Evolution

Evolution
• Is an inherited change in the
traits of organism over time.
• It is a process wherein new
species came from preexisting
species.
 Lamarck’s Theories of
Evolution
Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck , a French biologist
who first suggested that organisms undergo
evolution.
• He proposed that all organisms evolve in
response to their environment.
• He also studied fossils and organisms, which led
him to formulate theories regarding evolution.
• His theory explained why organisms change over
time.
 Theory of Need
“Organisms change because they
need to and as a response to the
environment, making their traits
more adaptable.”
• The traits that the organisms
manifest are products of their
altered behaviors.
 Theory of Use and Disuse
“Organisms developed characteristics
by the use and disuse.”
• Lamarck explained that organisms
can reshape their traits depending
on the importance of those traits to
them.
• An organism will develop a trait
that is useful to it, and it will lose a
trait that is useless.
Theory of Acquired Traits
“An organism can develop acquired
traits as adaptations, and these traits
acquired in its lifetime could be
passed on to its offspring.”
 Darwin’s Theory of
Natural Selection
Charles Darwin, an English Naturalist, contributed
the widely accepted theory of evolution by means of
natural selection.
• His theory of natural selection provided the
foundation for understanding the diversity of
species on Earth.
• Species refers to a group of organisms that have
similar features and characteristics and can
produce fertile offspring in a specific
environment.
 Major Ideas of the
Concept of Natural Selection
Variation of Organism
• Organisms vary in their physical, functional,
and behavioral characteristics.
• No two individuals are the same.
• Variation is important in natural selection
because it allows a specific kind of species to
survive more than other members.
• Variations of organisms are passed on to the
next generation.
 Major Ideas of the
Concept of Natural Selection
Survival of the Fittest
• Competition is a struggle for existence.
• All organisms will struggle for living space and
food in the natural world.
• Because of this struggle for survival, organisms
are compelled to change to fit into the
environment.
• Failure to do so will result in extinction – a
process wherein all individuals of a given
species cease to exist.
 Major Ideas of the
Concept of Natural Selection
Adaptation to the environment
• Organism who can adapt to their environment
would most likely survive and produce an offspring
with adaptable traits.
• Adaptation is the process of being better suited to
the environment.
• The fittest organisms would avoid extinction and
have the ability to reproduce healthy offspring,
which will guarantee transmission of adaptable
traits for future generations.
 Major Ideas of the
Concept of Natural Selection
Natural Selection
• Environmental conditions affect the survival of
organisms.
• Only those organisms that can adapt to new
environmental conditions will survive and
reproduce in greater numbers than those
without the capacity to adapt.
 Major Ideas of the
Concept of Natural Selection
Process of Speciation
• When new species come to existence,
speciation occurs.
• This process happens when favorable traits
are gradually accumulated by the new
species and the unfavorable traits disappear.
Paleontology
 Paleontology
• It is a scientific study of prehistoric life,
which includes the identity, origin,
environment, and evolution of organisms.
• Fossils are considered as a direct evidence
of ancient life.
• Using fossil records, Paleontologist can
identify organisms that flourished millions
of years ago and reconstruct the
environment they inhabited.
Indirect Evidence of Fossils
A. Body Fossils
– These includes the discovered bones,
teeth, shells, and other hard materials of
once-living organisms.
B. Trace Fossils
– These includes imprints of leaves, stems,
burrows, tracks, footprints,
coprolites(fossilized feces).
FOSSI
L
 Fossilization
a gradual process that starts when volcanic ash
or sediments cover an organism or its traces.
Fossils can also be formed by:
A. Petrification
B. Freezing
C. Desiccation
D. Carbonization
 How Fossils are Formed
1. Petrification/Petrifaction
• It starts when water infiltrates the
remains buried underneath and inorganic
compounds are dissolved replacing
minerals in bones and other hardened
tissues.
• Accumulation of sediments exerts
pressure on the burial site of the
organism.
 How Fossils are Formed
2. Freezing
• It occurs when organism’s
remains get frozen.
• Examples of the effects of
freezing are the remains of woolly
mammoths and rhinoceroses
during the ice age.
 How Fossils are Formed
3. Desiccation
• It occurs when the remains dry up
for a long period of time.
• Example of the effect of
desiccation is the remains of giant
ground sloths in desert or dry
areas.
 How Fossils are Formed
4. Carbonization
• It occurs when the only remaining
component of an organism is carbon –
the most common component in plant
fossils.
• Example of this is Amber, a fossilized
sap of ancient pine trees that may
contain fossil insects or other small
animals trapped in the sticky sap.
 Stratigraphy
It is the study of rock layers, wherein scientist compare large and microscopic
fossils located on different rock layers to assign relative ages of rocks.
Index Fossils Radiometric Dating
• It is used to determined the actual age of
• It is used to determined the relative
the rocks.
age of the rocks. • Scientists are determining radioactive
• Examples of index fossils are isotopes presents in the sedimentary rocks.
ammonites, trilobites and corals. • Radioisotopes decay into nonradioactive
elements at a constant rate.
• The rate of radioactive decay is measured
by half-life.
Half-life
It is the length of the time required for half of the radioisotopes to decay.
EMBRYOLO
GICAL
 Embryology
• It is the study of how organisms develop from
fertilization to birth.
• The development of embryos, similarities in
the DNA of protein organisms, and protein
compositions offer additional sets of indirect
evidence of evolutionary relationship.
• Embryos of different species have similarities,
especially in the later stages of development
for more closely related animals indicating
related ties.
STRUCTU
RAL
EVIDENC
 Homologous Structures
• These are body structures of different
organisms that have similar arrangements and
patterns in embryonic development.
• Several kinds of organisms have homologous
limbs.
• These limbs have common internal bone
structures but are adapted for different
functions.
 Analogous Structures
• They have similar appearance and function,
but they differ in origin.
• Examples are the wings of birds, bats, and
insects for flying.
• These types of wings look similar and perform
the same function, but they possess different
internal structures.
• Vestigial Organs are body parts without
specific functions and resemble the structure
of their presumed ancestors.
BIOLOGICA
L
EVIDENCE
Nucleotide and
sequence
protein
 Nucleotide and
Protein Sequence
• The sequence of nucleotides making up DNA is
also evidence of evolution.
• The theory of evolution shows that if species
evolved over time, their genes must also have
evolved.
• In these theory of evolution, genes accumulate
modifications in their nucleotide sequence.
• Closely related species will have genes that show
more similarities in the nucleotide and protein
sequence than those of distantly related species.