Evolution: A Historical Perspective

• Organic evolution, according to Charles Darwin, is “descent with modification.”

- This simply means that species change over time.

Evidence for evolution comes from

the fields of:
• Biogeography,
• Paleontology,
• Comparative anatomy, and
• Molecular biology.

Biogeography
​ the scientific study of the patterns of distribution of populations, species, and ecological
communities across Earth.

Biogeography as Evidence of Evolutionary Change. These two lions from different places
having similar form suggests a distant common ancestry. Obvious differences, however, result
from millions of years of
independent evolution.

Paleontology​ which is the study of the fossil

record, provides some of the most direct evidence
for evolution.

Fossils are evidence of plants and animals that existed in the past and have become
incorporated into the earth’s crust (e.g., as rock or mineral).

Fossils, such as this ​trilobite​ (Griffithides), are direct evidence of evolutionary change.

Comparative anatomy​ is the subdiscipline of zoology that

fundamentally based on relationships of a structure in one animal that resemble a structure in
another animal.
Structures derived from common ancestry are homologous

Not all such similarities indicate homology.

Convergent evolution​ occurs when two unrelated organisms adapt to similar conditions,
resulting in superficial similarities in structure. These structures are called ​Analogous​.
Example. The wing of a bird and the wing of an insect

The Concept of Homology.

The forelimbs of vertebrates evolved from an ancestral pattern. Even vertebrates as dissimilar
as whales and bats have these basic arrangements of bones.
-----Pic refer to pdf

Molecular Biology

animals may also have homologous biochemical processes.

Ultimately, structure and function are based on the genetic blueprint found in all living animals:
the DNA molecule.

PRE-DARWINIAN THEORIES OF CHANGE

Ideas of evolutionary change can be traced back to the ancient Greeks.The philosophers:

​Empedocles (495–435 B.C.) and Aristotle (384–322 B.C.)​ described concepts of change in
living organisms over time.

Georges-Louis Buffon (1707–1788)​ spent many years studying comparative anatomy

Erasmus Darwin (1731–1802),​ a physician and the grandfather of Charles Darwin, was
intensely interested in questions of origin and change.

Jean Baptiste Lamarck​ was an eighteenth-century proponent of evolution and proposed a

mechanism—inheritance of acquired characteristics—to explain it. He believed that species are
not constant and that existing species were derived from preexisting species

DEVELOPMENT OF DARWIN’S IDEAS OF EVOLUTION

Charles Darwin saw impressive evidence for evolutionary change while on a mapping
expedition on the HMS Beagle.

Charles Darwin
Proposed a way how evolution works
How did creatures change over time?by ​natural selection
Collected a lot of evidence to support his ideas on Galapagos Island

THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION BY NATURAL SELECTION

After returning from his voyage, Darwin began formulating his theory of evolution by natural
selection.
Darwin found…many unique species
Darwin found clue in the fossils. Evidence of creatures changes over time.
The book, ​Principles of Geology​, by Charles Lyell planted two important ideas in Darwin’s
mind:
the earth could be much older than 6,000 years, and
if the face of the earth changed gradually over long periods, could notliving forms also change
during that time?

The theory of uniformitarianism,​ South American fossils, and observations of tortoises and
finches on the Galápagos Islands convinced Darwin that evolution occurs.

different beaks are inherited variations serve as adaptations that help birds compete for
foodthese birds survive & reproducepass on the genes for those more fit beaks over time nature
selected for different species with different beaks
Relationship between species (beaks) & food

Organic evolution​, according to Charles Darwin, is “descent with modification.”

This simply means that species change over time.

Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection​ occurs in four steps:

Overproduction
Variation
Competition
Selection

Each species produces more offspring that can survive

Each individual has a unique combination of inherited traits.

Adaptation: an inherited trait that increases an organism’s chances of survival

Why is Variation Important?

Because the environment changes.
The more variation within a species, the more likely it will survive

The more variation of types of species in an habitat, the more likely at least some will survive
EX: Dinosaurs replaced by mammals

Individuals COMPETE for limited resources:

Food, water, space, mates

Natural selection occurs through “Survival of the ttest”

Fitness: the ability to survive and reproduce
Not all individuals survive to adulthood

The individuals with the best traits / adaptations will survive and have the opportunity to pass on
it’s traits to offspring.
Natural selection acts on the phenotype (physical appearance), not the genotype (genetic
makeup)
Ex: When a predator nds its prey, it is due to the prey’s physical characteristics, like color or
slow speed, not the alleles (BB, Bb)

Individuals with traits that are not well suited to their environment either die or leave few
offspring.
Evolution occurs when good traits build up in a population over many generations and bad traits
are eliminated by the death of the individuals.

Sexual selecti
Sexual dimorphism: secondary sex characteristic distinction

Sexual selection: selection towards secondary sex characteristics that leads to sexual
dimorphism

EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION

Alfred Russel Wallace​ outlined a theory s i m i l a r t o D a r w i n ’ s b u t n e v e r accumulated

significant evidence documenting his theory.

Geological history influenced the distribution of organisms Alfred Russel Wallace Noticed some
remarkable patterns in the distributions of organisms.

Wallace pointed out that these differences could not be explained by climate or by soil
characteristics, because in those respects Bali and Lombok are essentially identical.

Endemic species
species found only within a certain region

BIOGEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

Megophrys stejnegeri
Mindanao horned frog

Staurois natator
Mindanao Splash Frog
Adansonia grandidieri
(Giant Baobab tree)

Lemur catta
Ring-tailed

Chamaeleo parsonii
Parson’s Chameleon