CB1 Unit 5

Unit 5: The Evolution of Life
UNIT OVERVIEW AND INTRODUCTION

In this unit, you will learn about the nature of scientific inquiry, which is fundamental to your tertiary
studies, by studying the evolution of life. The topic is the theory of evolution, which is one of the most
important ideas in modern science. In your future studies, you will need to have effective strategies to
understand many concepts and theories in your discipline area and to provide evidence to support your
ideas. Exploring the way in which the theory of evolution has developed will be good practice for this.
You will also study the evidence for evolution as you will later use evidence-based reasoning in your own
discipline. Finally you will present one of the lines of evidence in a group presentation.
Key Learning Objectives

The purpose of this unit is to introduce the idea of science as a process of inquiry in order to provide a
background for Darwin’s formulation of the theory of evolution. Understanding the process of inquiry
that underlies all scientific research is also relevant to the research paper task.
The key learning objectives for this unit are to:
Understand multi-generic texts and identify rhetorical patterns;
Understand and use the genre of explanation;
Understand the process of inquiry as central to all scientific discourse;
Understand and explain the theory of evolution;
Understand the background and evidence behind a scientific theory;
Listen and note-take to recall details and factual information in scientific contexts
Tasks
In this unit you will:
Prepare an explanation of a phenomenon, technology, process or system in your discipline area

Work as a group to present a line of evidence for evolution
Academic English and Study Skills Bridging Course Book 1 133

UNIT 5: LESSON 1
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SCIENCE
Objectives
The aims of this lesson are to understand the process of inquiry as central to all academic discourse and
to understand the background of scientific theory.
Building Scientific Understandings

Discuss the following questions in small groups:
What is science?
How are scientific ideas developed?
What is a scientific theory?
Read the following explanation of science and discuss the answers given in the text to the questions
above.
The Nature of Science
Understanding how science works allows one to easily distinguish science from non-science. Thus, to
understand biological evolution, or any other science, it is essential to begin with the nature of science.
What is Science? Science is a particular way of understanding the natural world. It extends the intrinsic
curiosity with which we are born. It allows us to connect the past with the present.
1. What’s there?
The astronaut picking up rocks on the moon, the nuclear physicist bombarding atoms, the marine
biologist describing a newly discovered species, the paleontologist digging in promising strata, are all
seeking to find out, “What’s there?”
2. How does it work?
A geologist comparing the effects of time on moon rocks to the effects of time on earth rocks, the nuclear
physicist observing the behavior of particles, the marine biologist observing whales swimming, and the
paleontologist studying the locomotion of an extinct dinosaur, “How does it work?”
3. How did it come to be this way?
Each of these scientists tries to reconstruct the histories of their objects of study. Whether these objects
are rocks, elementary particles, marine organisms, or fossils, scientists are asking, “How did it come to
be this way?”
134 UWA Centre for English Language Teaching

Science Works in Specific Ways
The purpose of science is to learn about our universe. The joy of science emanates from the freedom to
explore and wonder. However, in order to maximize the probability that in the end we get things right,
science follows sensible guidelines. It is important to keep in mind certain fundamentals:
Science relies on evidence from the natural world and this evidence is examined and interpreted
through logic.
Creative flexibility is essential to scientific thinking, however science follows a process guided by
certain parameters.
Science is embedded within the culture of its times. What is science?
How are scientific ideas developed?
Scientific ideas are developed through reasoning What is a scientific theory?
Inferences are logical conclusions based on observable facts. Much of what we know from scientific
study is based on inferences from data, whether the object of study is a star or an atom. No person has
ever seen inside an atom, yet we know, by inference, what is there. Atoms have been disassembled and
their components determined. The history of life on Earth has likewise been inferred through multiple
lines of evidence.
Scientific claims are based on testing explanations against observations of the natural world and
rejecting the ones that fail the test
Scientific explanations are evaluated using evidence from the natural world. That evidence may come
from various sources: a controlled lab experiment, a study of anatomy, or recordings of radiation from
outerspace, to name just a few. Explanations that don’t fit the evidence are rejected or are modified and
tested again.
Scientific claims are subject to peer review and replication
Peer review is an integral part of genuine scientific enterprise and goes on continuously in all areas of
science. The process of peer review includes examination of other scientists’ data and logic. It attempts
to identify alternative explanations, and attempts to replicate observations and experiments.
The principle of parsimony
In the marketplace of ideas, the simplest explanation has

the advantage. This principle is referred to as parsimony.
For example, common ancestry is the parsimonious

explanation for the similarities between an octopus and its
kin.

Discuss the vocabulary in the following diagram with a partner, then read the explanations which
follow to check your understanding of the text.
Consider these observations:
A close look at snails, nautiloids, squids, octopi and cuttlefish reveals the basic similarity of the
body form of each (see above).
The shell of a nautilus and its extinct relatives, the ammonites, is very similar to the shell of a snail.
The tentacles of an octopus, when carefully examined, can be seen to be a modified snail’s foot.
The stomachs of all members of this group have the same arrangement of parts.
Another possible explanation is that these animals have independently acquired equivalent organs
through a remarkable series of coincidences, but the most likely explanation is that these animals
inherited similar organs through common ancestry. That is parsimony.
There is no such thing as “THE Scientific Method”
If you go to science fairs or read scientific journals, you may get the impression that science is nothing
more than “question-hypothesis-procedure-data- conclusions” (the ‘standard’ scientific process is
shown in the Inspiration ‘scientific method’ template following this article).
But this is seldom the way scientists actually do their work. Most scientific thinking, whether done while
jogging, in the shower, in a lab, or while excavating a fossil, involves continuous observations, questions,
multiple hypotheses, and more observations. It seldom “concludes” and never “proves.”
Theories are central to scientific thinking
Theories are overarching explanations that make sense of some aspect of nature, are based on evidence,
allow scientists to make valid predictions, and have been tested in many ways. Theories are supported,

modified, or replaced as new evidence appears. Theories give scientists frameworks within which to
work. Major theories of science, such as the cell theory, gravitational theory, evolutionary theory, and
particle theory, are all big ideas within which scientists test specific hypotheses.
The scientific definition of “theory” should not be confused with the way the term is commonly used to
mean a guess or a hunch. In science, a theory means much more and is far more well-founded. The
“Theory of Evolution” is an evidence- based, internally consistent, well-tested explanation of how the
history of life proceeded on Earth—not a hunch. Understanding the role of theory in science is essential
to scientists and vital to the informed citizen.
Adapted from Understanding Evolution website, University of California, 2006
Discuss the following questions in your group:
What do you understand by the principle of parsimony?
Why is there no such thing as The Scientific Method?
What is the difference between a theory and a hunch?

Scientific Revolutions
Scientific theories can have a great impact on society and it can sometimes take a long time before
they are accepted. One of the classic cases of a scientist whose ideas changed the world is
Copernicus. His idea was that the earth revolved around the sun rather than the reverse. Although
this idea is now accepted by lay people and astronomers alike, it came as a great shock to
medieval society, in which it was still widely believed that the celestial bodies revolved around
the Earth at the centre of God’s universe. Such was the strength of pre-existing ideas and theories
that Galileo, who later put forward the same idea was forced to retract his ideas in the face of
persecution by the church. Since then, Copernicus’s idea has had such an impact that it is often
referred to as the Copernican revolution. However, the theory that has arguably had the greatest
impact on modern society is Darwinian evolution.
No scientific revolution can match Darwin’s theory in degree of upset to our previous comforts
and certainties. In the only conceivable challenge, Copernicus and Galileo moved our cosmic
location from the centre of the universe to a small and peripheral body circling a central sun. But
this cosmic reorganisation only fractured our concept of real estate; Darwinian evolution, on the
other (and deeper) hand, revolutionized our view of our own meaning and essence (insofar as
science can address such questions at all): Who are we? How did we get here? How are we related
to other creatures, and in what manner?
Zimmer, 2001
Why were the ideas of Copernicus and Galileo revolutionary?
Why was Darwin’s theory even more revolutionary?
Are these ideas accepted in your culture? Do you accept them?
Read the texts in the following units about scientific revolutions, including the text about Darwin’s
revolutionary theory in Lesson 2. Make notes and discuss the questions that follow:

UNIT 5: LESSON 2
DARWIN’S REVOLUTIONARY THEORY
Objectives
In this lesson, you will practise identifying the genres in a text, while reading about Darwin’s formulation
of his evolutionary theory.
Understanding Multi-generic Texts

Academic texts often contain a number of genres, or rhetorical patterns combined together. Such texts
can be referred to as multi-generic, because they contain many genres. While there is often one
dominant or main rhetorical pattern in multi-generic texts, the other genres in the text are often
important to the meaning of the text and identifying them can help you to understand the content
better.
Below are some of the most common patterns of organisation:
Genres or rhetorical patterns
Narration Description
Explanation of Cause and effect
Explanation of Process (sequencing events or steps)
Comparison and contrast Advantage and disadvantage
Problem and solution

Skim the content and organisational signposts in the text below and decide on the main rhetorical
pattern.
Darwin’s Voyage of Discovery

Charles Darwin’s name is surely the most well-known name in the area of evolution. Darwin began
by studying medicine but soon found his great love, natural history, which was to dominate the
rest of his life. In 1831, he set off as ship’s naturalist on HMS Beagle on a five-year voyage, which
would take him around the world. This would prove to be perhaps the most important journey
ever made in the history of biology.
During his voyage, Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands, about 1,000 kilometres off the west coast
of Ecuador, which would prove to be very important for the later development of his theory. On
these islands, Darwin discovered 13 different species of finch, which were found only in the
Galapagos, although they were closely related to a common species found on the mainland of
South America. Although the finches were similar to each other, they differed in the size and shape
of their beaks. Darwin was greatly puzzled by the fact that each species of finch was only found on
a particular island. He also noticed that each species of finch seemed to be ideally suited to the
island on which it was found. For example, on islands where the main food source was hard nuts,
the finches had strong, thick beaks, while on the islands where the main food was insects, they
had small, narrow beaks ideally suited to catching them. It seemed apparent to Darwin that the
different species had evolved on the different islands to suit their environment but how they had
evolved was a mystery to him.
When his voyage was over, Darwin did not solve the problem immediately but began to devote his
time to studying plants and animals. Back in England, he became particularly interested in the
ways humans had caused animals to evolve. Darwin began to study the ways in which farmers and
other breeders carefully selected animals and plants for breeding, only choosing those specimens
that had the characteristics they wanted to increase. He noticed that only cows that gave the most
milk were allowed to have calves and only wheat that produced high yields was planted the next
year. Darwin believed that some kind of mechanism of selection must also operate in nature, but
he did not know what it was.
Then, in September 1838, Darwin was inspired by reading a book called ‘An Essay on the Principle
of Population’, by Thomas Malthus. In this book, which had been published in 1798, Malthus
argued that human populations inevitably grew too big for their supplies of food, resulting in
starvation, war and disease. When this happened, the strongest members of the society would
have the best chance of survival, while the weakest members would perish. What Darwin suddenly
realized was that plants and animals in nature also competed for food and that the characteristics
of some individuals must have given them a better chance of survival.
Darwin hypothesized that the evolution of species was caused by a mechanism of natural
selection, as his theory became called. In developing his theory, he began to think again about the
Galapagos finches. Darwin guessed that each species of finch, including the mainland species,
must have shared a common ancestor, which had found its way to the islands thousands of years

ago. On each of the islands, the finches must have competed against one another for food. In this
“struggle for existence”, the different characteristics of individual birds would have determined
whether or not they would have survived. Those with beak shapes that were suited to their
surroundings would have had the best chance of surviving long enough to breed and have
offspring. These offspring would have inherited the features of their parents, and these features
would have gradually become more common in the species. The features of other individuals,
which were not suited to the conditions, would have eventually disappeared, as these individuals
died out. Over many generations, the birds on each separate island would have begun to share
the same characteristics. Most of the birds on the islands with insects, for example, would have
had small sharp beaks. In this way, the populations of finches on particular islands must have
evolved into new species.
Darwin first put his ideas about evolution down on paper in 1842, four years after reading Malthus,
but published nothing because of his fears about the consequences of his ideas in a religious
society. Most people in England at the time believed that God had created nature and
evolutionary ideas were not popular. However, Darwin continued to devote all of his time to the
study of natural organisms. Most of his work was conducted in the laboratory, where he tested his
hypothesis that the characteristics of particular species were the result of adaptation to different
environmental conditions. Although he became increasingly confident of the truth of his ideas, he
did not dare to publish them.
Then in 1856, Darwin came across a paper by the naturalist Alfred Wallace, who had spent time in
Malaysia and Indonesia collecting animals, and who had also read the work of Malthus. When
Darwin read the paper, which also suggested that evolution took place through natural selection,
he concluded that his own ideas had been right and realized that it was time for him to make them
publicly known. In July 1858, Darwin and Wallace presented their ideas together to the Linnaean
Society, one of the most influential scientific societies of the time. A year later, in 1859, Darwin
published ‘The Origin of the Species’, which has become one of the most influential books of all
time.
University of California Museum of Palaeontology, 2006a.

Read the text more carefully and identify the other genres in the text. List the words or phrases that
helped you to identify each pattern in the table below:
Rhetorical Pattern Words and Phrases

Reading for Key Words and Main Ideas
You should be able to locate the main ideas more easily now that you have identified the patterns of
organisation of the text.
Read the text, make notes and discuss the following questions with a partner:
What were the main events that led to Darwin’s formulation of his theory?
What problem was Darwin interested in solving?
What was his explanation for this problem?
What comparisons did Darwin draw between processes and phenomena in nature and those that
can be observed in human society and history?

UNIT 5: LESSON 3
UNDERSTANDING EVOLUTION
Objectives
In this lesson, you will work with others to understand the theory of evolution. In your future studies,
you will need to understand many theories and discussion is one way to ensure that your understanding
is accurate.
Sharing Understanding
Read the following definitions of the four fundamental concepts in evolutionary theory and share your
understanding with your group.
Variation: All life forms vary genetically within a population. It is this genetic variation upon which
selection works.
Inheritance: Genetic traits are inherited from parents and are passed on to offspring.
Selection: Organisms with traits that are favorable to their survival get to live and pass on their genes
to the next generation.
Time: Evolution takes time. Evolution can happen in a few generations, but major change, such as
speciation, often takes long periods of time.
Read the following information. Each member of the group should focus on one of the fundamental
concepts above and try to find further explanation of the concepts in the text.

An Introduction to Evolution
The Definition:
Biological evolution, simply put, is descent with modification. This definition encompasses small-scale
evolution (changes in gene frequency in a population from one generation to the next) and large-scale
evolution (the descent of different species from a common ancestor over many generations). Evolution
helps us to understand the history of life.
The Explanation:
Biological evolution is not simply a

matter of change over time. Lots of
things change over time: trees lose
their leaves, mountain ranges rise
and erode, but they aren’t examples
of biological evolution because they
don’t involve descent through
genetic inheritance.
Leaves on trees change colour and Leaves on trees change colour Mountain ranges erode over
fall over several weeks. and fall over several weeks. millions of years.
Mountain ranges erode over millions

of years.

The central idea of biological
evolution is that all life on Earth
shares a common ancestor, just
as you and your cousins share a
common grandmother.
Through the process of descent

with modification, the common
ancestor of life on Earth gave rise
to the fantastic diversity that we
see documented in the fossil
record and around us today.
Evolution means that we’re all
distant cousins: humans and oak Over a large number of
trees, hummingbirds and whales. A genealogy illustrates change years, evolution produces
with inheritance over a small tremendous diversity in forms
A genealogy illustrates change with number of years. of life.
inheritance over a small number of
years.
Over a large number of years,

evolution produces tremendous
diversity in forms of life.
University of California, 2006
Mechanisms: The Processes of Evolution

Evolution is the process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient ancestors. Evolution
is responsible for both the remarkable similarities we see across all life and the amazing diversity of that
life—but exactly how does it work?
Fundamental to the process is genetic variation upon which selective forces can act in order for
evolution to occur. This section examines the mechanisms of evolution focusing on:
descent and the genetic differences that are heritable and passed on to the next generation;
mutation, migration (gene flow), genetic drift, and natural selection as mechanisms of change;
the importance of genetic variation;

the random nature of genetic drift and the effects of a reduction in genetic variation;
how variation, differential reproduction, and heredity result in evolution by natural selection; and
how different species can affect each other’s evolution through co-evolution.
Descent with Modification

We’ve defined evolution as descent with modification from a common ancestor, but exactly what has
been modified? Evolution only occurs when there is a change in gene frequency within a population over
time. These genetic differences are heritable and can be passed on to the next generation—which is
what really matters in evolution: long term change.

Compare these two examples of change in beetle populations. Which one is an example of evolution?
Beetles on a diet
Imagine a year or two of drought in which there are few plants that these
beetles can eat.
All the beetles have the same chances of survival and reproduction, but
because of food restrictions, the beetles in the population are a little smaller
than the preceding generation of beetles.
Beetles of a different colour
Most of the beetles in the population (say 90%) have the genes for bright green
coloration and a few of them (10%) have a gene that makes them more brown.
Some number of generations later, things have changed: brown beetles are
more common than they used to be and make up 70% of the population.
Which example illustrates descent with modification—a change in gene frequency over time?
The difference in weight in example 1 came about because of environmental influences—the low food
supply—not because of a change in the frequency of genes. Therefore, example 1 is not evolution.
Because the small body size in this population was not genetically determined, this generation of small-
bodied beetles will produce beetles that will grow to normal size if they have a normal food supply.
The changing color in example 2 is definitely evolution: these two generations of the same population
are genetically different. But how did it happen?

Mechanisms of Change
Each of these four processes is a basic mechanism of evolutionary change:
Mutation
A mutation could cause parents with genes for bright
green coloration to have offspring with a gene for
brown coloration. That would make the genes for
brown beetles more frequent in the population.
Migration
Some individuals from a population of brown beetles
might have joined a population of green beetles. That
would make the genes for brown beetles more frequent
in the green beetle population.
Genetic Drift
Imagine that in one generation, two brown beetles
happened to have four offspring survive to reproduce.
Several green beetles were killed when someone
stepped on them and had no offspring. The next
generation would have a few more brown beetles than
the previous generation—but just by chance. These
chance changes from generation to generation are
known as genetic drift.
Natural Selection
Imagine that green beetles are easier for birds to spot
(and hence, eat). Brown beetles are a little more likely
to survive to produce offspring. They pass their genes
for brown coloration on to their offspring. So in the next
generation, brown beetles are more common than in
the previous generation.
All of these mechanisms can cause changes in the frequencies of genes in populations, and so all
of them are mechanisms of evolutionary change. However, natural selection and genetic drift
cannot operate unless there is genetic variation—that is, unless some individuals are genetically
different from others. If the population of beetles were 100% green, selection and drift would not
have any effect because their genetic make-up could not change.
In your groups, take turns to explain the fundamental concept each member was allocated/or chose.
Group members should ask questions or ask for clarification of each topic as necessary.

UNIT 5: LESSON 4
EXPLAINING A PROCESS IN YOUR DISCIPLINE AREA
Objectives
You will prepare to give the following presentation, which will be useful practice for your future studies.
Using a diagram as a visual aid, give a short verbal explanation of a phenomenon, technology, process
or system in your discipline area. A phenomenon can be broadly defined as any natural or social
occurrence, a technology as any man-made tool, a process as a series of actions or operations, and a
system as a set of connected things, rules or practices that work together to form a whole. (Visual aid
required: 3-5 minutes)
Explaining a Natural Process

The following diagram shows the process of geographic separation, which is another factor in
evolution. Work with a partner to use your understanding of evolution to explain the process.
Now listen to an explanation of the process. As you listen, note down the key words and the language
of explanation.

Explaining a Technology
Read the following explanation of a horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) and look at the diagram.
Discuss how it works with a partner.
As implied by the name, the HAWT shaft is

mounted horizontally, parallel to the
ground. HAWTs need to constantly align
themselves with the wind using a yaw-
adjustment mechanism. The yaw system
typically consists of electric motors and
gearboxes that move the entire rotor left
or right in small increments. The turbine’s
electronic controller reads the position of
a wind vane device (either mechanical or
electronic) and adjusts the position of the
rotor to capture the most wind energy
available. HAWTs use a tower to lift the
turbine components to an optimum
elevation for wind speed (and so the
blades can clear the ground) and take up
very little ground space since almost all of
the components are up to 260 feet (80
meters) in the air.
Layton, 2006
Searching the Web
In the computer lab, search the web for a diagram and an explanation of a phenomenon, technology,
process or system in your discipline area. A good site for explanations in many different fields is
HowStuffWorks (http://www.howstuffworks.com). Otherwise try a Google Image search, using key
words related to the phenomenon, technology, process or system.
Copy the diagram into a format that can be used as a visual aid. If there is an explanation
accompanying the diagram, you may summarise or paraphrase it in your own words.

UNIT 5: LESSON 5
HUMAN EVOLUTION
Objectives
The objective of this lesson is to practice your reading skills, while examining the evolutionary
explanation for the origin of human beings.
Read the following information about the evolution of different hominids using the diagram below
to help you.
Human Evolution
Primates first evolved around 65 million years ago.
These first primates were small, arboreal and insectivorous and probably looked like modern day
tree shrews. Though once considered primates themselves, the tree shrews now belong in a
separate order.
The oldest known fossil primate was discovered in Montana USA and dated at 65 million years old.
About 50 million years ago there seemed to have been a number of prosimian- like primates. By
40 million years ago there had emerged a kind of primate thought to be ancestral to both New and
Old World Monkeys.
Around 20 million years ago there lived a group of primates in Africa with a number of primitive
ape-like characteristics called the Dryopithecines. They were forest dwellers and fed on fruit, soft
leaves and shoots, flowers and insects.
Between 18 and 16 million years ago Africa joined to Eurasia and many climatic changes occurred.
This shift in the climate, coupled with movements of species, led to the eventual extinction of
Dryopithecines to be replaced by a new group called the Ramapithecines.
Ramapithecus is thought to have been the last common ancestor of modern humans and apes.
From this primitive ape evolved one line which led to the modern apes (and Gigantopithecus) and
another that led to the Australopithecines. The first of these appeared around 5 million years ago.
It is known as Australopithecus afarensis. A near complete skeleton of a female (which came to be

known as Lucy) was found at Hadar, Ethiopia in 1974. Tracks set in volcanic ash rock were also
found at Laetoli, Tanzania in 1978 by Mary Leakey which proved that as long as 4 million years ago
human ancestors walked upright and lived in family groups.
From these primitive Australopithecines emerged a number of more advanced forms. There were
gracile and robust species of Australopithecines as well as Homo habilis, the so called “Handy
Man”.

Homo habilis began to venture out into the savannah. They had a superior intellect, tool making
ability and adaptability and survived at the expense of their more specialised and stronger
relatives.
Around one and a half million years ago a new species of humans evolved in eastern Africa. They
were called Homo erectus and had a larger brain, better hand skills and social structure and the
beginnings of language. Erectus spread throughout Africa, Europe and Asia as far as Java in
Indonesia.
The passage of Homo erectus to Homo sapiens (like that from Homo habilis to Homo erectus) was
very gradual. Scientists estimate that Homo sapiens first appeared 350,000 years ago. Somewhere
between 100,000 and 40,000 years ago Homo sapiens first arrived in Australia via the north in the
form of the Aborigines.
Perth Zoo, 2001a
In a group, discuss the information from the text and the diagram which follows. Do you believe
humans evolved from earlier primates?

Using the information from the diagram and the text, match the names to the images in the following
artist’s impression of some of the stages of human evolution.
» Homo erectus
» Dryopithecines
» Australopithecus afarensis
» Homo sapiens
» Australopithecines
» Ramapithecines
1 2 3 4 5 6
Adapted from Perth Zoo, 2001a

UNIT 5: LESSON 6
DISCUSSING THE EVIDENCE FOR EVOLUTION
Objectives
This lesson is an introduction to the following informal group discussion on the evidence for evolution.
Work as a group to investigate one of the lines of evidence for the evolution of species. Present the
evidence to the class, using relevant visual aids.
Understanding the Task

Your group will be given one of the lines of evidence listed in the extract below. Read the extract and
discuss the task.
Lines of evidence: The science of evolution
At the heart of evolutionary theory is the basic idea that life has
existed for billions of years and has changed over time.
Overwhelming evidence supports this fact. Scientists continue to

argue about details of evolution, but the question of whether life has
a long history or not was answered in the affirmative at least two
centuries ago.
The history of living things is documented through multiple lines of

evidence that converge to tell the story of life through time.
In this section, we will explore the lines of evidence that are used to
reconstruct this story.
These lines of evidence include:
▪ Fossil evidence
▪ Homologies
▪ Distribution in time and space
▪ Evidence by example
Understanding Evolution website, University of California, 2006

Summarising Evidence
Read the following article and work as a group to discuss the kinds of evidence it gives for the evolution
of life.
What has the head of a crocodile and the gills of a fish?

Tiktaalik, of course. Pronounced tik-TAA-lik, this 375 million year old fossil splashed across
headlines as soon as its discovery was announced in April of 2006. Unearthed in Arctic Canada by
a team of researchers led by Neil Shubin, Edward Daeschler, and Farish Jenkins, Tiktaalik is
technically a fish, complete with scales and gills — but it has the flattened head of a crocodile and
unusual fins. Its fins have thin ray bones for paddling like most fishes’, but they also have sturdy
interior bones that would have allowed Tiktaalik to prop itself up in shallow water and use its
limbs for support as most four-legged animals do. Those fins and a suite of other characteristics
set Tiktaalik apart as something special; it has a combination of features that show the
evolutionary transition between swimming fish and their descendents, the four-legged
vertebrates — a clade which includes amphibians, dinosaurs, birds, mammals, and of course,
humans.
A reconstruction of Tiktaalik alongside a cast of its fossil, and a map

showing where the fossil was found, on Ellesmere island, Nunavut,
Canada.
Where’s the evolution?

All over the place! Evolution often makes an appearance in the news — but is usually buried in an
article, underlying a forensic analysis or a new antibiotic, for example. In this case, evolution
appeared front and centre! Tiktaalik provides clues about a key transition in the history of life.
Now extinct, this organism was a close relative of one our own ancestors — the first vertebrate to
evolve four limbs and crawl out onto dry land. The evolutionary tree below shows the relationship
between Tiktaalik, other fish, and four-legged vertebrates.

In many news articles, Tiktaalik was billed as “the missing link” between fish and land vertebrates
— but that description is a bit misleading. First, Tiktaalik is more accurately described as a
transitional form than a missing link. Transitional forms help show the evolutionary steps leading
from one lineage to another by displaying characteristics of both the ancestral and the new
lineage. These character suites help us understand the order in which the traits of the new lineage
evolved and what functions they served as they evolved. Tiktaalik, for example, had fins with thin
ray bones, scales, and gills like most fish. However, it also had the sturdy wrist bones, neck,
shoulders, and thick ribs of a four-legged vertebrate. Tiktaalik was specialized for life in shallow
water, propping itself up on the bottom and snapping up prey. The adaptations it had for this
lifestyle ended up providing the stepping stones for vertebrates to climb onto dry land — but of
course, Tiktaalik was not “aiming” to evolve features for land-living. Tiktaalik was simply well-
adapted for its own lifestyle and later on, many of these features ended up being co-opted for a
new terrestrial lifestyle.
Image reprinted by permission from Macmillan Publishers Ltd: Nature 440, 757-763 (6 April 2006), copyright 2006.
Second, a whole series of transitional forms tie fish to four-legged vertebrates — not the single,
key organism suggested by the phrase “the missing link.” Before Tiktaalik was discovered,
paleontologists had studied many other extinct transitional organisms, such as Eusthenopteron
and Acanthostega, which also provided clues about vertebrates’ invasion of land. And as
paleontologists continue to explore the fossil record, they are likely to uncover other organisms
representing different points in this transition.

Tiktaalik is important, well- preserved, and certainly newsworthy — but it was not unforeseen.
The paleontologists who found Tiktaalik went looking for it. Previous research suggested that
vertebrates’ invasion of land took place about 375 million years ago in a river — so Shubin and
fellow researchers searched for fossils in 375 million year old rocks that had preserved a river delta
ecosystem. Having studied other organisms from this water/land transition, the paleontologists
knew what sort of animal they were looking for. And when they did discover Tiktaalik (after five
separate expeditions to Canada), it wasn’t much of a surprise: Tiktaalik had the set of
characteristics that they had expected to find in such an organism. In sum, discovering Tiktaalik
simply confirmed many of the hypotheses biologists had held for a long time regarding the origin
of terrestrial vertebrates.
So although Tiktaalik didn’t revolutionize anyone’s thinking in this area, it does play an important
role in moving science forward. Biologists can now capitalize on this knowledge to elaborate their
hypotheses (about, for example, why vertebrates moved onto land), to make other predictions,
and to discover more transitional forms: huge tracts of rock from this era remain unexplored and
ripe for paleontological prospecting.
University of California Museum of Palaeontology, 2006b.

UNIT 5: THE EVOLUTION OF LIFE UNIT REVIEW
Reflection Questions
▪ Do you understand the idea of multi-generic texts?
▪ How confident do you feel about identifying the main idea in complex texts?
▪ How confident do you feel about identifying rhetorical patterns?
▪ How confident do you feel about using the genre of explanation?
▪ Do you understand the theory of evolution?
▪ Are you confident about writing introductory and concluding paragraphs?
▪ How well did you complete the essay about the causes and effects of global warming?
▪ How effectively did your group discuss a line of evidence for evolution?
▪ Did you clearly present a process in your discipline area?

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Unit 5: The Evolution of Life

UNIT OVERVIEW AND INTRODUCTION

Key Learning Objectives

The key learning objectives for this unit are to:

Understand multi-generic texts and identify rhetorical patterns;

Understand and use the genre of explanation;

Understand the process of inquiry as central to all scientific discourse;

Understand and explain the theory of evolution;

Understand the background and evidence behind a scientific theory;

Prepare an explanation of a phenomenon, technology, process or system in your discipline area

Academic English and Study Skills Bridging Course Book 1 133

Building Scientific Understandings

How are scientific ideas developed?

What is a scientific theory?

The Nature of Science

2. How does it work?

3. How did it come to be this way?

134 UWA Centre for English Language Teaching

Scientific claims are subject to peer review and replication

The principle of parsimony

In the marketplace of ideas, the simplest explanation has

For example, common ancestry is the parsimonious

Academic English and Study Skills Bridging Course Book 1 135

Consider these observations:

There is no such thing as “THE Scientific Method”

Theories are central to scientific thinking

136 UWA Centre for English Language Teaching

Adapted from Understanding Evolution website, University of California, 2006

Discuss the following questions in your group:

What do you understand by the principle of parsimony?

Why is there no such thing as The Scientific Method?

What is the difference between a theory and a hunch?

Academic English and Study Skills Bridging Course Book 1 137

Why were the ideas of Copernicus and Galileo revolutionary?

Why was Darwin’s theory even more revolutionary?

Are these ideas accepted in your culture? Do you accept them?

138 UWA Centre for English Language Teaching

Understanding Multi-generic Texts

Below are some of the most common patterns of organisation:

Genres or rhetorical patterns

Explanation of Cause and effect

Explanation of Process (sequencing events or steps)

Comparison and contrast Advantage and disadvantage

Problem and solution

Academic English and Study Skills Bridging Course Book 1 139

Darwin’s Voyage of Discovery

140 UWA Centre for English Language Teaching

University of California Museum of Palaeontology, 2006a.

Academic English and Study Skills Bridging Course Book 1 141

Rhetorical Pattern Words and Phrases

142 UWA Centre for English Language Teaching

What problem was Darwin interested in solving?

What was his explanation for this problem?

Academic English and Study Skills Bridging Course Book 1 143

University of California Museum of Palaeontology, 2006a.

144 UWA Centre for English Language Teaching

Biological evolution is not simply a

Mountain ranges erode over millions

Academic English and Study Skills Bridging Course Book 1 145

Through the process of descent

Over a large number of years,

University of California, 2006

Mechanisms: The Processes of Evolution

the importance of genetic variation;