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Instructor Notes

Make sure to read CH 1 and CH 21. Be familiar with the following terms/concepts/people:

Adaptation

Adaptive radiation

Alfred Russell Wallace

Allopatric

Allopolyploidy

Analogous

Archaea

Artificial selection

Atoms

Autopolyploidy

Biological community

Biological species concept

Biology

Biosphere

Cells

Character displacement

Charles Darwin

Charles Lyell

Control

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Darwin's finches

Deductive reasoning

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

Disruptive selection

Ecosystem

Ecotypes

Emergent properties

Ernst Mayr

Evolution

Eubacteria

Eukarya

Experimental treatment

Genetic drift

Gradualism

Hawaiian Drosophila

Homologous

Hypothesis

Inductive reasoning

Jean Baptiste de Lamarck

Key innovation

Lake Victoria cichlids

Macromolecules

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Mass extinctions

Molecules

Natural selection

Organelles

Organisms

Organs

Organ systems

Polyploidy

Pheromone

Phylogenetic tree

Population

Postzyogtic isolating mechanism

Prezygotic isolating mechanism

Punctuated equilibrium

Reductionism

Reinforcement

Reproductive isolating mechanism

Species

Stasis

Subspecies

Sympatric

Theory

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Theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics

Thomas Malthus

Tissues

Variable

Biology is the science of life, the study of ourselves and everything that is alive around us. Living things
have a specific organization presented in the chapter from smallest (atoms) to largest (the biosphere).

Living organisms have cellular organization; are ordered; respond to stimuli; grow, develop, and
reproduce; take in energy to perform many kinds of work; and they have regulatory mechanisms that
coordinate functions and maintain constant internal conditions (homeostasis). A sound knowledge of
biology is necessary to make informed decisions regarding our individual and collective futures on this
planet, and indeed, on the future of the earth itself.

Darwin’s voyage around South America is one of the best examples of the process of scientific
discovery. The picture below illustrates descent with modification, showing the adaptive radiation of
finches on the Galápagos Islands

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It explains how inductive reasoning leads to the formulation of hypotheses that are then tested by
observation and experimentation. With continued collection of supporting data, some hypotheses
prove strong enough to warrant their acceptance as theory.

Darwin based his concept of evolution upon years of his own observations as well as those of his
contemporaries. The writings of others, particularly Lyell and Malthus, strongly influenced him.
Malthus argued that populations increase geometrically (e.g, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc.) while food
production can increase only linearly (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Thus ,  potential outweighs the ability to obtain
resources results in famine, disease and war within human populations.

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Publication of On the Origin of Species was greatly delayed, in part because of its revolutionary nature.
A similar essay by Wallace, sent to Darwin for approval, stimulated Darwin to publicly present and
finally publish his ideas. A wealth of information gathered in the past century provides the impetus for
scientists to accept evolution as a valid theory.

Four core themes unite biology as a science:

(1) living things all exhibit cellular organization,

(2) living things all exhibit a mechanism for heredity (DNA),

(3) living things exhibit adaptations to produce unique features as a result of evolution, and

(4) living things conserve key features during evolution.

The term “species” is difficult to define and how a species becomes a new species is even more
complex. The concept of a species must account for the distinctiveness of all the species that occur
within a single location, yet connect populations of the same species that exist in geographically
separated areas. Mayr’s Biological Species Concept defines species in terms of reproductive isolation
and is more applicable to animals than to plants. One substantial problem with the Biological Species
Concept involves the formation of hybrids. If biological species are indeed reproductively isolated by
definition hybrids should be rare – they are not. Therefore, species distinctions may be additionally
maintained by natural selection and countered by gene flow. As yet, there seems to be no universal
explanation that represents the diversity of all living organisms, adding to the dynamic nature of
evolutionary biology. The term sympatric refers to different species living in the same areas but
maintain their identity as separate species because of their habitat utilization and behavior.

Species identity is retained by either prezygotic or postzygotic mechanisms. The former prevents the
formation of the zygote and includes geographical, ecological, behavioral, temporal, prevention of
gamete fusion, and mechanical isolation. Postzygotic mechanisms may prevent proper development of
zygotes to adults or, if adults form, they may be sterile. Reproductive isolation may indirectly be
caused by selection or it may occur due to a completely random event. The figure below shows
examples of prezygotic and postzygotic mechanisms.
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Partial reproductive isolation may allow for the formation of hybrids between two closely related
species. If the hybrid is at a disadvantage compared to either parent, reinforcement will occur as
selection favors alleles in the parent populations that prevent future hybrid formation. Adaptation and
speciation are often related since with adaptation species develop differences that lead to
reproductive isolation. Change in just a few genes may be sufficient to result in speciation. In many
plants polyploidy is often involved in the formation of new species, whereas this is seldom the case
with animal species. Clusters of related species provide ample data supporting rapid evolution and
speciation in isolated areas. Among the best known examples are Darwin’s finches, Hawaiian
Drosophila, Lake Victoria chichlids, and New Zealand alpine buttercups. Until recently, the diversity of
eukaryotes increased steadily over billions of years. The greatest spurt occurred during the Cambrian
explosion, followed by five great extinction events.

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The activities of humans may produce a sixth great extinction. At current rates, 25% of all species may
be lost within the next 50 years! The controversy between gradualism and punctuated equilibrium
continues, but it is safe to say that the evolution of different groups occurs at different rates. Large
populations are often in stasis for long periods, small isolated populations usually experience rapid
evolution. The future of evolution is not just confined to other species, humans are also subject to the
pressures of natural selection. Certainly improvements in medicine, medical treatments, diet, and new
ideas on the vast frontier of genetics offer ample opportunity for future generations to witness natural
selection within the human population.

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