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GENERAL BIOLOGY 2
2 nd Semester - Module 3
Descent with Modification and
Development of Evolutionary Thought
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What's In
Let us review what you have learned from the previous module by
answering the activity below.
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What's New
Perform the activity below to have an overview of our new lesson.
1. Dolphin
a. ________________________
b. ________________________
c. ________________________
Image source:
https://www.timvandevall.com/templates/dolphin-clipart/
2. Cheetah
a. ________________________
b. ________________________
c. ________________________
Image source: https://www.prntr.com/cheetah-clipart.html
3. Wolf
a. ________________________
b. ________________________
c. ________________________
Image source:
https://www.clipartkey.com/view/bmmbi_line-art-wildlife-
monochrome-photography-wolf-drawing-transparent/
4. Orangutan
a. ________________________
b. ________________________
c. ________________________
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What Is It
Speciation is the formation of a new species. It occurs when some
members of the population of a specific species get separated from the others
or when there are changes in their genetic makeup. When this happens, they
can no longer mate or interbreed, for they have evolved into new species over
time. There are three modes of speciation, namely (1) allopatric speciation, (2)
sympatric speciation, and (3) parapatric speciation.
Allopatric speciation
occurs when some members of
the population become
geographically separated from
the other members of the
population by distance or an
impassable barrier such as
mountain ranges or bodies of
water, while Sympatric
speciation occurs when
members of the population that
occupy the same habitat
differentiates into two or more
species. This is because some
members of the population Figur e 1. Difference between allopatric and sympatric
develop genetic changes, thus speciation Image source: Pearson Education Inc.
preventing them from
reproducing with the other members of the population. Fig. 1 shows the
difference between allopatric and sympatric speciation.
Parapatric speciation
occurs when members of
the population are
separated by an extreme
change in their habitat.
The members may
interbreed, but they
are likely to mate with
their geographic
neighbors. For instance,
in Figure 2, some plants
Figur e 2. Parapatric speciation of Ant hoxant hum odor atum
Image source: https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/side_0 of the grass species
_0/speciationmodes_04#
Anthoxanthum odoratum
live near mines where the soil is polluted with heavy metals. Some plants of
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this species live in non-polluted soil. Those individuals that inhabit the
polluted soils have developed tolerance to heavy metals. The two types of
plants live close enough to each other that they could still interbreed, but the
two types of plants have evolved different flowering times.
In geographic/ecological/habitat
isolation, species will not mate if they
are separated by a geographic barrier
such as mountains, rivers or oceans.
For example, the Kaibab squirrel and
Abert's squirrel belong to the same
species around 10,000 years ago. But
some of the members got isolated north
of the Grand Canyon and evolved
differences over time (Figure 3).
Figur e 3. Geographic isolation of Abert’s
squirrel species
Image source: Biology (Foundation Edition) - Pearson
Temporal/seasonal
isolation happens when two
species are found in the same
area, but are incapable of
mating due to different
breeding seasons. For instance,
Rana aurora breeds in the
months of January to March
while Rana boylii breeds during
late March to May (Figure 4).
Behavioral isolation
prevents one member of a
species from mating with a Figur e 4. Rana aur ora (left) and Rana boylii (right)
have different mating seasons
member of another species due Image source: http://arijevska-zora.blogspot.com/2018
to their different mating /09/51-elegant-temporal-isolation.html
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behaviors or mating rituals. For instance, one of the mating behaviors of birds
is through singing. Usually, the male bird sings a specific song, and the
female of its own species will recognize that song and respond to his calls. As
shown in Figure 5, Western meadowlark and Eastern meadowlark species
may look alike, but they will not mate with each other because they have
distinct songs.
Figur e 5. Western (left) & Eastern (right) Figur e 6. Snail species with misaligned
Meadowlark have different mating songs. genital openings preventing them to mate
Image source: https://www.biologyonline.com Image source: https://www.hamilton-
/articles/definition-of-species-different- local.k12.oh.us/downloads/12-6_speciation.pdf
approaches
Mechanical isolation occurs when members of different species will fail to
mate due to their incompatible sexual organs. For instance, snails of the same
species have genital openings that align during mating. The snail species in
Figure 6, however, will not mate because their genital openings do not align.
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isolating mechanisms include 1) hybrid inviability, 2) hybrid sterility or hybrid
infertility, and 3) hybrid breakdown.
Hybrid inviability occurs when the
embryo does develop. Still, the
hybrid individual becomes weak and
often experiences an early death. In
contrast, hybrid sterility or hybrid
infertility occurs when a hybrid
develops into a mature adult but is
unable to produce offspring. For
instance, the mule, which is an
Figur e 8. Mule is a product of a donkey and a offspring of a donkey and horse
horse
Image source: https://www.infyworld.com/mule-male-donkey-
(Figure 8), is an infertile organism.
female-horse/ Hybrid breakdown occurs when the
first generation of hybrids are healthy and fertile, but their offspring or the
second generation of hybrids are weak or sterile individuals.
Carolus Linnaeus
A Swedish naturalist developed the modern classification placing each
organism into a series of hierarchically arranged categories based on its
resemblance to other organisms. Initially, Linnaeus' believed that species are
fixed and unchanging as heavily influenced by his religious upbringing.
However, he began to see the changes of species through hybridization –
interbreeding of individuals from different species – as he studied and classified
plants. Later on, he admitted that the formation of new species is possible.
Thomas Malthus
Malthus was an English
economist that wrote a popular essay
called "On Population." In his essay,
he argued that humans being born
were faster than humans dying. The
amount of resources to provide for the
growing human population would not
be enough when human populations
continually rise past the "point of Figur e 10. Malthus’ Theory
Image source: http://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/news/new-
crisis" (Figure 10). When the human malthusianism
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populations increase or overcrowd, it results in conditions that would slow
down population growth. These conditions included war, starvation, and
disease.
Malthus' idea on human populations heavily influenced Charles
Darwin's thinking. During Darwin's travels in various locations in the world, he
observed that living organisms are also competing for resources for survival.
This phenomenon is called the "struggle for existence". This phenomenon is one
of the conditions for "natural selection" to happen. Natural selection is a
mechanism of evolution proposed by Darwin.
Georges Cuvier
Georges Cuvier was a French anatomist and paleontologist. In Cuvier's
time around 1800s, people could not accept the idea of the extinction of species
because they believed that God created all living things in the beginning. One
of Cuvier's interest of study during his time were fossils. Fossils are remains of
living organisms found beneath layers of rocks. Cuvier found elephant fossils
near Paris. The elephant fossils he discovered were different from existing
elephants inhabiting Africa, India, and Siberia. He inferred that those elephant
fossils were separate species that had vanished. The elephant fossils he
discovered were wooly mammoth species which are no longer existing today.
The evidence he found led him to conclude that Earth went through changes
over time that potentially wiped out or caused the extinction of some species,
leading him to develop the theory of catastrophism, which states that Earth was
shaped by sudden, short-lived, violent events or "catastrophes". These
catastrophes, like the Great Flood in the Bible, produced rock layers and
destroyed many species, fossilizing them in the process. Cuvier hypothesized
that species existing today survived those catastrophes.
James Hutton
James Hutton was a Scottish
geologist. His idea about how Earth
was shaped and transformed was
different from Cuvier's catastrophism.
Hutton developed the concept called
uniformitarianism which assumes
that Earth was shaped for a long
period of time through very slow
Figur e 11. Gradual changes of the Earth’s
landscape changes by continuous cycles of
Image source: https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary
/images/history/rockcycle2.gif
erosion, deposition of sediments, and
uplift of mountains (Figure 11). Such
geological changes would take millions of years; thus, he argued that Earth
was very old.
The changing Earth contributed to the enormous diversity of living
organisms. As the Earth is gradually changing, species adapt to their
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environment in order to survive. For instance, cacti species adapted to their
arid or dry environment by developing a thick skin to hold more water.
Charles Lyell
He supported the theory of James Hutton. Lyell traveled to find evidence
of the gradual changes of the Earth's surface that formed the modern
landscape. He found out that geological processes in the past worked like the
geological processes of today. Ancient volcanoes released lava, just as
volcanoes do now. Rivers in the past cut deep canyons, just as rivers do today.
Thus, he agreed that Earth was indeed very old and took a very long time to
form. With his findings, he published "The Principles of Geology".
Charles Darwin read Lyell's book during his trip aboard the H.M.S.
Beagle while collecting many plant and animal specimens and making
important observations during his travels. Darwin was greatly influenced by
Lyell. Darwin extended the idea of uniformitarianism to biology based on his
observations on living organisms. Just like a gradually changing Earth, species
also evolved gradually or become extinct gradually. Darwin observed that the
forces seen today in the biologic world such as reproduction of organisms,
inheritance of traits, and competition of resources gradually produced the
enormous diversity of life on Earth.
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Lamarck was one of the
early scientists to hypothesize the
concept of evolution. By saying that
all organisms change their behavior
or modify their bodies to better
survive in a changing environment.
For example, if a giraffe in Fig. 12
stretched its neck for leaves on Figur e 12. Lamarck’s “Inher it ance of acquir ed
trees, it will make its necks charact er ist ics”
Image source: https://jeanbaptistelamarcktheeevolutionist
longer. The stretching of the .weebly.com/background.html
giraffe's neck follows the "law of
use and disuse" by explaining that
body parts that are always used become more developed while organs that are
not used shrink or deteriorate. Lamarck also thought that acquired
characteristics or traits that change during the life of an organism could be
passed on to offspring leading to his idea of inheritance of acquired traits. For
the case of the giraffes, its offspring would inherit the long neck, and continued
stretching over several generations would make it longer still.
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Charles Darwin
He is the most notable
figure in developing the theory
of evolution. Specifically, he
proposed the "theory of
evolution by natural selection".
It took Darwin around two
decades to develop his theory
which was strongly founded on
his observations and pieces of
Figur e 13. Charles Darwin (left) and his book, “ On t he evidence he gathered from his
Or igin of Species” (right)
Image source: https://courses.botany.wisc.edu/botany_940 expedition around the world.
/09Origin/index.html
His reasoning was influenced
largely by Malthus, Lyell, and Lamarck. He publicly presented his idea when
said theory was published in his book "On the Origin of Species".
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4. Survival of the fittest
The term fitness refers to how well an organism can survive and reproduce
in its environment. Organisms with high fitness have traits or adaptations that
can survive and reproduce best in their environment. However, organisms with
low fitness have higher chances of dying and less chance to produce offspring.
For example, green grasshoppers have higher fitness than yellow grasshoppers
because the green grasshoppers have a body coloring that can blend well with
the grasses, which leaves the yellow grasshoppers to be easily seen by
predators. Thus, more green grasshoppers are able to survive and reproduce.
5. Natural Selection
Evolution through natural selection can only occur when there is a
struggle for existence, variation among members of the population, adaptation,
and survival of the fittest individuals. Organisms with traits that are best suited
to their environment survive and leave more offspring. Over time, the
population will evolve, having members that are better adapted to their
environment.
For example, in Figure 14, there is a struggle for existence for
grasshoppers because they lay many eggs. Some of these eggs will die while
some may hatch from their eggs but will live shortly due to competition of
resources and other factors. Those individuals that will survive will have varied
traits such as body coloring (green and yellow). The green grasshoppers will
camouflage well to the grasses, thus making them the fittest to survive, while
the yellow grasshoppers are more vulnerable to predators, which leaves the
more green grasshoppers to produce the next generation of individuals. Over
time, green grasshoppers will be more common compared to yellow
grasshoppers.
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Figure 14. Natural selection of grasshoppers
Image source: Biology (Foundation Edition) - Pearson Education (2010)
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What's More
Activity 3. Complete Me!
Directions: Complete the table below by providing the reproductive isolating
mechanism (1st column) and the reasons behind the reproductive isolation (2nd
column) based on the examples given.
5. "Liger" is a hybrid
offspring between a lion
and a tiger. They are
healthy and can produce
offspring, but future
generations become weak
or sterile.
Temporal isolation Different breeding 6.
times or flowering
times
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What I Have Learned
Activity 4. Evolutionary Though Timeline
Directions: Complete the table below to summarize the history of evolutionary
thought. Write only the concise key concepts involved in each box.
1800s-1900 (continuation)
Georges Cuvier on Extinction
What I Can Do
ACTIVITY 5. The Mode of Speciation
Directions: Based on the descriptions below, identify the mode of speciation.
Write your answers in the space provided before each number.
________________1. The Panama porkfish, Anisotremus taeniatus, found in the
Pacific Ocean, is morphologically similar to the porkfish,
Anisotremus virginiacus, found in the Caribbean Sea and
are separated by a land bridge between North and South
America called the Isthmus of Panama.
________________2. The Siberian lesser black-backed gull, lesser black-backed
gull, and herring gull are all found in the Arctic region. The
lesser black-backed gull interbreeds with the Siberian lesser
black-backed gull but not with the herring gull.
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________________3. The hemp nettle, Galeopsis tetrahit is a tetraploid found to
thrive in the same area as two other diploids species,
Galeopsis pubescens and Galeopsis speciosa.
Assessment
Direction: Write the letter of your choice in the space provided before the
number
___1. When some members of a population become a new species without
separation from the other members in their habitat, they underwent
________.
A. allopatric speciation
B. peripatric speciation
C. sympatric speciation
D. parapatric speciation
___2. What type of reproductive isolating mechanism is involved when plant
species have different flowering seasons?
A. gametic isolation
B. temporal isolation
C. mechanical isolation
D. geographical isolation
___6. What is the condition in the natural selection process where organisms
with traits best suited to their environment will survive and reproduce?
A. Survival of the fittest C. Variation and adaptation
B. Struggle for existence D. Descent with modification
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___7. Which of the following statements is NOT compatible with Darwin's
theory?
A. Natural selection eliminates unsuccessful variations.
B. Evolution occurs in individuals rather than in groups.
C. Evolution has altered and diversified ancestral species.
D. All organisms have arisen by descent with modification.
___9. In the mid-1900s, the Soviet geneticist Lysenko believed that his winter
wheat plants, exposed to ever-colder temperatures, would eventually give rise
to ever more cold-tolerant winter wheat. Lysenko's attempts in this regard were
most in agreement on which of the following scientist?
A. Cuvier
B. Hutton
C. Darwin
D. Lamarck
Additional Activities
ACTIVITY 6. Storytime!
Directions: In a sheet of bond paper (long size preferably), create a short comic
strip presenting a situation that follows one of the concepts listed below.
Choose only one concept for your output.
Allopatric speciation
Sympatric speciation
Parapatric speciation
Lamarck's inheritance of acquired characteristics
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Natural Selection
Scoring Rubric
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points
Content Concept is One (1) Two (2) More than
complete & concept is concepts are two Concepts
clearly evident. evidently evidently are evidently
irrelevant irrelevant irrelevant
Spelling and There are no There are 1-3 There are 4-5 There are
Grammar spelling, spelling, spelling, more than 5
punctuation or punctuation punctuation spelling,
grammar errors. or grammar or grammar punctuation
errors. errors. or grammar
errors.
Illustration Comic strip Comic strip Comic strip Comic strip
& Visual contains 6 or contains 6 contains 5 contains less
Effect more completed completed completed than 5
colored colored colored completed
drawings/panels drawings/ drawings/ colored
in a creative, panels. panels. drawings/
organized panels.
format.
TOTAL
16
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References
Printed Resources
Alexander, P., Bahret, M.J., Chaves, J., Courts, G., and Naomi Skolky D'Alessio. Biology: The Living World.
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1989.
Audesirk, T., Audesirk, G., and Byers, E. Biology: Life on Earth with Physiology (11th Ed). Hoboken, New
Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2017.
Commission on Higher Education (2016). General Biology 2, Teaching Guide for Senior High School. First
Edition. Commission on Higher Education
Miller, K., and Levine, J. Biology (Foundation Edition). New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2010.
Rea, M.A., and Dagamac, N.H. (2017). General Biology 2 Textbook. Rex Publishing House.
Online References
https://www.ck12.org/book/cbse_biology_book_class_xi/section/1.3/
https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/history_08
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/uniformitarianism/
https://www.thoughtco.com/about-carolus-linnaeus-1224834
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/02/5/l_025_01.html
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/02/4/l_024_01.html
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