EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY

TO MAM JERAMIE S. ERPELO

BY AFRA’S WARRIORS :
SIDDIQUE AFRA
SENTILKUMAR MUTHU
AADITHYA
VINAYAGAM AGITH
SOUNDER RAJAN DEEPAK
BALASUBRAMANI
QASEM NASSER
KARRI DHANASHREE
GUNASHEELAN SHA VISMAYA
 CONTEXT
 THE EVOLUTION OF LIFE HISTORY
 UNITS OF SELECTION AND EVOLUTION
OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
THE EVOLUTION OF LIFE HISTORY

EVOLUTION AND DIVERSITY OF LIFE

HISTORIES
 Life histories are the specific details of an organism’s life
cycle and reproductive strategy
 for example salmon fish swims up a river for spawning
and after spawning it will die and also emperor penguin
each year walks almost 100 miles to produce a single
egg.
 Both of these species are shaped by evolution in different
ways .
•From this example we can say life histories will
be different for different species , but also not all
fishes die after spawning and not all birds travel
100 miles to lay a single egg so therefore life
histories are also different for same type of animals
•Organisms living in different environments are
effected by physical factors like temperature,
pressure. These factors are different for different
organisms.
 These factors are responsible for variations which
are responsible for the corresponding diversity of
life history patterns.

TILL DEATH DO US PART: THE EVOLUTION OF LIFE SPAN

 Evolution has led to many types of life spans .
Giant sequoias, for example live for thousands of
years , guinea pig with best food and care , might
live as long as 8 years.
WHY DIE ? TRADE-OFFS AND RISKS
 For example trading longer life for more offspring,
the organism increases its ability to pass on its
genes . Here the organism is getting more copies of
its own gees into next generation ,not just making
room for somebody else’s.
 Living longer can be risky .The longer the
organism lives, the greater chance that it will
become ill or get eaten by predator.
 When the risk of death is higher, natural selection
favors genes for earlier reproduction
 ITS GOOD TO REPRODUCE OFTEN, EXCEPT WHEN IT’

 Laboratory experiments have shown that life-

history traits specially, life span and metabolic
trade offs do evolve.
 Organisms that reproduce several times –
humans ,birds, and numerous other creatures-are
called iteroparous. Organisms that reproduce only
once are called semelparous. Salmon fish is the
good example of semelparity.
 Semelparity is the most extreme example of the
trade-offs between survival and reproduction.
EARLY VS. LATER REPRODUCTION
 REPRODUCING EARLY: genes involved in early
reproduction will make it into the next generation much
faster.
 REPRODUCING LATER: an organism that delays
reproduction has more resources to devote to survival
than an organism that reproduces early.
 In comparing the two strategies, it certainly appears that
the better reproductive strategy is to wait until the
organism is large enough to make many more offspring.
PROVING THE POINT WITH GUPPIES
 David Resnick and co-workers set up an
experiment in a natural environment by using
guppies as experimental organisms.
 The guppies in different

Habitats had different

characteristics
 In the low predation environment, the guppies
reproduced at later age, when they were larger
 In high predation environments, the guppies
reproduced earlier , when they were smaller
•Number of offspring depends on size, it may be
with more number with less size or less number
with more size.
WHY AGE?
 Organisms often seem to undergo a gradual
breakdown before death – a process called aging.
 Selection acts less strongly on traits that are
expressed late in life.
 Selection is stronger in early life .
 When you become old by then genes are already
passed to next generation so selection acts less
strongly in later life.
UNITS OF SELECTION AND THE EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL
BEHAVIOR

INCLUSIVE FITNESS AND KIN SELECTION:

 Evolutionary fitness is measure of how good an

organism is getting its genes into future generations.

 But another way for an organism to get its genes into

next generation is to help its relatives get their genes into

next generation – which is the main idea behind
inclusive fitness and kin selection.
WHAT IS INCLUSIVE FITNESS ?
 Inclusive fitness is simply the sum of an individual’s
fitness plus the additional benefits accrued through
increasing the fitness of related individuals to understand
how inclusive fitness works in ore common situations,
you need to understand a concept called degree of
relatedness, which simply means how many of your
genes you share with others.
FOR SEXUALLY REPRODUCING ORGANISMS THE
DEGREE OF RELATEDNESS IS AS FOLLOWS
 Between parents and offspring
 To full siblings
 To half siblings
 To your siblings’ children
NOT REPRODUCING TO HELP YOUR FAMILY : KIN
SELECTION

 kin selection is a theory about the evolution of

altruism
 When animal risks itself to help relatives survive,
since they are related some of that animal’s genes
still get passed on
 Altruistic animals still persist because their genes
are present in the relatives they save
LEVELS OF SELECTION
 Individual selection, some individuals survive to
reproduce, and some don’t. In this, selection
occurs at individual level. If the differences in
survival and reproduction are the result of
particular genes, these genes will increase in
frequency in the next generation.
 Group selection, according to group selection
theory some genes have an effect at the level of
the group. Genes that act at the group level affect
survival and reproduction.
SELECTION AT THE LEVEL OF GENE

 Selection can also work at gene level for example

when a diploid individual produces haploid
gametes
 This phenomenon is selection at the gene level or
meiotic drive.
THE EVOLUTION OF ALTRUISTIC SOCIAL SYSTEMS

 Any behavior that reduces an individual animal’s

fitness but increases the fitness of other
individuals in the behavior is said to be altruistic
behavior
COOPERATIVE BREEDING

COOPERATIVE BREEDING IS TWO TYPES:

 Non –reproductive individuals helping other

birds to reproduce
 Groups of reproductive individuals getting

together and helping each other

Example :
Groove billed ani
ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER:RECIPROCAL
ALTRUISM

 In Reciprocal altruism good deed doer will get

immediate benefit
 Example vampire bats
EUSOCIALITY
 Eusociality is a social system characterized by
reproductive specialization.
 One or some individuals in the colony bear all
offspring , and non-reproductive individuals
assist in caring for the offspring.
EXAMPLES OF EUSOCIALITY

 Ants , bees and wasps are examples of eusociality

MULTICELLULARITY
 Multicellularity is also a part of evolution
 Different group of cells have different functions
selected naturally
Thank you