The Process of Evolution

Teacher
Nash

2021
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, the learners will be able to:

1. Describe how the present system of classification of organisms is based on

evolutionary relationships.
2. Explain how populations of organisms have changed and continue to change
over time showing patterns of descent with modification from common
ancestors to produce the organismal diversity observed today.

DISCOVER
DISCOVER
Part 1: How Evolution Works
Evolution – is the progressive
change of organisms as they
descend from ancestral species.
“change over time”
• The processes that have
transformed life on earth from
it’s earliest forms to the vast
diversity that characterizes it
today.
© SciTechDaily.
• A change in the genes!!!!!!!!
Old Theories of Evolution
Jean Baptiste Lamarck (early 1800’s) proposed:
“The inheritance of acquired characteristics”
“Use and Disuse”

• He proposed that by using or not using its body parts,

an individual tends to develop certain characteristics,
which it passes on to its offspring.

© Charles Thévenin.
© Quizlet
Charles Darwin
• Influenced by Charles Lyell who published
“Principles of Geology”.

• This publication led Darwin to realize that

natural forces gradually change Earth’s
surface and that the forces of the past are still
operating in modern times.
• Darwin set sail on the H.M.S. Beagle (1831-
1836) to survey the south seas (mainly South
America and the Galapagos Islands) to collect
plants and animals.

• On the Galapagos Islands, Darwin observed

species that lived no where else in the world.

• These observations led Darwin to write a

book.
Charles Darwin
• Wrote in 1859: “On the Origin of Species by
Means of Natural Selection”

Two main points:

1. Species were not created in their present form, but
evolved from ancestral species.
2. Proposed a mechanism for evolution:
NATURAL SELECTION
Individuals with favorable traits are more likely to leave
more offspring better suited for their environment.

Also known as “Differential Reproduction”

Artificial Selection
The selective breeding of domesticated plants and
animals by man.

© John Murray, Publisher.

Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection

© Bryan Ross/Natural Selection: A Mechanism of Change THEORY OF EVOLUTION..

Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection

1. Overproduction of Offspring:
Organisms produce more
offspring than can survive. Many
of the offspring do not survive to
reproductive age.

© Bryan Ross/Natural Selection: A Mechanism of Change THEORY OF EVOLUTION..

Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection
2. Inherited Variation: Individual
organisms within the population
differ. Most of this variation is
determined by genetic
inheritance (recombination during
meiosis: crossing over and
independent assortment), but
sometimes it is the result of
genetic mutations.

© Bryan Ross/Natural Selection: A Mechanism of Change THEORY OF EVOLUTION..

Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection

3. Struggle for Existence: Because so many offspring are produced, many will die
due to a lack of resources, predation, disease, or other unfavorable conditions.

© Bryan Ross/Natural Selection: A Mechanism of Change THEORY OF EVOLUTION..

Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection
4. Differential Reproduction: Individuals best suited to their environment survive and
reproduce most successfully. Therefore these organisms pass their advantageous
traits to their offspring (higher fitness) while offspring with disadvantageous traits die,
produce fewer offspring or never reach sexual maturity (low fitness).

© Bryan Ross/Natural Selection: A Mechanism of Change THEORY OF EVOLUTION..

Factors that Can Lead to Evolution
1. Gene Flow: The gain or loss of alleles from a
population by the movement of individuals
or gametes.

• Immigration or emigration.

© Berkeley.
Factors that Can Lead to Evolution
2. Genetic drift: Change in the gene pool of
a small population due to chance.

Two examples:
a. Bottleneck effect - Genetic drift
(reduction of alleles in a population)
resulting from a disaster that drastically
reduces population size e.g. Earthquake © Michael "Mike" L. Baird.

and Volcanic Eruption

b. Founder effect - Genetic drift resulting
from the colonization of a new location
by a small number of individuals.
Results in random change of the gene
pool e.g. Islands (first Darwin finch)

© http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/ps/access/JQBBFL_.jpg.
Factors that Can Lead to Evolution
3. Mutation: Change in an organism’s DNA that
creates a new allele.

4. Sexual Selection: Is a mode of natural

selection in which members of one biological
sex choose mates of the other sex to mate with
© Sagar Aryal.
(intersexual selection), and compete with
members of the same sex for access to
members of the opposite sex (intrasexual
selection).
• Sexual dimorphism: difference between 2
sexes (size, color, ornamentation, behavior)

© SVICLITTLE..
Factors that Can Lead to Evolution
4. Sexual Selection
a. Intrasexual – happens when there is
competition among males. The one who
wins the competition will mate with the
female. This mode of selection favors traits
enhancing the ability to intimidate, deter, or
defeat rivals in order to secure mates.

© SVICLITTLE..
Factors that Can Lead to Evolution
4. Sexual Selection
b. Intersexual – happens when males display
unique traits that attract the females.
According to Bateman’s principle, the sex that
invests the most in producing offspring
becomes the limiting resource over which the
other sex will compete; for example, in many
species females put in a greater portion of the
care for offspring, and will therefore be more
picky about a mate.

© SVICLITTLE..
Divergent Evolution
• When related species develop a very
different traits.
• Due to different environments or selective
pressure.
• Homologous structures – body parts that
develop from the same embryological
tissues, may have different functions.
Convergent Evolution
• When unrelated species develop similar
traits.
• Due to similar environments or selective
pressure.
• Analogous traits – similar traits independently
evolved in unrelated species.

© Berkeley.
Adaptive Radiation
• Emergence of numerous species, from a
common ancestor, introduced to new and
diverse environments.
• Extinction is an occurrence in nature referring
to the loss of an entire species. Mass
extinction occurred throughout Earth’s
history.

© J. Brown Studios.
Coevolution
• When two species influence each others
evolution
• Happens because each species exerts
selection on the other.

© ALEXANDER L.WILD.
Pace Evolution
• Asphyletic gradualism - is a model of
evolution which theorizes that most
speciation is slow, uniform and gradual.
• Punctuated equilibrium - species are
generally stable, changing little for millions of
years. This leisurely pace is "punctuated" by
a rapid burst of change that results in a new
species and that leaves few fossils behind.

© Pinterest.
 Part II: Classification Based on Evolutionary History
Systematics: classifying organisms and determining their evolutionary
relationships.

Taxonomy
(classification)
Systematics
Phylogenetics
(evolutionary history)
Tools used to determine evolutionary relationships
1. Fossils
2. Morphology (homologous structures)
3. Molecular evidence (DNA, amino acids)

Who is more closely related?

© Pearson Education, Inc.

Domains – A Recent Development
Carl Woese proposed three domains based the
rRNA differences prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
The prokaryotes were divided into two groups
Archaea and Bacteria.

• Organisms are grouped from species to

domain, the groupings are increasingly more
inclusive.
• The taxonomic groups from broad to narrow
are domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order,
family, genus, and species.
• A taxonomic unit at any level of hierarchy is
called a taxon.
• As it turns out, classifying organisms
according to their shared characteristics is
also indicative of their evolutionary history.

© Pearson Education, Inc.

Categories of Biological Classification
The modern system of classification includes the
following eight groups:
Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Classifying Organisms
Phylogeny

Phylogeny
Phylogeny
• Phylogeny is the study of the
evolutionary relationships
among a group of organisms.
• A phylogenetic tree is a
construct that represents a
branching “tree-like” structure
which illustrates the
evolutionary relationships of a
group of organisms.
Phylogenies are based on
• Morphology and the fossil record
• Embryology
• DNA, RNA, and protein similarities
Phylogenetic Trees
Phylogenies can be illustrated with
phylogenetic trees or cladograms.
Many biologist use these constructs
interchangeably.
• A cladogram is used to represent a
hypothesis about the evolutionary
history of a group of organisms.
• A phylogenetic tree represents the
“true” evolutionary history of the
organism. Quite often the length of
the phylogenetic lineage and
nodes correspond to the time of
divergent events.
Phylogenetic Trees
Sirenia Proboscidea

This phylogenetic tree represents the “true” evolutionary history of elephants. The
nodes and length of a phylogenetic lineage indicate the time of divergent events. Also
any organism not shown across the top is an extinct species.
Traditional Classification and Phylogenies
This phylogenetic tree is a
reflection of the Linnaean
classification of carnivores,
however with the advancements in
DNA and protein analysis, changes
have been made in the traditional
classification of organisms and
their phylogeny.
For example, birds are now
classified as true reptiles.
Taxa
Taxa - any group of species
designated by name (e.g.
genus, kingdom, order)

Every node should give rise

to two lineages. If more than
two linages are shown, it
indicates an unresolved
pattern of divergence or
polytomy.
Sister Taxa
Sister Taxa - are
groups or organisms
that share an
immediate common
ancestor.
Note the branches can
rotate and still
represent the same
phylogeny.
Rotating Branches

The two phylogenetic trees illustrate the same

evolutionary relationships. The vertical branches
have been rotated.
How to read a phylogenetic tree
How to read a phylogenetic tree

 the frog and salamander are more closely related to each other than to the lizard, snake, bird, and
mouse
 the lizard and snake are more closely related to each other than to the bird, mouse, frog, or
salamander
 the bird is more closely related to the lizard and the snake than it is to the mouse, frog, or
salamander
 the mouse is more closely related to the lizard, snake, and bird than it is to the frog or salamander
Clade

• A clade is any taxon that consists of all the

evolutionary descendants of a common ancestor
• Each different colored rectangle is a true clade.
Clade
Clade

• A true clade is a monophyletic group that contains a common ancestor and all of its
descendants.
• A paraphyletic group is one that has a common ancestor but does not contain all of
the descendants.
• A polyphyletic group does not have a unique common ancestor for all the descendants.
Clade

Examples of a paraphyletic and a

polyphyletic group.
Shared Ancestral and Shared Derived Characters

Shared ancestral character - If a characteristic is found in the

ancestor of a group, it is considered a shared ancestral character
because all of the organisms in the taxon or clade have that trait.
Shared derived character - Only some of the organisms have this
trait, and to those that do, it is called a shared derived character
because this trait derived at some point but does not include all of
the ancestors in the tree.
Constructing Cladogram

• The following rules apply to reconstructing a phylogeny:

1. Maximum likelihood states that when considering multiple
phylogenetic hypotheses, one should take into account the one
that reflects the most likely sequence of evolutionary events
given certain rules about how DNA changes over time.
2. Maximum parsimony states that when considering multiple
explanations for an observation, one should first investigate the
simplest explanation that is consistent with the facts.
“keep it simple”
Using parsimony
After studying some major vertebrate
lineages and limiting the data to
characters that are likely homologous,
you might end up with the following
evidence (note that there are many
vertebrate lineages and many
characters excluded from this example
for the sake of simplicity):

From studying fossils and lineages

closely related to the vertebrate clade,
we hypothesize that the ancestor of
vertebrates had none of these features:
Using parsimony

To build a phylogenetic tree from these

data, we must base our clades on shared
derived characters — not shared ancestral
characters. Since we have a good idea of
what the ancestral characters are, this is not
so hard. We might start out by examining
the egg character. We focus in on the group
of lineages that share the derived form of
this character, an amniotic egg (A), and
hypothesize that they form a clade (B):
Using parsimony

If we go through the whole table like this,

grouping clades according to shared
derived characters (C), we get the following
hypothesis (D):
Constructing Cladogram
• Examine the data given.
• Propose a cladogram depicting the
evolutionary history of the vertebrates.
• The lancelet is an outgroup which is a
group that is closely related to the taxa
being examined but is less closely
related as evidenced by all those
zeros!
• The taxa being examined is called the
ingroup.
Note: A 0 indicates that a character is
absent; a 1 indicates that a character is
present.
Constructing Cladogram
Constructing Cladogram
Concept Check!
Examine the Character Table. Propose a cladogram depicting the evolutionary history of the
following organisms.
Characters
Feathers Fur Lungs Gizzards Jaws
Organisms

Lamprey 0 0 0 0 0
Antelope 0 1 1 0 1
Sea Bass 0 0 0 0 0
Bald Eagle 1 0 1 1 1
Alligator 0 0 0 1 1
Thank you!

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