+ The theory in biology portulatés thatthe viriows types of pla) ‘Bhings on Earth nayé their origin in other pre-existing types and tl Uifferences are dye to modifications in successive geaerations. The theory of evol ne of the fundamental Keystones of modern biological theory. | The virwally infinite variations in life are the fruit of the evolutionary process. creatures are related by descent from commod ancestors. All plants and & {hom bacterialike eticroorganisms that originated more than 3 billion yearsingo, ) i + «Biological evolution is « process'of descent with modification. Lineages Of orgamisms + ' Ag Change through. generations; divefsity arises because the Tineapes that. descend from a Fe paren cess yeas oud i : » © Chfrles Darwin (1809-1882) was a British naturalist who proposed the theory of biological evolution by natural selection. Bectuse resources are limited in nafure, organisms with =) heritable traits that favour survival and reproduction will tend to leave more coffap their peers, causlig-the traits to increase in frequency. Qvér generations. x ive q 4 Evolution is.chadige in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over suc ‘are the expressions of genes that are passed\on : from \duction, Different characteristics tend to exist within any | generations. ‘These characteristic paredi-te offspring during re given population as 2 result of mutation, genetic recombination and other sources of genetic ‘variation ‘Evolution occurs when evoluti¢ndey processes such as natural, selection (including. sexual selection) and genetic drift agton this variation, resulting in certain characteristics becom more common or rare'Within a population. It is this process of evolution that has’ to biodiversity at everp-level of biological organisation, including the levels of individual organisins and molecutes. = ing pattérds)of biodiversity have been shaped by repeated formations of thew species jom)'changes within species (anagenesi8) and loss of species cosa Sughout the evolutionary history of life on Earth, Morphological and biochemical trait similas among species that share a.more*recent common ancestar, and an es sO the basic idea of biological evolution is that populations and species of ite ike, Seay: wien wee AO ot craton, we are Ceige La dee ae oO specific person: the British naturalist Charles Darwin. In the 1850s, Darwin wibte an influential and controversial book called the’ Spevest Ini he proposed tha species evolved (of 98 he put it, undergo * ao” ‘that all living things can tra ae saeess 0~ ical features re of milage organisms. Coral anatomi a ta ius classes of 9 the microscopic a = lemy oF he near (Fe. DFP the, various class viestouits “fe mrt rie Yl VI gt vente 7 Inanuplete stan eft vests Amphibia Mamma} Fig. 1: Progressive evolutionary changes in the anatomy of the vertebrate heart: i For instance, fish has a simple heart with one auricle and one ventricle; amphibians have one ? ventricle and two auricles, reptiles have two auricles and one partially divided ‘ventricle while both ‘bind-and: mammals have two auricles and two ventricles. There is also"a change from single to) 1¢ circulation of blood in these animals. a, Homologous features Te two of more species shate a unique physical feature, such, as a complex bone structufe BF a body plan, they may all have inherited this feature from a common ancestor. Physical features shared due to evolutionary history (a common ancestor) @fe-said to be “homologous. ‘Tagive one classic example, the forelimbs of whales, humans, birds, and.dogs look pretty different on the outside. | That's ‘becatise ‘they are adapted to function’in different environments. However, if you look at the 2 | aur ‘of the forelimbs, you will find that the pattern of bones are similar across speci Sy _iepniikely that such similar structures would have evolved independently in each speci ae k Nee ae the basic layout of bones was already present in a common ancestor of whales Osta t J r of whales,Fig. 2: Different animal ) T sno cee ce b. Analogous features. i Not all physical eteres that look alike are marks for common ancestors. Instead, some physical similarities are analogous (Analogous features refers to similarities that are due to ‘convergente). ‘They evolved independently in different orgenisms because the organisms ued in similar enviroainents or experienced similar seleetive pressures. This process is_calléd > deepest'layers contained remnants of simple animal te nore complex, eg. Fossil of annelid appear very early while fossil of reptile appear late in # animals and plants is direct evidence Ofevolution. A | geological record?The presence of fossils o paleontological évidence which is also fossil evidence in clude Bones, teeth, shells and woody parts of plants that afe found in rocky layers petrified Sy ape 6 Byidence from Direct Observation of Changes ¢-foh-evolution is that we can seesit taking place around ws modern-day examples of evolution include the emergenceof drug-resistant bacteria n there was'a worldwide effort to eradicat ° resistant insects, For example, in the 1950s, e carriers (certain types of mosquitoes). The pesticide DDT was spre ‘mosquitoes lived, and at first, the DDT was highly effective at killing CHorwever, over time, ‘survived. This was because the mosquito popuh nO In some'cases, the evidenct~ size (making it more likelf fiat some individuals in the population will, by random {have mutations that provide reflstance) and short lifecycle. Bacteria and viruses, is Fel larger population sizes and ghorter lifecycles, can evolve resistarice to drugs wery rapidly, ‘| 45 in antibjotic-resistant bacteria anjddrug-resistant HIV Probably a very’ convinejhg'evidence of evolution is the, sptead of ‘industrial melanin’ a dramatic darkening in colouration in regions of heavy industrialization in Britain of certain moths,.A popular example is the peppered moth Biston betularia. The,eolour it assumes now prevents fp from being preyed upon by Birds. It has revealed evolution of dark wing colour as against light €oldur. This is a result of observable natural selection process . 7. Evidence from Vestigial Organs = Organisms have structures thaf'séwe nd apparent function but axe femnologous to useful structures {<7 in other organisms. These reditéed or nonfunctional strucrurds, Ahich appear to be evolutidnaty “ if i f SY leftovers," are called vestigial structures, Examples of-yestigial structures include the tail ne 0 ‘Ned humans (a vestigial tal), the hind leg bones of whales ad’the underdeveloped legs founly in some snakes, The smatioleglike structures of some sia species, like the Boa constfpter, ate vestigial Structiings) These remnant features serve no present purpose in snakes, but did'sérve a purpose in the snibkesMtetrapod ancestor (which walked on four limbs) viderce of evolution. Presence of vestigial structures is # kind in boa Constrictors and whales, bens thought to be homologous orjgghtones of ather vertebrates, Italy coceyx (fused vertebradr the end of the vertebral colum) is interpreted to be remnarés sf tai possessed by our afleestors. In ease of whale legged terrestrial whimals. implies include prese biologists have evidence that they evalyed trom four- 8. Evidencéfrom Biochemistry Bigchemists have found similaripnon tHe chemical composition of all protoplasm. Al plant and Camimal cells carry out metabojic Activities. 1t has been found. that organism closely related oftes) GS, have proteins with very similar amino acid sequence while their distant relatives have very different AO animo acid sequences, Most vertebrates share the same or similar hormones'e.g. LTH is found in diverse classes such as fish, birds and mammals althoughithey-perform differem funotias in these animals - a form of biochemical homology. 9. Blood. Lares (Serology) > . ‘There evidence showing close blood relationship among vertebrate animals, In vertebrates tl red cles contain haemoglobin.) The chemical nature of blood serum of all mammals is <0) the same. The closer the groups of animals which ate structitally related, the mone nearly Q) the chemistry oft : LO y ing. and relationship be is more than 4.5 billiohie) ronan Fig, 4: Geological Time Scale’ (Formation of Earth) PRE-DARWINISM Darwin Was Bot the fist 19 come up with the idea of evolution. In fact, even some of the ancient Greek philosophers had evolutionary ideas. However, Plato {among the most:famous of these Philosophers) believed that species were fixed “and linchanging, and his viewpoint was’ very Influential in Western thought for centuries after His death French naiuralst, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, Pablistied a book in 1809 called "transmutation theory” Proposing that evolution took. place through modifications in an individual caused by “its etvironment, oF the use or disuie of a structure Glring its-tifetime, could be inherited by itgthat all warm-blooded an could have descended 1 blooded animals sed Seepelens, sig Ev Dares from a single microorganism (or “fila NEO-DARWINISM. a is or thodem synthesis, Saeed aveey selection, Gregor Neo-Darwinism, also als pe oe ee trl ketone Eien HARES” is Ment : aie eee ‘he ba for Boogie inheritance, ae pues be ek lmdaaie 1 developments. in evolutionary ‘biology sin ae ee Soi Cesare cues netgear ce ssentally, it in i (genes) with the mechanism of evolution (natural selection). into.a common view of The modem synthesis integrated diverse scientific disciplines and is a gaan! the evolutionary process. At the heart of the modern sue i een Daag ts he eieee ob bs explained by small genet changes in populations ov i . ee on the gue variation amiong individuals in te populations feng ret modem synthesis as originally established, genetic variation yess eee : through mutation. This genetic variation leads to. phenotypic cl anges. ar BG consists primarily of changes in-the frequencies of alleles pee ee generation and another as a result of natural selection, Over time, these small changes will lead to ‘major changes in design or the ¢reation of new taxa, ‘structure of DNA. by James ‘Watson and Francis Crick with contribution of Rosalind Franklin in 1933 demonstrated .a physical mechanism for inheritance. Motecular biology ‘improved Lnderstanding of the relationship between Benotype and phenotype, Advancements were also made in phylogenetic Systematics, mapping the transition of traits into a comparative and testable framework thtough tle publication and use Of evolutionary trees. broad 5: is - in 1859) ineluding concepts which dat Darwin's Wwin's and pf his Predecessors' The theory of evolution is of the Theory of Bvolution is they + Coaimon ancestor: the bitds and the general ‘theory presumes the developm Gai NS , a(undirected) "descent with modification”, That is, complex features evolve from more simplistic ancestors naturally over thn DARWIN'S THEORY OF NATURAL SELECTION Evolution by means of natural selction is the process by which Yuaits that enhance survival anc reproduction become moraanmmon in successive generations Gf" population, Darwin's concegtof natural selection was basedioh several key observations |. Traits are often heritable: In living organisms, #¥afly characteristics are inherited, oy passed from parent to offspring. 2. Mote\olfspring are produced tharhGarr survive: Organisms are capable” 6F producing more oflepiirig than their environments can support. ‘Thus, there is competition’ for limited resources in each generation. 3. Offspring vary in their heritable traits: The offspring in any weneration will be slightly diffetent from one another intheir waits (color, size, shape,-€t6.), and many of these features Will be heritable. , Based on th@ above observations, Danwin concluded the following: 1. gra population, some individuals will have inherited traits that help them Survive and reproduce (giver the conditions of the envirdnment, such as the predators and food sources present), ‘The individuals with the helpful traits will leave more offspring in the néxt generation than their peers, since the traits make them more effective at surviving and reproducing. 2. Because the helpful taits are heritable, and because organisms with these traits leaye.shore offspring, the tfaitS will tend to become more common (present in a larger fragtion “of the population) inthe next generation. 3. Over generations, the population will betoine adapted 10 its environment (as individuals with traits helpful in that environment have consistently greater reproductive success than their peers). ‘Darwin reqsoned that, variaticdfmust occur in nature that are favourable or useful in some way to the organism itself in the struggle for existence. Favourable\variations are ones that increase chances for survival and procreation, Those advantageous variations are preserved and multiplied from generation to generation at the expense of less-advantageous ones. This is the process known as natural selection. “The outcome of the process ivan organism that is well adapted to its ‘environment, ang evolution offen occurs as a consequence. Na sélection is a natural process which aéis 10 preserve and accumulate'fninor advantageous mutations or variations within living systems (organisms). Suppose a member of a species ee joped a functional advantage (it'grew wings and learned to fly). Its offspring would inherit that advantage and pass it on to oe ‘The inferior (disadvantages) members of the same species would gradually. ing only the superior (advantaged) members of the species. Natural selection can Caan be ‘be described as the preseivation of a functional advantage. that cenabies a species gece better in the wild. It is the naturalistic equivalent to domestic breeding. . } ac’ rae * hee Ss