Name: RAMOS, ROSANNA I.

September 15, 2020

BS BIOLOGY III

Teacher: ROSEMARIE CECILIA R. YURONG, PhD.

BIO 3101L

CRITIQUE PAPER ON EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION

Evolution is what makes us survive the living world, we can be able to adapt to the
environment and acquire traits and characteristics that would keep us alive by continuing to
make changes, these modification are supported by compelling evolutionary evidence that is
very important for understanding the evolutionary history of life on Earth, which also provides us
with comprehensive information. Charles Darwin’s idea open a new path for the scientists to
explore more on origin of the species in which was supported by scientific research throughout
the years in line with the different field of science.

The theory of Darwin says it happened over tens of millions of years, but no one was
around to really observe, even if we see a lot of evidence, no one knows if it happened for sure.
However, we now have far more tools to back up evolution through time of exploring things
beyond what was understood. The anatomy of the primitive bird Sapeornis chaoyangensis by
Zhou & Zhang (2003) exhibits a combination of derived and primitive features, including a short,
robust non-strut-like coracoid and a fibula reaching the distal end of the tarsal joint as in
Archaeopteryx, a pygostyle, reduced manual digits, and a well-fused carpometacarpus that can
be seen in more advanced birds. Also providing further evidence of diet diversification of
organisms is the preservation of gastroliths in this species which can also be found in reptiles,
seals, and toothed whales. This suggest that fossils provide concrete evidence that preceding
organisms are not the same as those found today. There are still gaps in the fossil record,
however, because many traces of life forms may have been destroyed by geological activity
leaving a small number of species to be observed (Jordan, 2015). Strict geographical isolation
certainly contributes to speciation in lots of cases (Coyne & Orr, 2004). A study by de Leon et.
Al (2010) compared genetic differences (allelic variation) of G. fortis on Santa Cruz Island, with
among such populations are morphological differences and geographical separation between
populations. The results show that the beak-size morphs of G. fortis on Santa Cruz Island
represent a case of divergence with gene flow being maintained or driven by ecological
differences (Abzhanov, 2010). This provide evidence that in the molecular level speciation can
occur despite gene flow between populations. The union of population genetic theory with
mechanistic understanding of processes of development allows for more complete
understanding. In the past, molecular phenomena were easily accommodated by elaborating
orthodox evolutionary theory, and it seems that the same holds today, and yet empirical
evidence is empirical evidence is needed to evaluate enthusiastic speculation (Futuyma,2017).
Over the years, scientists have discovered strong evidences to support evolutionary
theory, but this is still far from knowing the root of our origin. Not only does evolution occur over
time scales of millions or tens of million of years, it can actually occur and we see it happening
all the time on scales within the human observational capacity, in just a matter of months or
years. As long as there are organisms to be observed and there are challenges to the survival
of species, there would always be changes that will occur, in this case scientist will continue to
conduct research that will provide substantial information regarding this matter.
Name: RAMOS, ROSANNA I. September 15, 2020
BS BIOLOGY III

Teacher: ROSEMARIE CECILIA R. YURONG, PhD.

BIO 3101L

References:
Abzhanov, A. (2010). Darwin’s Galapagos finches in modern biology. Philosophical
Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 365(1543), 1001–
1007. doi:10.1098/rstb.2009.0321 
Futuyma, D. J. (2017). Evolutionary biology today and the call for an extended synthesis.
Interface Focus, 7(5), 20160145. doi:10.1098/rsfs.2016.0145 
J. A. Coyne and H. A. Orr. 2004. Speciation. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA. 545 pp.
Jordan, M. A. (2015, January 21). Gaps in the fossil record.
HeadStuff. https://www.headstuff.org/topical/science/gaps-fossil-record-2/
Zhou, Z., & Zhang, F. (2003). Anatomy of the primitive bird Sapeornis chaoyangensis from
the early Cretaceous of Liaoning, China. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 40(5),
731-747. https://doi.org/10.1139/e03-011