an evolutionary sense, an organism is evolutionarily fit if it survives long
enough to reproduce, and produces viable offspring in the next generation who
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The prokaryotes from 3.5 billion years ago were well adapted to their
environment, and as a result have not changed much and are still a thriving
population of organisms, evolutionarily successful. However, at one point, many
open niches were available approximately 3.5 billion years ago, and some
prokaryotes developed mutations and were able to fill these niches and survive,
eventually evolving into eukaryotic organisms with a nucleus, which must have
provided an advantage that would promote the natural selection of these
eukaryotic organisms. As a result, these mutated prokaryotes—now eukaryotes—
would eventually evolve into multicellular, complex organisms such as humans,
while the other, original line of prokaryotes, well adapted to their environment,
would remain about the same as they were 3.5 billion years ago.
17. Some opponents of evolution have claimed: “I just can’t believe we came from a
chimpanzee!” What is their misconception about evolution?
Although humans and chimpanzees are closely related, this is due to the fact that
humans and chimpanzees evolved from a common ancestor; humans did not
evolve from chimpanzees. These opponents of evolution may view evolution in a
very broad, inaccurate sense that is not represented by phylogenetic trees—seeing
evolution as linear instead of branched.
18. Explain the most common way a single species can give rise to two or more different
species (be sure to use the words population(s) and reproductive isolation in your
answer).
Allopatric speciation is speciation that occurs because of populations that undergo
geographic isolation. This stops gene flow between the two populations—any
mutations that will develop in population A will stay within the organisms in
population A and likewise for population B—there is no exchange of genetic
material between the two populations. In addition to this, the two populations will
also be exposed to different selective pressures in the environment, which favor
different phenotypes within each population, and therefore select for different
phenotypes that are inherited by future generations. Over a very long period of
time, the two populations may become so genetically different from each other
that they are no longer able to interbreed and produce fertile offspring. This is
known as reproductive isolation, which defines a species—two individuals are
only members of the same species if they can interbreed and produce fertile
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19. Distinguish between convergent and divergent evolution using marsupial and placental
mammals. You must include the terms homologous and analogous structures.
Divergent evolution is the evolution of different species from a common ancestor,
shown by the homologous features that the descendants share with one another,
although these homologous structures may be used for different purposes for each
species. For example, the paws of a groundhog are homologous to the paws of a
mouse—both the groundhog and the mouse evolved from a common mammalian
ancestor that had a paw used for movement on land, so the groundhog and the
mouse both have paws. This trait was inherited from a common ancestor although
it is now somewhat different between the two species due to isolation of the two
populations and differences over time leading to reproductive isolation and
speciation. However, convergent evolution is the evolution of similar structures or
species not because of a common ancestor but due to similar selective pressures
on multiple species. The evolution of marsupial and placental mammals is an
example of this because they did not share a recent common ancestor; similar
species with analogous structures evolved on separate continents without a
common ancestor. For example, the skin flaps of the flying squirrel and the flying
phalanger are analogous structures because they were a result of similar selective
pressures to escape predators, not a homologous structure inherited from a
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common ancestor. These structures serve a similar purpose but were not inherited
from a common ancestor.
20. How does comparative embryology support Darwin’s theory of evolution?
Comparative embryology supports Darwin’s theory of evolution by showing that
all organisms come from a common ancestor. All organisms share some or many
stages of embryonic development, implying common descent from an ancestor
with similar embryonic development. For example, structures akin to gill slits are
apparent in the embryology of most vertebrates because vertebrates evolved from
fish. In humans, these structures do not evolve into gills anymore, but become the
ears and jaw structures.
21. What does it mean to say that something is conserved in evolution? Why would
something be conserved in evolution? Give an example.
A process or feature that has been consistently selected for because of efficiency
would be conserved in evolution—it has been selected for so much that it has
become universal. For example, the use of the DNA genetic code is universal and
conserved in evolution—no other organism developed a more efficient genetic
code, and as a result, the prokaryote using DNA was selected for billions of years
ago, and all life afterwards used the inherited DNA genetic code. Similarly, the
processes of cellular respiration and photosynthesis have been preserved in
evolution because of the advantage they provide organisms to store energy in the
form of ATP and glucose.
22. Why does comparative biochemistry provide the best evidence for evolution? Explain
your answer by providing two specific examples of the type of analysis used in this field
of science.
Comparative biochemistry provides clear, quantitative evidence for evolution,
which is more valuable and works alongside qualitative evidence such as
observations of comparative anatomy. One method of comparative biochemistry
is the direct comparison of organisms’ genomes. Because mutations are the
ultimate cause of variation between organisms and thereby are the ultimate cause
of speciation, differences in the amino acid changes produced from the genetic
sequence indicate the relation between two species. The more closely related two
species are, the fewer the mutations that have occurred in the genetic sequence to
result in these two different species, and therefore the fewer the differences in the
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amino acid sequence produced by the genome. Other evidence that comparative
biochemistry offers for evolution is the existence of conserved biological
pathways such as cellular respiration and photosynthesis. However, comparative
biochemistry is limited in terms of timeframe because DNA is not always
available for older specimens.
23. Why is coevolution important when discussing evolutionary theory? Give one example
other than the one given in the notes packet that explains the concept of evolution.
Coevolution is important when discussing evolutionary theory because it is an
example of biotic factors in the environment influencing evolution because
coevolution is the interaction of two species exerting selective pressures on one
another. An example of coevolution is the evolution of brood parasites in avian
evolution. Brood parasites such as cuckoo birds have evolved with eggs that
mimic eggs in a host brood, with young that have characteristics that encourage
the host bird to feed the young cuckoo birds. In response to this mimicry and
parasitism, some host birds have developed heightened abilities to distinguish
between their eggs and cuckoo eggs, so they are able to destroy the cuckoo eggs
and therefore ensure that they will only feed and raise their young, not young
cuckoos.
24. Why wouldn’t mutation (changes) in body cells other than sperm and egg bring about
evolutionary change?
Mutations in body cells, or somatic cells, would not be passed on to offspring
through reproduction—only the genetic material in sperm and egg cells—
reproductive cells—would be passed on to the offspring of an organism.
Therefore, only mutations in the genes of a sperm or egg cell could possibly be
expressed in the phenotypes of the next generation of a population, and possibly
bring about evolutionary change. If mutations are not passed on to the next
generation—if they are not present in gametes—then they will have no bearing on
the evolution of the population or species.
25. Which is of greater significance in evolution, the individual or the population? Explain.
In evolution, a population is more important than an individual—populations can
evolve, not individuals. The various individuals of a population may possess traits
that better their chances of survival and through reproduction will pass these traits
to the next generation of a population. In this way, natural selection acts upon a
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population of organisms, selecting for organisms that will best survive and
reproduce and thereby continue the survival of the species.
26. (a) Does the theory of punctuated equilibrium exclude the process of natural selection?
Explain.
No, the theory of punctuated equilibrium is an addition to the process of natural
selection. Scientists who support punctuated equilibrium believe that this process
of evolution works alongside natural selection.
(b) Antievolutionists often point to punctuated equilibrium as evidence that the theory of
evolution as proposed by Darwin is under extreme scrutiny by the scientific community.
This of course makes it seem that Darwin’s theory of evolution is no longer valid. One of
the points they bring out is that the reason punctuated equilibrium is being used as an
alternative theory is because there is no evidence of transitional fossils. Is this true?
Briefly explain.
No, this is not true. Transitional fossils exist for many species and show gradual
evolution to support Darwin’s theory. However, the lack of transitional fossils in
some areas of the fossil record have given rise to the theory of punctuated
equilibrium—punctuated equilibrium attempts to explain these particular
absences of transitional fossils but does not claim that there is no evidence at all
for transitional fossils that support Darwin’s theory.
(c) How do proponents of punctuated equilibrium explain the gaps that do exist in the
fossil record?
Proponents of punctuated equilibrium have theorized that the gaps in the fossil
record are due to quick environmental changes resulting in rapid evolution.
Because of this burst of evolution taking place over a short period of time, there
is no fossil record for this period and there will likely not be any transitional
fossils to link fossils prior to the environmental change and fossils afterwards.
“This was not a new idea, but, crucially, Darwin refined it by developing the theory that
plants and animals gradually selected the physical peculiarities best adapted to their
environment.”
27. Based on what you know about evolutionary theory, fix the part of the above statement so
that it makes sense.
This was not a new idea, but, crucially, Darwin refined it by developing the
theory that selective pressures in the environment gradually selected the physical
traits and adaptations of plants and animals that allowed them to survive and
reproduce successfully in their environments.
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28. Does natural selection usually make individuals of the same species more similar or
dissimilar? Explain your answer. If the environment of this particular species changed,
would your answer change? Explain.
Natural selection usually makes individuals of the same species more similar
because the conditions of an environment place the same selective pressures on all
the individuals of a population. If water is only available in cacti in the desert, and
only birds with long beaks can access the water without being hurt by cactus
spines, then birds with shorter beaks will die off without reproducing, and the
next generation of birds will have longer beaks. More of the next generation will
have longer beaks than the previous generation because of natural selection and
this environmental pressure that favors long-beaked birds—in this way, natural
selection has made the population more similar.
If the environment changed, then the selective pressures would be different and
therefore favor different phenotypes. This might result in directional selection or
disruptive selection. Directional selection would result in the continued similarity
between individuals of a population—the only difference would be the favored
phenotype being selected for because it was better suited to the changed
environment; variation still exists within the population because of sexual
recombination and mutation to provide for a change in favored phenotype.
Disruptive selection is also a possibility because the changed environment may
favor extreme phenotypes and therefore the frequency of phenotypes in a
population will shift to extreme phenotypes. This would result in increasing
differences between individuals of a population.
Another situation in which the species would not tend to become more similar
through natural selection is the possibility of a quick environmental change,
which would open many niches and may result in adaptive radiation, or the
formation of many species. The population might separate into different niches
and thereby be exposed to different selective pressures that select for different
phenotypes, resulting in an increasingly dissimilar species and possibly
speciation.
Furthermore, the phenomenon of heterozygote superiority, in which both alleles
stay within the population because heterozygous individuals are more fir than
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In addition to this, some positive phenotypes that are selected for also come with
disadvantages, although these disadvantages are not so significant as to be
selected against. These compromises make it impossible for any phenotype to
perfectly serve an organism. For example, humans are flexible, which is favorable
because it allows for movement, but this flexibility also makes humans prone to
injury.
30. Does increasing complexity in organisms correspond to an increasing ability to adapt to
the environment? (are more complex organisms more adapted to the environment than
less complex organisms?) Briefly explain.
No, more complex organisms are not necessarily better adapted to the
environment than less complex organisms. For example, some bacteria have
barely changed from their prokaryotic ancestors from 3.5 billion years ago
because they were and are so well adapted to their environment. A more complex
organism simply indicates a different line of evolution, not necessarily better
adaptation to the environment. It is also possible that complex organisms are more
likely to be too fine-tuned for their specific environment than simpler organisms,
so they would not be able to quickly adapt to another environment and survive as
simpler organisms like bacteria might be able to.
31. Change the following sentence so that it makes sense: Natural selection causes variation
in a population. (First change the word “causes” so the sentence makes sense.)
Natural selection acts upon existing variation in a population—selecting for
phenotypic adaptations that allow organisms to better survive and reproduce in
their environment.
32. Several students were asked to define an adaptation, and they wrote: “Adaptations are
mutations that allow organisms to better survive and reproduce.” Fix this sentence so it
sounds more logical.
Mutations occur in the genomes of organisms, leading to phenotypic variation.
Adaptations are phenotypic variations that allow organisms to better survive
selective pressures and reproduce in their environment.
33. In light of the fact that vestigial structures are no longer functional in the organisms in
which they are found, why have they not disappeared completely over time?
Although vestigial structures are no longer functional in the organisms in which
they are found, these structures may be reduced forms of the structures their
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ancestors had, and these reduced structures may not inhibit the organism from
performing any functions or processes. For this reason, vestigial structures may
not have a negative impact, or any impact, on an organism and therefore will not
be selected against.
34. Discuss how an evolutionary biologist would explain how the evolution of extremely
complex structures or processes (irreducibly complex structures) could have evolved
without a predetermined plan, given that if any one part of the structure or process was
missing, the structure or process would not function.
Extremely complex structures or processes, throughout their evolutionary history,
may not have served the same purpose or function in an organism as they do
today. For example, ears may have begun as a group of sensory cells used to
detect vibrations or movement in the air instead of for hearing. These structures
would develop without the end goal of ears being able to hear, but the traits for
hearing in this manner may have provided advantages and would be slowly
selected for over an extensive period of time. Complex biochemical machines
arise not from completely individual parts, but from simpler biochemical
machines that are less complex, but formed from the same individual parts. These
simpler parts have other functions in the cell before joining/evolving together to
form a complex structure. For example, smaller groups of proteins that form
flagella in bacteria function separately in the cell as well, but when combined,
form the flagellal structure.
35. Some people wonder how complex, functional structures could have evolved if mutations
are random. Antievolutionists often use the argument that just as a tornado in a junkyard
could not cause the junk pieces of metal to randomly come together to form a 747 jet,
random mutations could not produce complex organisms. How would an evolutionary
scientist explain their misconception?
Mutations and the adaptations resulting from mutations are random, but the
influence of natural selection upon the existing phenotypic features of a
population is not random. Random mutations would occur in an organism’s
genome, resulting in different proteins produced from a particular gene and
therefore a different phenotype might be expressed in that organism. New
phenotypes might be favorable, unfavorable, or might be neutral in the current
environment of an organism. Natural selection would eliminate unfavorable
phenotypes and select for favorable phenotypes while also allowing non-harmful
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How would you clear up this student’s misconceptions? (Include something about how
diploidy contributes to the ability of a population to adapt to a changing environment.)
If this is a novel mutation—a mutation that changed one allele and was expressed
in the organism, therefore the mutated allele is dominant and 50% of the
individual’s offspring would inherit the dominant allele and the mutation. This
does not offer a positive outlook for the species; the chance that individuals can
find another organism to mate with is low. However, if the individual with the
mutation is homozygous, then the allele for the phenotype of resistance must be
recessive and may be present in other individuals of the population, masked by a
dominant allele. The allele for resistance had to be inherited from the individual’s
parents. Therefore, the probability for the individual to mate with another
organism that has this resistance allele to produce resistant offspring is greater
than the first scenario. Most likely neutral mutations carried by ancestors. This
shows how diploidy leads to variation—by carrying that mutation through
generations and preserving variation in the population that may be selected for (or
against) in the future when environmental pressures change.
38. What evidence exists for the statement that all organisms evolved from a common
prokaryotic ancestor that must have evolved in one location on the early earth, rather than
many different prokaryotic ancestors arising in many different locations?
Processes conserved in evolution like cellular respiration, photosynthesis, and the
universal DNA genetic code indicate that all life on earth evolved from a single
common prokaryotic ancestor. These systems were the most efficient and were
conserved in evolution and inherited by all life that descended from this common
ancestor.
39. Suggest two instances in which humans in modern society seem to overcome the forces
of natural selection (are modern humans actually outside the forces of natural selection?).
One instance in which humans in modern society overcome selective pressures is
the use of modern medicine in treating diseased or ill individuals that may
otherwise have been eliminated through natural selection. Another instance is the
use of agriculture in modern society; in first world countries, humans do not have
to worry about food or hunting, because food is available pre-packaged in
supermarkets. At least in these first world countries, the selective pressure of food
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scarcity is gone—nature can no longer select for phenotypes in humans that make
them better at hunting prey. (Instead, wealth or poverty may be a discerning factor
in whether an individual lives or dies, but wealth and poverty are human
inventions, not determined by phenotype and not acted upon by natural selection.)
40. In light of what you know about evolution and speciation, do you think that humans will
eventually evolve into two or more separate species, as did our ancestors the
australopithecines?
Yes, eventually humans will likely evolve into two or more separate species,
especially if we advance space travel technology and colonize other planets,
interacting with the biomes and organisms of other planets in the universe. This
would be a drastic form of geographical isolation and could lead to speciation.