Causes of Evolution
-Natural selection
-Alleles passed on to the next generation
-in different proportions to those in the current generation
-only factor that adapts a population to its environment
-Genetic Drift
-Changes that occur in the gene frequency due to a small population size
-Smaller the sample size, the greater the effect of change
-ex. In a small population, genetic drift can eliminate certain alleles naturally
-The Founder Effect
-A few individuals become isolated from the larger population
-Gene pool is no longer representative of the original population
-ex. Amish, colonists
-The Bottleneck Effect
-A sudden change in the environment dramatically reduces population size
-only those that pass through the severe restriction survive
-resulting gene pool may over represent some alleles and under represent others
-some may be eliminated completely
-Gene Flow
-A population’s gain and/or loss of alleles due to the movement of fertile individuals
-Reduces difference between populations
-Can merge neighboring populations into one
-ex. Migration, traveling
Preservation of Genetic Variation
-Diploidy: some recessive alleles are kept “safe” in the heterozygous form
-appears only as homozygous recessive
-the rarer the allele, the greater the heterozygous protection
-Balancing Selection: balanced polymorphism
-two or more phenotypes are maintained in a population
-Heterozygote Advantage: heterozygotes have a greater fitness than homozygotes
-muliple allelic forms maintained at a given locus
-ex. Sickle-cell anemia (Ss)
-no sickle cell disease but resistant to malaria
-Frequency-dependent selection (A.K.A. minority advantage)
-frequency of common phenotypes decrease while less common ones increase
-ex. Predator-prey relationships
-search image, or standard representation of prey
-Neutral variation
-genetic variations that do not influence fitness are unaffected
-ex. Fingerprints and bloodtypes
What about Humans? What did we do to survive natural selection?
-Mortality selection
-Some 30% of pregnancies end in spontaneous abortion
-5% in still births and infant deaths
-3% in childhood deaths
-Sexual selection
-About 20% will survive to adulthood but never marry
-Fecundity selection
-Of those that do marry, 10% will have no children
Chapter 24: The Origin of Species
Macroevolution
-Start of a new species
-Species: a group of populations that can be interbreed
-Must be able to produce viable, fertile offspring
-Lions and tigers can, but don’t
-Horses and donkeys aren’t
-Speciation: production of a new species
-designation is based on fertility, NOT physical similarity
-usually requires reproductive isolation
Reproductive Isolation
-One member becomes separated from another by a barrier
-Two evolve separately through time, interbreeding between the two becomes impossible
-speciation has taken place
-Prezygotic barriers: prevent fertilization
-Post zygotic: prevent the development of the fertile adult
Allopatric vs. Sympathric Speciation
-Allopatric Speciation: gene flow is interrupted by geographic separation
-Sympatric Speciation: speciation occurs within geographically overlapping populations
Allopatric Speciation
-Mountain ranges or land bridges divide a population into isolated groups
-Partially dependent on the organism’s ability to move about
-To confirm speciation: two populations must no longer be able to interbreed
Sympatric Speciation
-Polypolidy: caused by nondisjunction
-produced 2n gametes
-will result in 3n daughter cells
-cannot pair properly and is sterile
-Tetraploid (4n) can self-pollinate and mate with other tetraploids
-speciation has occurred
-Sympatric speciation includes:
-postzygotic barriers
-prezygotic barriers
Types of Evolution
-Gradulism: organisms descend from a common ancestor
-change gradually over a long period of time (Darwin)
-Punctuated equilibrium: new species appears somewhat abruptly after long periods of stasis (Gould
and Eldridge)
-current belief
Patterns of Evolution
-Divergent evolution: population is exposed to new environment pressures
-Becomes isolated from its species and evolves into new ones
-Convergent evolution: unrelated species, due to similar environments, have similar adaptations
-Parallel evolution: two related species evolve independently of one another
-Maintain a level of similarity due to similar adaptations
-Occurs after divergent
-Coevolution: two interacting species in response to each other
-ex. Prey-predator relationships
Adapative Radiation
-Emergence of a diverse species from a common ancestor
-In response to new environmental pressures
-Sudden environmental changes can cause extinctions
-Newly emerged form fills the opened environmental niche