EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION

QUARTER 3 WEEK 5
 Welcome!
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a fun learning session?
RECALL How do DNA and
RNA differ from each
other?
Today's Lesson

EVIDENCES and THEORIES

OF EVOLUTION
 Objectives

✔ Explain how fossil records, comparative anatomy and genetic

information provide evidence for evolution.

✔ Explain the different evidences of evolution.

How do species adapt to
changing environments
over time?
Where does life’s diversity
come from? Where do new
species come from? Why do
some species go extinct?
EVOLUTION

• It is the genetic change in a population of

organisms over time
• the change in the characteristics of a species
over several generations and relies on the
process of natural selection.
Evidence of Evolution

• Fossils
• Comparative Anatomy & Structures
• Embryology
• Biochemistry (Proteins & DNA)
FOSSILS
 WHAT CAN FOSSIL
The preserved SHOW?
remains or traces
of an organism
that is no longer
living
WHAT CAN FOSSILS SHOW?
• Organisms have appeared and disappeared,
and have changed over time

• Extinction of species

• Transitional forms reveal links between

groups:

Archaeopteryx: between reptiles & birds

Eustheopteron: amphibious fish

Seymouria: reptile-like amphibian

WHAT CAN FOSSILS SHOW?

Also, mammal-like reptiles & whales

with hind limbs
• Reveals ancient climate &
environmental conditions
• Indicates development of life from
simple to complex
• Indicates life began in water
HOW FOSSILS ARE FORMED?

Most animals become fossilized by

being buried in sediment. For them to
be fossilized, they have to be buried and
leave an imprint before they
decompose. Animals without skeletons
are seldom fossilized, because they
decompose so quickly. Animals with
hard skeletons are much easier to
fossilize.
 Fossils
Types of Fossils:
1. IMPRINT – thin, soft object (leaf,
feather) is buried and sediments later
harden

2. MOLD – Buried organism disappears

and leaves an empty space
3. CAST – mold filled by minerals (replica
of organism)
4. PETRIFICATION – minerals
replace hard parts (bones, teeth,
etc.) of organism

5. AMBER – entire organism

fossilized in tree sap

6. FROZEN – entire organism frozen

in ice
7. TRACE – footprints, trails, etc.
 How can fossil age be determined?
• Depth of fossils help to determine their age
–Lower layers are older than those in upper layers
• Radioactive Isotope Dating
–Carbon-14, Uranium-238,

Potassium-40
–Measure the proportion of an

isotope relative to its more

stable form (half life)
How are fossils evidence of biological evolution?
•Fossils can consist of the hard parts or soft
parts of organisms. Fossils can be an
impression of an organism or consist of
original tissues.

•Scientists determine
the age of a fossil
through relative-age
dating or absolute-
age dating.
 How are fossils evidence of biological evolution?
•Scientists use fossils as evidence that species have changed
over time.
COMPARATIVE
ANATOMY
COMPARATIVE ANATOMY

• Study of anatomical structures to find

similarities and differences
• HOMOLOGOUS STRUCTURES – parts
with similar basic structure (derived from
same structures in embryo—same common
descent), but may vary in function
COMPARATIVE ANATOMY

• ANALOGOUS STRUCTURES – structures

that have the same function (may look
somewhat alike), but have different structures
and DO NOT have a common descent
Example: wings have developed
independently in insects, reptiles, birds, and
bats
COMPARATIVE ANATOMY
VESTIGAL STRUCTURES – reduced body parts (in comparison to the same
complex structure in other organisms) that have little to no function; remnant of
an ancestor
Examples:
• Human appendix (other mammals
it is necessary to aid in digestion)
• Human external ear muscle
(useless, but still there)
• Human tailbone (coccyx)
• Human wisdom teeth
• Bird wings – Penguins adapted for
swimming, ostrich wings for
balance and courtship
EMBRYOLOGY
 Patterns of embryological
EMBRYOLOGY development can indicate a
common ancestry
✔ Fish, birds, mammals & reptiles
all have gills; only fish retain
theirs
✔ Fish, birds, humans & reptiles all
have tails; ALL but humans
retain theirs
All vertebrate embryos

exhibit pharyngeal pouches

at a certain stage of their

development. These

features, which develop into

neck and face parts,

suggest relatedness.
BIOCHEMICAL
SIMILARITIES
 1. Similarity of proteins, RNA & DNA molecules
2. The more closely related organisms are, the more similar is

BIOCHEMICAL the biochemical makeup

3. Indicates common ancestor
SIMILARITIES 4. Universality of genetic code – supports evolution
5. Similar chemistry & structure of chromosomes among
Eukaryotes
5. Chlorophyll is the same basic molecule in all photosynthetic
organisms
BIOCHEMICAL SIMILARITIES
 Summary of
EVIDENCES OF
EVOLUTION
COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMICAL
FOSSILS ANATOMY
EMBRYOLOGY
SIMILARITIES
THEORIES OF
EVOLUTION
QUARTER 3 WEEK 6
 Jean Baptiste de
Lamarck 

“Theory of inheritance
of acquired characters” 
 Charles Darwin

Theory of Natural
Selection
 “Theory of
inheritance of
acquired
characters” 
“Theory of inheritance of acquired characters” 
• It is also called “Lamarckism” and was proposed by a great French naturalist, Jean
Baptiste de Lamarck in 1809 A.D. in his famous book “Philosphic Zoologique”. This
theory is based on the comparison between the contemporary species of his time
to fossil records.

• His theory is based on the inheritance of acquired characters which are defined as the
changes (variations) developed in the body of an organism from normal characters, in
response to the changes in environment, or in the functioning (use and disuse) of
organs, in their own lifetime, to fulfill their new needs.
 Postulates of Lamarckism
1. New needs:
✔Every living organism is found in environment. The
changes in the environmental factors like light,
temperature, medium, food, air etc. or migration of
animal lead to the origin of new needs in the living
organisms, especially animals.
✔To fulfill these new needs, the living organisms must
exert special efforts like the changes in habits or
behavior.
 Postulates of Lamarckism
2. Use and disuse of organs:
✔The new habits involve the greater use of certain organs to meet new needs, and the disuse
or lesser use of certain other organs which are of no use in new conditions. This use and
disuse of organs greatly affect the form, structure and functioning of the organs. 
✔So, the organism acquires certain new characters due to direct or indirect environmental
effects during its own life span and are called Acquired or adaptive characters. 
 Postulates of Lamarckism
3. Inheritance of acquired characters:
• Lamarck believed that acquired characters are inheritable and are transmitted to the
offspring so that these are born fit to face the changed environmental conditions and the
chances of their survival are increased. 

4. Speciation:
• Lamarck believed that in every generation, new characters are acquired and transmitted to
next generation, so that new characters accumulate generation after generation. After
several generations, a new species is formed.
EVIDENCES OF
LAMARCKISM

• Giraffe
• Snakes
• Aquatic Birds
• Flightless Birds
• Horse
“Theory of
Natural
Selection” 
 “Theory of Natural Selection” 
• Charles Darwin (1809- 1882 A.D.), an English naturalist,
was the most dominant figure among the biologists of the
19th century.

• He made an extensive study of nature for over 20 years,

especially in 1831-1836 when he went on a voyage on
the famous ship “H.M.S. Beagle” (Fig. 7.37) and
explored South America, the Galapagos Islands and other
islands.
 “Theory of Natural Selection” 
• Darwin found that each island in the Galápagos had a different
environment, and tortoises looked different depending on which island
environment they inhabited.
 “Theory of Natural Selection” 

• He collected the observations on animal distribution and the relationship

between living and extinct animals. He found that existing living forms
share similarities to varying degrees not only among themselves but also
with the life forms that existed millions of years ago, some of which have
become extinct. 
 “Theory of Natural Selection” 
• Darwin and Wallace’s views about evolution were presented in the meeting of
Linnean Society of London by Lyell and Hooker on July 1, 1858. Darwin’s
and Wallace’s work was jointly published in “Proceedings of Linnean Society
of London” in 1859. So it is also called Darwin-Wallace theory. 
• Darwin explained his theory of evolution in a book entitled “On the Origin
of Species by means of Natural Selection”. It was published on 24th Nov.,
1859. In this theory, Charles Darwin proposed the concept of natural selection
as the mechanism of evolution.
 Postulates of Darwinism
1. Geometric increase:
✔ According to Darwinism, the populations tend to multiply geometrically,
and the reproductive powers of living organisms (biotic potential) are much
more than required to maintain their number e.g., 
✔ Paramecium divides three times by binary fission in 24 hours during
favorable conditions. At this rate, a Paramecium can produce a clone of
about 280 million Paramecia in just one month and in five years.
 Postulates of Darwinism
2. Limited food and space:
✔ Darwinism states that though a population tends to increase
geometrically, the food increases only arithmetically.
✔ So, two main limiting factors on the tremendous increase of a
population are: limited food and space which together form the
major part of carrying capacity of environment. These do not
allow a population to grow indefinitely which are nearly stable in
size except for seasonal fluctuation.
 Postulates of Darwinism
3. Struggle for existence:
✔ Due to rapid multiplication of populations but limited food and space, there starts an everlasting competition between
individuals having similar requirements. In this competition, every living organism desires to have an upper hand over
others.
Postulates of Darwinism
4. Variations:
✔ Variation is the law of nature. According to this law of nature, no two
individuals except identical (monozygotic) twins are identical. This
everlasting competition among the organisms has compelled them to
change according to the conditions to utilize the natural resources and
can survive successfully.
✔ Darwin proposed that living organisms tend to adapt to changing
environment due to useful continuous variations {e.g., increased speed
in the prey; increased water conservation in plants; etc.), as these will
have a competitive advantage.
Postulates of Darwinism
5. Natural selection or Survival of the fittest:
✔Darwin stated that as many selects the individuals with
desired characters in artificial selection; nature selects
only those individuals out of the population which are
with useful continuous variations and are best adapted
to the environment while the less fit or unfit individuals
are rejected by it.
 Postulates of Darwinism
6. Inheritance of useful variations:
✔Darwin believed that the selected individuals pass their useful continuous variations to their offsprings
so that they are born fit to the changed environment. 
7. Speciation:
✔According to Darwinism, useful variations appear in every generation and are inherited from one
generation to another. The useful variations go on accumulating and after a few generations, the
variations become so prominent that the individual turns into a new species. So according to
Darwinism, evolution is a gradual process and speciation occurs by gradual changes in the
existing species.
 EVIDENCES OF
DARWINISM
1. There is a close parallelism between natural
selection and artificial selection. 
2. The remarkable cases of resemblance e.g.
mimicry and protective colouration can be achieved
only by gradual changes occurring simultaneously
both in the model and the mimic. 
3. Correlation between position of nectaries in the
flowers and length of the proboscis of the
pollinating insect. 
LET’S REVIEW!!!
 Which refers the process by which populations of organisms with
variations that help them survive in their environments live longer,
compete better, and reproduce more than those that do not have the
variations?

A. adaptation
B. mimicry
C. natural selection
D. selective breeding
Which is an inherited trait that increases an organism’s chance of
surviving and reproducing in its environment?

A. adaptation
B. mimicry
C. natural selection
D. selective breeding
Which term describes the collection of all the fossils ever discovered
on Earth?

A. cast
B. mold
C. fossil record
D. trace fossil
 Which is a fossil copy of an organism in a rock?

A. cast
B. mold
C. fossil record
D. trace fossil
 What kind of adaptation enables
a species to blend in with its environment?

A. camouflage
B. mimicry
C. behavioral adaptation
D. functional adaptation
 Which of these is the study of gene structure and function?

A. embryology
B. variation
C. comparative anatomy
D. molecular biology
 Which term describes what happens when the last individual
organism of a species dies?

A. adaptation
B. extinction
C. biological evolution
D. mass extinction
 Which term describes what happens when the last individual
organism of a species dies?

A. adaptation
B. extinction
C. biological evolution
D. mass extinction
 What term refers to body parts
of organisms that are similar in structure and position but different in
function?

A. camouflage
B. mimicry
C. analogous structures
D. homologous structures
What term refers to body parts that perform a similar function but
differ in structure?

A. analogous structures
B. homologous structures
C. pharyngeal pouches
D. vestigial pelvis
Which describes the study of similarities and differences among
structures of living species?

A. adaptation
B. embryology
C. comparative anatomy
D. molecular biology