Catherine Jackson 2020

LAP 8: Evolution of Populations & The History of Life

18.1 Genes and Variation

 Natural selection works on a organisms Phenotype rather than its Genotype

 A gene pool consists of all the genes, including the alleles for each gene, that are present in a population
o A gene pool typically contains different alleles for each heritable trait
 The number of times that an allele occurs in a gene pool compared with the number of times other alleles for the
same gene occur is called the allele frequency of the population
o Ex. 40% of the population has the recessive allele, 60% has the dominate allele (vice versa)
 A mutation is any change in sequence of DNA
 Sexual reproduction affects populations genetic variation by the fact that chromosomes move independently
during meiosis and because of crossing-over
 Genes can be recombined during meiosis through crossing over and chromosomes moving independently during
meiosis
 Lateral gene transfer is the passing of genes from one organism to another organism that is not its offspring
o It can occur between organisms of the same and different species
 Lateral gene transfer can affect variation in any species that picks up the “new” genes
 The number of phenotypes produced for a given trait depends on how many genes control the traits
 Height in humans is an example of a polygenic trait
 each gene of a polygenic trait has two or more alleles
 a single polygenic trait often has many possible genotypes
 a symmetrical bell-shaped graph is typical or polygenic traits
 genetic variation is important to the process of evolution because genetic variation is what causes changes, which
is what evolution is based on
 mutations affect evolution because evolution requires changes in organisms and mutation provide it
 natural selection acts on individuals

18.2 Evolution as Genetic Change

 when an organism reproduces it passes copies of its genes to its offspring

 evolutionary fitness is an organism’s success in passing genes to the next generation
 evolutionary adaptation is any genetically controlled physiological, anatomical, or behavioral trait that increases
an individual’s trait that increases an individual’s ability to pass along its genes
 natural selection never acts directly on genes
o because it is an entire organism (not a single gene) that either survives and reproduces or dies without any
reproduction
o So, natural selection can only affect which individuals survive and reproduce and which don’t
 Evolution is any change over time in the relative frequencies of alleles in a population
 Natural selection on single gene traits can lead to changes in allele frequencies and thus to evolution
 Three ways that natural selection can affect the distributions of phenotypes:
o Directional selection –
 form of natural selection in which the entire curve moves
 occurs when individuals at one end of the distribution curve has higher fitness than individuals in
the middle of the other end of curve
 the range pf the phenotype sifts as some individuals fail to survive and reproduce while others
succeed
o Stabilizing selection –
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 Form of natural selection by which the center of the curve remains in its current position
 Occurs when individuals near the center of a distribution curve have higher fitness than
individuals at either end
o Disruptive selection –
 Form of natural selection in which a single curve split into two
 Occurs when individuals at the upper and lower eds of a distribution curve have higher fitness
than individuals near the middle
 Disruptive selection acts most strongly against individuals of an intermediate type
 If the pressure o natural selection is strong and long enough, it can cause he single curve to split
into two
 Selection creates two distinct phenotypes
 Limited resources are a lack of necessities
 Genetic drift is a random change in allele frequency
o In small populations, individuals that carry a particular allele may leave more descendants than other
individuals, just by chance
o Over time, a series of chance occurrences of this type can cause an allele to become common in a
population
 The founder effect is a change in allele frequencies as a result of the migration of a small subgroup of a
population
 The Hardy-Weinberg principle states that allele frequencies in a population will remain constant unless one or
more factors cause those frequencies to change
 Genetic equilibrium is the situation in which allele frequencies remain constant
 Five conditions required to maintain genetic equilibrium from generation to generation:
1. There must be random mating
2. The population must be very large
3. There can be no movement into or out of the population
4. No mutations
5. No natural selection
18.3 The Process of Speciation

 Speciation is the formation of new species

o Interbreed to produce fertile offspring
 Individuals in different species cannot have the same gene pool
 Gene pools of 2 populations must be separate to have a new species
o New species evolve, populations become reproductively isolated
 Reproductive isolation is the separation of a species or population so that they no longer interbreed and evolve
into 2 separate species
 Reproduction isolation happens in:
o Behavioral isolation –
 Occurs when 2 populations are capable of interbreeding but have differences in courtship rituals
or other reproductive strategies that involve behavior
 Ex. Mating calls; birds with bright colors get coochie
o Geographic isolation –
 Occurs when 2 populations are separated by geographic barriers
 Doesn’t guarantee a new species
 Ex. mountains; bodies of water
o Temporal isolation –
 When two or more species reproduce at different times
 Ex. Baby making in the spring VS. baby making in the winter
 Darwin observed the Galapagos Islands and proposed natural selection shaped the birds
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 Peter and Rosemary Grant identified and measured many birds from the Island
o Data indicated great variation of heritable traits
 Birds survive in the Galapagos island based on their beaks ability to get them food
 Speciation in the finches occurred by:
o founding of new population –
 Years ago, a few finches from South America mainland went to the Galapagos Islands
 Where they managed to survive and reproduce
o Geographic isolation –
 Some from species A crossed to another island, creating 2 populations that were isolated from
Each other
o Changes in the new population gene pool –
 Over time populations on islands become adapted to their local environments
 Over time, natural selection would cause a population to evolve forming a separate population
o Behavioral isolation –
 During courtship, finches closely inspect a potential partners beak, because finches prefer to mate
with birds that have the same size beak as they do
 Because the two populations on the islands have evolved different-sized beaks, they would
probably not mate with each other
o Reproductive Isolation –
 Finches choose their mates according to their beaks
 Differences in beak size, combined with mating behavior, could lead to reproductive isolation
o Ecological competition –
 As multiple species live together in the same place, they compete for food
 More specialized bird = less competition
 As species evolve, differences increase between them
 The Grants’ research shows effects of directional selection in nature
o Grants’ data shows competition and climate change affect natural selection
o As new fossils are found, they expand understanding of how species evolve
 “Scientific evidence supports the theory that living species descended with modification from common ancestors
that lived in the ancient past.”
16.2 The Process of Genetic Engineering

 Generic engineering – manipulating DNA for practical purposes

o Actually, physically changing the DNA for a better use
 Ex.
 Process:
1. Identify Gene –
a. Find a specific gene you want to put in anew organism (human insulin)
i. Protein  amino acids  mRNA  DNA
2. Cut out Gene–
a. Use restriction enzyme to cut out wanted gene
i. Come from bacteria
3. Recombine DNA –
a. Join DNA fragments from different organisms to form recombinant DNA
i. Recombinant DNA
1. DNA produce by putting together genetic material from multiple sources
4. Cloning Gene –
a. Produce more identical genes
5. Screen for Gene –
a. The cells are then screened to identify cells that have the recombinant DNA
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6. Collect protein OR transfer gene
a. Protein collected for use
i. Gene transfer to plants:
1. Use tumor causing bacteria
ii. Gene transfer to animals:
1. Use microinjection
 Drugs – used to manufacture human proteins
o Insulin for treating diabetes
o Erythropoietin for treating anemia
o Growth Hormone for treating growth disorders
 Vaccines – used to manufacture proteins for making vaccines
o Immune system recognizes proteins on the outside of pathogens called antigens
o Once your immune system recognizes a pathogen, your immune response is faster
o Vaccine teach your immune system to recognize a pathogen using harmless proteins
 Modify Organism – add beneficial traits
o Resistance to insects (Bt toxin in corn)
o Add nutrients (beta-carotene in rice)
o Increased growth (growth hormone in salmon)
 Gene therapy – fixing or replacing damaged genes
o Treatment of:
 Sickle-cell anemia
 Hemophilia
 Immunodeficiency
 Cancer
20.1 The Fossil Record

 Paleontologists – scientists who study fossils

 Fossil record
o Information about a past life, including structure of organisms, their diets, what ate them, their
environment, and the order in which they lived
o Provides evidence about the history of life on Earth
 Shows how different groups of organisms have changed over time
o Revealed that fossils occur in a particular order and shows that life on Earth has changed over time
 Extinction – when a species dies out and are no longer on earth
 Fossils most form in –
o Sedimentary rock, which is formed when exposure to rain, heat, wind, and cold breaks down existing
rock into small particles of sand, silt, and clay
 Paleontologists determine the age of fossils by
o Relative dating –
 The age of a Fossil is determined by comparing is place with that of fossils in other layers of rock
o Radioactive dating –
 The use of half-lives to determine the age of a sample
 A half-life is the length of time required for half the radioactive atoms in a sample to
decay
 Scientists calculate the ad of a sample based on the remaining radioactive isotopes it contains
 Index fossils are distinctive fossils used to compare the relative ages of fossils
o A species must be easily recognized and must have existed for a short period but have had a wide
geographic range
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 Researchers can determine when an organism lived by comparing the amounts of carbon-14 and carbon-12 found
in a fossil
o The more carbon-12 there is compared to carbon-14, the older it is
 What is? –
o Carbon-14
 Only useful for dating fossils younger than about 60,000 years, because it has a short half-life
o Carbon-12
 Isotopes with longer half-life’s and potassium-40 are used to date rocks that are billons of years old
 A period is a unit of time which eras are subdivided into
 The Geological Time Scale is used by paleontologists to represent evolutionary time
1. Precambrian time – after Precambrian time, the basic divisions of the geologic time scale are eras and
periods
2. Era – one of several subdivisions of the time between the Precambrian and the Present
a. Paleozoic
i. Lasted about 300 million years and included many vertebrates and invertebrates
1. animals with and without backbones
b. Mesozoic
i. Lasted about 180 billion years
1. dinosaurs and other kinds of organisms lived during this era
c. Cenozoic
i. Began about 65 million years ago and continues to the present
1. Mammals became common during this time
20.2 Evolutionary Patterns and Processes

 The fossil record documents that life has changed in a chronological sequence
o Also documents that more than 99% of all species that have ever lived are now extinct
 A clade is a group of organisms believed to have evolved from a common ancestor
 The fossil record provides evidence about the nature and rate of evolutionary change in species and larger clades
 Major transformations in anatomy, phylogeny, ecology, and behavior, which usually take place in larger clades,
are know was macroevolutionary patterns
o Dinosaurs, mammals, or flowering plants
 Cladograms illustrate hypotheses about how closely related organisms are by proposing relationships among
living species, extinct species, and common ancestors that they share
 Hypothesizing that an extinct species is related to a living species is not that same as claiming that the extinct
organism is a direct ancestor of that living species
 When environmental conditions change, natural selection and other evolutionary mechanisms enable some
species to evolve adaptions to the new conditions
 High species diversity within a clade serves as raw material for macroevolutionary change within a clade
 If the rate of speciation in a clade is equal to or greater than the rate of extinction, the clade will continue to exist
 If the rate of extinction in a clade is greater than the rate of speciation, then the clade will eventually become
extinct
 Background extinction is a kind of extinction caused by slow and steady process of natural selection
 In a large mass extinction, a large number of species become extinct over a relatively short time due to a dramatic
event
o Ex. Drought or flooding
 Fossil evidence supports the hypothesis that evolution can occur at different rates in different clades, and at
different times
 Biologists have noticed two different patterns for the rate of evolution:
o Gradualism –
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 A type of evolution that involves a slow, steady change in a particular line of descent
o Punctuated equilibrium –
 A type of evolution that involves stable periods interrupted by rapid changes
 Now and then, fossil record shows that equilibrium, or stasis, can be interrupted by brief periods of geologically
rapid change
 During evolutionary punctuations, existing species may change, and new species may appear rapidly
 Two types of events that can lead to rapid evolution are:
o Genetic drift
o Mass extinction
 Rapid evolution may occur after a small population becomes isolated from the main population
 A genetic bottleneck may occur when a disease or natural disaster greatly reduces the size of a population
 Mass extinctions opens ecological niches, creating new opportunities for many populations of surviving
organisms
 Groups of organisms that survive mass extinctions can evolve rapidly during the first several million years
afterwards
 At the end of the Permian Period, mass extinction known as The Great Dying occurred
 Two important patters of macroevolution are:
o Adaptive radiation –
 The process where a singe species evolves into several distinct species
 May occur when species migrate to new environments or when extinction eliminates competing
species
 Descendants of an ancestral species may diversify over time into related species adapted to
different niche
 Unrelated organisms in similar environments may evolve adaptions to similar niche
 Ex. When the Galapagos finches adapted to islands wot different kinds of available food
 Ex. Dinosaurs underwent adaptive radiations during the Mesozoic Era
o Convergent evolution –
 Appearance of similar characteristics in unrelated organisms
 Animals from different lineages may independently evolve structures or systems that perform
similar functions
 Flight, for example, has evolved in many different animal lineages
 Sometimes two or more species are so closely connected ecologically that they evolve together
 The process by which two species evolve in response to changes in each other over time is called:
o Coevolution –
 The relationships between coevolving organisms often becomes so specific that neither organism
can survive without the other
 Evolutionary change in one organism is usually followed by a change in the other
organism
 Over time, many plants have evolved bad-tasting or poisonous compounds that discourage insects
from eating them
 But once plants produce poisons, natural selection favors any insect that can deal with the
particular poison
o Ex. Coevolution
 Coevolution between flowers and pollinators can lead to unusual results
20.3 Earths Early History

 Earth is 4.6 billion years old

 How was Earth born? –
o pieces of cosmic debris were probably attracted to one another over the course of about 100 million years
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 What happened to Earth while it was young? –
o It was struck by one or more objects, possibly as large as the planet mars
o This collision produced enough heat to melt the entire globe
 What happened to Earth once it melted? –
o Its elements rearranged themselves according to density
 Which elements formed Earths core?
o The densest elements
 Radioactive decay generates enough heat to convert earth’s interior into molten rock
 Moderately dense elements floated upon earth’s surface
o They were cooked to form a solid crust
 Hydrogen and nitrogen formed the first atmosphere
o The least dense elements
 Earth’s atmosphere contained:
o Hydrogen cyanide
o Carbon dioxide
o Carbon monoxide
o Nitrogen
o Hydrogen sulfide
o Water
 About 4 billion years ago
o Earth cooled enough to allow the first solid rocks to form on its surface
 About 3.8 billion years ago:
o It cooled enough for water to remain liquid
 About 200-300 million years of cooling:
o Cells similar to modern bacteria started to form and become common
 Miller and Urey’s experiments:
o They suggest how mixtures of the organic compounds necessary for life could have arisen from simpler
compounds present on a primitive earth
o They produced amino acids which are needed to make proteins by passing sparks through a mixture of
hydrogen methane ammonia and water
 Hypothesized evolution of RNA and DNA:
1. Abiotic “stew of inorganic matter
2. Simple organic molecules
3. RNA nucleotides
4. RNA functions
5. YAY
 Oxygen drove some life forms to extinction while other life forms evolved new more efficient metabolic
pathways used oxygen for respiration
 Endosymbiotic Theory
o Theory that Eukaryotic cells formed from a symbiosis among several different prokaryotic organisms
 Symbiotic
o Interdependent
 Prokaryotes reproduce asexually
 Asexual reproduction restricts genetic variation and mutations in DNA
 Sexual reproduction shuffles genes in each generation
 What is the result of increasing the number of gene populations
o Sexual reproduction increases the probability that favorable combinations will be produced
 What do favorable gene combinations do
o They greatly increase the chances of evolutionary change in a species due to natural selection
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OBJECTIVES:
1. define evolution in terms of genetics using the terms gene pool and allele frequency
a. Evolution is any change in the relative frequency of alleles in the gene pool of a population over time.

2. list and describe the 3 sources of genetic variation including mutations, genetic recombination and
lateral gene transfer
a. Mutation
i. The original source of genetic variation
ii. A permanent alteration to a DNA sequence
iii. New mutations occur when there is an error during DNA replication
b. Genetic Recombination
i. Gene shuffling or recombining results in different combinations of genes and alleles through
independent assortment and crossing over
c. Lateral gene transfer
i. The passing of genes from one organism to another organism that is not its offspring
ii. It increases variation when a species picks up new genes from different species

3. list and describe the 3 types of natural selection on polygenic traits, including direction, stabilizing, and
disruptive selection
a. Stabilizing Selection
i. Occurs when individuals at the extremes of the range of characteristic are selected against, this
means that the “average” individuals are selected
1. Ex: brown mice are selected for; white and black mice are selected against. White and
black mice are more likely to be eaten by predators, over time the population will have
mostly brown mice
b. Directional Selection
i. Occurs wen individuals of one extreme of the range of characteristics are selected for. Usually
occurs when the environment is changing
1. Ex: Insecticide use will select for individuals that are resistant. Originally there were
probably only a few resistant individuals; after several generations, the population will
contain mostly resistant individuals
c. Disruptive Selection
i. Occurs when both extremes of range of characteristic is selected for. The intermediate is selected
against
1. Ex: Insects that live on plants with dark green or light green leaves. Medium green
insects will be noticed and eaten by predators

4. define genetic drift, and describe the two major types, genetic bottlenecks and the founder effect

a. Allele frequencies in population change as a result of random events or chance

i. Genetic Bottleneck is when a large generation greatly reduces to a smaller population, which
eventually reproduces and increases in size once again; there is less genetic diversity
1. Think two bottles stacked on top of each other, with the top of one of the bottles facing
the other one
ii. Founder Effect is when small groups of individuals leave a population and colonizes a new
habitat and the allele frequencies of the new population are different from the parent population
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5. define species and explain how speciation occurs using all 3 mechanisms for reproductive isolation,
including behavioral, geographic and temporal
a. Reproductive isolation is the separation of species or populations so that they cannot interbreed and
produce fertile offspring; evolve into two separate species
i. behavioral isolation
1. occurs if two populations that were once able to interbreed evolve differences In
courtship rituals or other behaviors
a. birds us songs that attract mates
ii. geographical isolation occurs when two populations are separated by geographic barriers such as
rivers, mountains, or other bodies of water
1. island isolation
2. may separate certain organisms but not others
iii. temporal isolation occurs when two or more species reproduce at different times
1. Ex. Hibernation, different blooming times

6. define recombinant DNA, and list its uses

a. Combining DNA from 2 different organisms, or different locations on the same genome
i. human insulin
ii. human growth hormone
iii. vaccines

7. discuss the fossil record, and explain the difference between relative and radioactive dating
a. Remains of organisms and the rock layers in which they ae found
i. Relative dating
1. Fossils are dated in relative order in which rock layers were deposited
ii. Radioactive dating
1. Measures the amounts of a radioactive substance and its decay

8. describe how at least two physical forces, and two biological forces have affected the history of life on
earth
a. Physical forces
i. Volcanoes
ii. Ocean level changes
b. Biological forces
i. Photosynthesis producing oxygen for respiration
ii. The forming of an ozone layer

9. describe why mass extinctions may occur and explain the main theory for the extinction of dinosaurs
a. Because of climate changes, volcanoes, or asteroid impacts
i. The samples revealed that the asteroid crash caused a mile-high tsunami, wildfires, and the
release of billions of tons of sulfur, which blotted out the sun and led the planet to cool. While
many dinosaurs died near the impact site, the creatures likely went extinct overall because of the
resulting temperature changes
10. list and describe the 2 evolutionary rates, gradualism and punctuated equilibrium
a. gradualism is gradual changes, theories that most speciation is slow, uniform and gradual
b. punctuated equilibrium is pattern evolution in which long stable periods are interrupted by brief periods
of more rapid change

11. define macroevolution, and explain the two main patterns of macroevolution: adaptive radiation and
convergent evolution, citing examples
a. Macroevolution is major evolutionary change, larger evolutionary changes of allele frequencies within a
species or population
i. Adaptive radiation is the relatively fast evolution of many species from a single common
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ancestor; it generally occurs when an organism enters a new area and different traits affect its
survival
1. Ex. The development of mammals after the extinction of dinosaurs
ii. Convergent evolution is when different organisms independently evolve similar traits
1. Ex. Sharks and dolphins look relatively similar despite being entirely unrelated

12. describe the Miller-Urey experiment, and discuss its contribution to our understanding of the evolution
of life on earth
a. The Miller-Urey experiment was a chemical experiment that simulated the conditions thought at the time
(1952) to be present on the early Earth and tested the chemical origin of life under those experiments
i. Their hypothesis about the composition of early atmospheres were incorrect, more recent
experiments using current ideas about the early atmosphere have validated their conclusion;
organic compounds could have been produced on early earth

13. explain the endosymbiotic theory, and list the evidence that supports it
a. proposes that organelles in eukaryotic cells were formed when different types of cells joined in a kind of
merger
i. Aerobic bacteria is inside an anerobic bacteria
ii. Both mitochondria and chloroplasts have some of their own DNA
iii. They are the same size as many prokaryote cells
iv. They contain smaller ribosomes to make proteins than the rest of the eukaryotic cell
v. They have a double membrane

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Genetic Drift: Kahoot –

1. Rapid random changes in gene pool frequencies occurring in a small population is...
a. Genetic drift
2. Genetic drift occurs independently of mutation and recombination
a. True
3. In which of the societies would genetic drift be the least likely to cause rapid evolution?
a. Japan today
4. When a population becomes isolated from other populations, this is known as...
a. The Found Effect
5. After the migration from Africa, the Indian subcontinent was the first settling point for humans
a. Founder Effect
6. Genetic Bottlenecks is when major environmental changes cause death to most members
a. True
7. A plague wipes out people with a specific blood type
a. Natural Selection
8. Cheetahs nearly became extinct, but recovery efforts managed to save them
a. Bottleneck effect

Speciation: Kahoot –
1. A river separates a population of rabbits. They form new species; this is an example of
a. Allopatric Speciation
2. Fruit flies begin eating different fruits. Eventually, apple eaters cannot breed with others
a. Sympatric Speciation
3. Peppered moths in the country tend to be light, peppered moths in the city tend to be dark
a. Disruptive selection
4. In humans, babies that ae neither too big nor too small are favored
a. Stabilizing selection
5. White and black rabbits can hide better than grey rabbits in an environment
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a. Disruptive selection
6. Giraffes with the longest necks are more fit for a particular environment
a. Directional selection
7. An environment favors the biggest members of a species
a. Directional selection
8. Very light or very dark colored oysters are likely to be eaten by predators
a. Stabilizing Selection
9. Moths in the city tend to be dark colored
a. Directional selection
10. Rabbits with medium sized ears live longest in an environment
a. Stabilizing selection

Patterns of Evolution: Kahoot –

1. These varying plants in Hawaii come from one common ancestor (tarweed); this is an example of
a. Divergent evolution
2. Humans have carefully bred carrier pigeons to have fancy appearances
a. Artificial selection
3. Thee primates have one common ancestor and became many different species
a. Divergent evolution
4. Explain the flying squirrel & sugar glider from two different groups and separate continents
a. Convergent evolution
5. Corn has changed over time because humans selected for desirable kernel traits
a. Artificial selection
6. A squid beak and parrot beak both evolved separately and have the same function
a. Convergent evolution
7. Marsupial evolved from one common ancestor and now have many different niches
a. Adaptive radiation

History of Life: Kahoot –

1. Miller and Urey designed an experiment that
a. Recreated conditions on early earth
2. What chemical units were produced during the Miller Urey experiments
a. Amino Acids
3. In the beginning of Earths History, there was no oxygen
a. True
4. The very first cells were probably
a. Anaerobic prokaryotes
5. Some of these early cells, the photoautotrophs, gave off what as waste
a. Oxygen
6. Earths early life forms probably lived
a. In oceans
7. Bubbles made of large organic molecules that have some characteristics of living organisms
a. Microspheres
8. The first genetic coding system was probably
a. RNA
9. What does “endosymbiosis” mean?
a. Life within life
10. The endosymbiotic theory explains
a. The origin of eukaryotes
11. Evidence that mitochondria were once an independent organism include all EXCEPT
a. They are the powerhouse of the cell
12. How old is the Earth currently believed to b?
a. 4.6 Billion Years Old
13. Early humans overlapped with the dinosaurs
a. False
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14. Mammals and dinosaurs overlapped
a. True