Chapter 5

Evolution
Charles Darwin

Pangea
 When an ecosystem is biologically
diverse there is a higher chance that
some organisms will survive as changes
in the ecosystem arises.
 Two Types of Biological Diversity.
• 1) Species diversity - describes the number of different species to
successfully mate and produce viable offspring (One belongs to a
species because it can produce viable offspring).

We are told that species are communities of individuals that can interbreed
successfully. Two creatures that cannot interbreed, even if they
resemble each other, must belong to different species.
As is often the case in evolution, the rules of speciation are by no means
ironclad.
Lions and tigers are two different species. They look different, they
have different lifestyles, they vocalize differently, and they generally live
on different continents. Yet when they are brought together artificially,
they can interbreed. Such hybrids are called tigons and ligers.
Do they challenge the definition of species? Not really. The key words
are "interbreed successfully"; tigons and ligers generally are sterile and
short-lived -- an evolutionary dead end.

• 2) Genetic diversity - refers to the amount of variation in inherited

traits between individuals of the same species.

This difference may be seen in different breeds of dogs but they are still
dogs and usually can successfully breed. In the wild, there are less
noticeable differences between the same species.
 Mules

The Mule is a cross

between a donkey
stallion and a horse
mare. Hinnies are
just the opposite - a
stallion horse crossed
to a female donkey.
For all purposes,
hinnies and mules are
classified and shown
together under the
general term Mule.
 Science of Taxonomy
• Taxonomy - The science of classifying organisms.
Taxonomist - Scientist who studies taxonomy.
• Taxonomy is common since all life on earth can be
classified in biological classification. Biological
classification is common language used by all
scientists.

• Levels of classification
Know the levels of classification on page 135
Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species.
(King Philip Cry Out For Goodness Sake!)
 Humans – Homo sapiens
• Kingdom – Animalia
• Phylum – Chordata
• Class – Mammalia
• Order – Primates
• Family – Hominidae
• Genus – Homo
• Species - sapiens
 Binomial Nomenclature – Scientific
Naming
• Carl Linnaeus (Swedish botanist) – Developed
a method of classification assigning names to
plants and animals called binomial
nomenclature, which assigns each organism a
two-part scientific name using Latin (sometimes
Greek) words
• Binomial nomenclature is a common language
used by all scientists.
• The 2 words are the Genus name, species
name
 Levels of Classification

• Genus -The first part of

binomial name. A genus
includes several species.
• Levels of classification
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
family
genus
species

Leopard classification
 Five kingdom system originally proposed by Robert Wittakerin 1969

Five
Kingdom
System

Animalia Fungi
Plantae Protista Monera
Multicellular
Most single celled
Multicellular Heterotrophic
Multicellular eukaryotes Prokaryotes
Heterotrophic Cell Wall
Autotrophic (cells contain a (Cells lack a
No cell wall Eg. Yeast
Eg. Moss, Ferns, nucleus) nucleus)
Eg. Fish, birds, Mushrooms
Flowering plants Eg. protozoa Eg. bacteria
mammals
 Six kingdom system originally proposed by Carl Woese and
colleagues 1970’s

Six
Kingdom
System

Protista Eubacteria Archae-

Plantae Animalia Fungi
Most single Prokaryotic bacteria
Multicellular Multicellular celled Cell wall Different than
Autotrophic Heterotrophic Multicellular
Eukaryotic contains Eubacteria
Eg. Moss, No cell wall Heterotrophic Prokaryotic
(cells contain Peptidoglycan
Ferns, Eg. Fish, Cell Wall Cell wall does
a nucleus) Protein and
Flowering birds, Eg. Yeast not contain
Eg. protozoa carbohydrate
plants mammals Mushrooms peptidoglycan
Eg. bacteria Live in harsh
environments
•Many microbiologists believe that the traditional
kingdom classification systems should be replaced
by a three domain system that better shows the
evolutionary history of life. This separates all of the
Eukaryotes from the Eubacteria and
Archaebacteria, which genetically are very
different from each other.
Three domain system
 Phylogeny
• Phylogenetics is the study of evolutionary
relationships among groups of organisms.
• The Mastigophora was first simple cell. The
tree starts from the most ancestral form and
includes branchings that lead to all of its
descendants.
• This phylogenetic tree shows the
relationships within the six kingdoms and how
evolution has occurred in different directions.
Mastigophora
 Dichotomous Key
• Dichotomous key - a two-part key used to
identify living things. Di means “two.”
• Investigation 5.1 Use a dichotomous key to
identify different whales p. 162-163. You will
use various characteristics to identify 7 types
of whales.
• First thing to distinguish is the presence of
teeth or baleen plates.
 In the mouth of a baleen whale, stiff plates of keratin grow
down from the gums of the upper jaw. These plates are
called baleen. They grow in rows on each side of the mouth

• Humpback whales have baleen plates. They are used to

collect small marine life to be strained by the plates.
 Toothed Whales

• A beluga and an orca are toothed whales.

 Evidences for Evolution
1. Fossils - Radiometric dating (This is the most direct evidence -
The study of fossils is called Paleontology).
2. Anatomy – Homologous and Analogous structures.
Vestigial structure – Rudimentary structure with no useful
function. Human appendix may be a vestigial organ from
when our ancestors ate more cellulose rich plant life.
3. Biochemical evidence - Genetics, DNA, and protein structure
of amino acids.
4. Artificial selection – is another word for plant and animal
breeding in which people breed organisms with desired
characteristics in order to get offspring with those same
characteristics. Artificial selection is evidence that similar
dramatic changes occurred naturally over time, called
“Natural Selection”.
5. Biogeographical evidence – Explores the variation and
distribution of life over the Earth’s surface.
 Embryology – An evolutionary relationship
among species may be evidenced in embryologic
development.
 Radiometric Dating
• Radiometric dating measures the rate of decay
of radioactive isotopes such as potassium 40,
which decays into argon 40 or uranium 238,
which decays into lead 206. The half life is the
amount of time it takes for half of a sample of the
isotope to decay. The half life of any particular
isotope is constant. By comparing the amount of
the original element and the amount of the new
element and knowing the half life, the age of the
rock sample can be determined.
 Example of Radiometric Dating
• By measuring the age of rock through these techniques,
paleontologists can estimate ages for fossils.
• A rock is discovered to contain fossilized remains of an
organism. The rock contains some of radioactive
element x that has now decayed into radioactive element
y over time. The half life of element x is 1 million years.
Calculate the age of the rock:
Original amount of x is 400 mg. Rock now contains 50
mg.
400 mg  200 mg  100 mg  50 mg
1 million years + 1 million years + 1 million years
Therefore the rock sample is approx. 3 million years old
Explain how evidence from biogeography can be used to show
evolution
Pangaea - This was the super continent that was made up of
all the continents of today combined into one large land mass.
• Continental drift – The Earth’s continents
were part of one supercontinent. The slow
drift of Earth’s tectonic plates separated
the large landmass into the continents we
see today. As a result, fossils of some
species that were once in the same
geographical region are now distributed on
different continents.
• Eg. Fossil remains of organisms are found
in both South America and Africa as they
were connected before the break up of
Pangaea.
Biogeography explains distribution of life over the
earth surface.
 Evidence from biogeography suggests that
some species have evolved independently
in isolated parts of the world.
• Endemic – Used to describe a species that is in one location only.
• Example – Australia’s many types of marsupials.
• There are thousands of species endemic to Australia. This can be
attributed to the geographical isolation of the continent. It is the most
isolated of the continents and was only discovered by non-natives in
1606. Australia is the only continent naturally not to be connected by
land to other continents. Australia has been isolated from other
continents since it split from Antarctica about 40 million years ago.
 Homologous and analogous features may be used
as evidence from anatomy

• Homologous structures – are similar in origin and

structure, but not necessarily in function. They are
characteristics which are shared by related species
because they have been inherited in some way from a
common ancestor. It is a product of divergent evolution.
For example, the bones on the front fins of a whale, the
bones in a human arm, and the bones in a chimpanzee
arm are homologous. They have similar bone
arrangements, but their sizes are different and the serve
slightly different functions. Homology – the fewer two
organisms share homologous structures, the less
closely related they are.
Homologous Structures – similarities in the bones in the
penguin’s wing, alligator’s fore leg, bat’s wing, and
human’s arm.
Analogous structures - Similar function and
appearance but not in origin. For example, an insect
wing compared to a bird’s wing.

Analogous structures – a result of convergent

evolution.
Some biological characteristics are analogous, which
means that they serve the same function in different
species, but they evolved independently rather than
from the same embryological material or from the
same structures in a common ancestor. An example of
an analogous structures would be the wings on
butterflies, bats, and birds.
 Similarities in DNA can be used to show
biochemical evidence.

• Biochemistry - Similarity in DNA molecules and

specific proteins. Proteins make up many structures in
organisms, such as muscle cells and skin cells. Proteins
are made up of chains of amino acids. Each type of
protein has a unique sequence of amino acids. Over
time, similar proteins in different species become
increasingly different in their amino acid sequences.
The more differences there are in the amino acid
sequences, the less similar the species are.
• In the lab, Biochemical Evidence for Evolution, you will
compare the amino acid sequences in hemoglobin
molecules (a protein found in red blood cells) in
humans, gorillas, and horses.
 DNA Sequences
• Scientists have found evidence for
evolution in DNA sequences, too. DNA is
the hereditary material that determines the
characteristics that will be passed on to
the next generation. A gene is a segment
of DNA that codes for a particular protein.
We would expect more closely related
species to have more similar sequences of
DNA.
 Evidence from Artificial Selection

• Artificial Selection is animal and plant breeding

where humans breed individuals with desired
characteristics in order to get offspring with
those same characteristics. Since humans can
use artificial selection to produce changes in
different species over short periods of time, this
indicates that similar changes could occur in
nature over millions of years and many
generations.
The theory of use and disuse and how inheritance of acquired
characteristics led to a longer necked giraffe is contrasted with
Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection.
 Theory of Evolution - Theory of use and disuse and
the concept of inheritance of acquired characteristics.
• The theory of use and disuse was that if an organism uses
structure, then it will develop it. If it doesn’t use the structure, it
will lose it. The organism will then pass these traits onto it’s
offspring. For example, a generation of giraffes had to reach
leaves high up in the trees. This continual stretching of it’s
neck would lead to a slight lengthening of it’s neck over it’s
lifetime. Then this trait of a slightly longer neck would be
passed onto it’s offspring. This pattern of inheritance over
many generations has led to the long necks found in today’s
giraffes. This is the concept of inheritance of acquired
characteristics. Now we know that traits acquired during an
individual’s life cannot be passed onto offspring.
 Charles Darwin’s Theory of
Evolution by Natural Selection
• Darwin was a naturalist who sailed around the world
studying the organisms found in different locations. Of
particular importance was the finches that he observed
on the Galapagos Islands. These birds were not found
anywhere else, but resembled birds found in South
America, 1000 km away. He thought that they had
evolved from a common ancestor that had arrived in the
Galapagos from South America.
• He was interested in artificial selection and reasoned
that if people could alter the appearance and behavior of
species over generations through artificial selection, then
the environment could do the same thing to wild species.
Darwin was influenced by Thomas Malthus.
Malthus showed that all species produce more
offspring than are able to survive. Darwin realized
that there must be intense competition among
them for resources and therefore survival. Alfred
Russell Wallace had independently come to the
same conclusions as Darwin. Later, Darwin
published On the Origin of the Species by
Means of Natural Selection.
Interestingly, Darwin knew that variation had to
exist in populations of organisms, but he didn’t
know where the variation came from. He knew
nothing about genetics!
 The Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection
• Observation #1: Individuals within any species exhibit
many inherited variations.
• Observation #2: Every generation produces far more
offspring than can survive to reproduce.
• Observation #3: Populations of species tend to remain
stable in size.
• Inference #1: Individuals of the same species are in a
constant struggle for survival.
• Inference #2: Individuals with more favourable variations
are more likely to survive and pass these variations on.
Survival is not random. This is natural selection. The
individuals that are the best adapted to their environment
will live to compete, survive, and reproduce. This is
survival of the fittest!
• Inference #3: Since individuals with more favourable
variations contribute proportionately more offspring to
succeeding generations, their favourable inherited
variations will become more common. This is evolution.
• Eg. Running speed of the cheetah – evolution.
In nature, there is variation in running speed of cheetahs –
some are naturally faster than others. The faster ones
would have caught more prey, provided better
nourishment and protection for their young, and led
longer reproductive lives. They would have survived and
passed these traits on to their future generations. Slower
cheetahs would have died off sooner and produced less
offspring, who wouldn’t have been able to compete as
well. Over time, natural selection would favour the
reproductive success of the faster cheetahs and the
cheetahs would evolve in that direction.
 Variability in a species may
arise from two biological
processes: mutations and
sexual reproduction.
A mutation is a change in the
DNA sequence in a
chromosome.
• Asexual Reproduction – An individual
reproduces without a mate. No diversity of
genetics. This happens in bacteria. The
result is a new bacterium that is genetically
identical to the parent. The exception to
this is if there is a mutation in the DNA.
Therefore, there is very little inherited
variability and few traits that can be
selected by natural selection.
Sexual – large amount of inherited variability
in species that undergo sexual reproduction.

There are three reasons why:

1. Sexually reproducing species have two
copies of each gene, one from each parent.
The offspring therefore has a different
combination of genes than either parent.
2. The assortment of genes that an offspring
inherits from either parent is determined
randomly.
3. Sexually reproducing species choose
different mates. Each combination of parents
will give rise to different combinations of
genes and traits in the next generation.
Speciation – the formation of a new species. Members of
one species are not capable of interbreeding with members
of another species under natural conditions.
Most new species are believed to arise by a three step
process called allopatric speciation.
1. A physical barrier separates a single population into two
groups that are isolated from each other. Any mutations
that occur in one group are not shared with the other
group. Examples of physical barriers could be river
channels, canyons, and human constructions such as
dams.
2. Natural selection works on the separated groups
independently, resulting in inherited differences in the two
populations. The populations evolve independently.
3. In time, the physical and/or behavioral differences are so
great that the groups, if reunited, would no longer be
sexually compatible. They are now two different species.
 Adaptive Radiation
Adaptive radiation – a process where organisms
diversify rapidly into many new forms particularly
when a change in the environment makes new
resources available. Adaptive radiation generally
proceeds most rapidly in environments where there
are numerous unoccupied niches or where
competition for resources is minimal.
 Theory of Punctuated Equilibrium vs
Theory of Gradualism
Theory of Punctuated equilibrium: The idea that species
evolve rapidly, followed by a period of little or no change. In
the fossil record, distinct species often appear abruptly and
then little further change is seen over very long periods of
time. Three main assertions of this theory:
- Many species evolve very rapidly in evolutionary time.
- speciation usually occurs in small isolated populations, so
intermediate fossils are very rare.
- after an initial burst of evolution, species are well adapted to
their environment and so do not change significantly over long
periods of time.
Theory of Gradualism : The idea that speciation takes place
slowly and gradually. We would expect to find many fossils
showing small changes in species over time.
To some extent, the differences between these theories are a
matter of perspective. To paleontologists, a rapid change may
be the appearance of a new species in the fossil record in
100 000 years!
Describe the major extinction events identified with thick red lines on
the chart on page 160. These events may have occurred to
cause the Eras and global diversity we have today.
 Extinction Events
• At the end of the Paleozoic Era, a series of cataclysmic
events eradicated more than 90% of marine species.
Many scientists believe this was due to tectonic plate
movements. This was the Permian Extinction.
• The Mesozoic Era, when the dinosaurs flourished, came
to an abrupt end when the dinosaurs and many other
species disappear from the fossil record. Considerable
evidence supports the hypothesis that the mass
extinction was caused by an asteroid impact. Scientists
believe that the debris and energy released from this
would have killed most of the animal and plant life in
North America within minutes. Atmospheric dust would
have blocked sunlight for months or years which would
have a huge impact on photosynthesis.
 Labs
• Investigation 5.1- Use a dichotomous key
to classify whales.
• Variations on a Theme – research living
and extinct birds to see how their bill
shape is an adaptation to the type of foods
they eat.
• Biochemical Evidence for Evolution –
compare amino acid sequences in
humans, horses and gorillas.
 Charles Darwin Role in the Theory
of Gradualism
• Charles Darwin is the Creator of
Gradualism
• Known as the father of evolution,
Charles Darwin invented the
theory of gradualism. He claimed
that through natural selection, the
individuals with the best genetic
traits would be the ones to mate
and pass on their genes. This
process is very slow since it
requires countless generations for
these small changes to be
realized. This made Darwin
believe that evolution happens
with small changes over very [Link]/ media/darwin-body.
periods. html
Adaptive Radiation
 the following information to answer the next 3 questions

[Link] mosquito eggs can live in

• cultured medium X.
[Link] medium Y is the same as X
an insecticide has been added to it.
[Link] culture medium Y, only a few eggs
survive after 24 hours.
[Link] medium Z has the same amount
of the insecticide as culture medium Y.
9. The few eggs surviving in culture medium Y probably
A. inherited an acquired characteristic
B. became resistant by artificial selection
C. acquire a gene for resistance after the insecticide was added
D. had a variation for resistance to the insecticide
10. Addition of insecticide is a(n)
A. change in environment
B. evolutionary change
C. variation
D. acquired characteristic
11. If surviving eggs of culture Y were placed in culture Z, probably most of them
would
A. die
B. survive
C. change form
D. mutate
 How do gene mutations occur?
• During the development of the sex cell in • A mutation is a change in the DNA
meiosis, the replication of a chromosome sequence in a chromosome.
occurs. • The effect of these mutations can be
• These chromosomes carry the DNA. depend on what DNA sequence is
This DNA is composed of long altered and how it is affected. These
sequences of the four nucleotide bases: changes due to mutations are as follows:
adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C),
and guanine (G). The sequence of these
bases forms a code, which is translated
into proteins. These give an organism • Kinds of mutations:
specific inherited traits.
Genes are segments of DNA that code • Neutral Mutation - No
for specific traits. Each gene has a
specific DNA sequence. effect at that time
• During the replication and production of
the sex cells (the sperm and the egg), the • Harmful mutation –
chromosomes can change their DNA
sequence and entirely new genetic
Reduces fitness
information can arise. Environmental
factors such as chemicals and radiation
• Beneficial – Gives
or errors that arise during duplication can
cause mutations.
selective advantages
Each sperm has a different genetic code or make up thus the offspring
produced are slightly different. This provides more opportunity for variation
in sexual reproduction.
 Explain what is meant by Divergent Evolution

• Divergent evolution – when a species rapidly evolved into

many different species.

Original bear
So what do you call the offspring of a lion and a
tiger? Well, it depends on which one of the
parents is male, and which one is female. If a
male lion mates with a female tiger, the resulting
offspring is known as a “Liger”.
If the opposite happens, then the offspring is
called a “Tigon” or a “Tiglon”. Since, however,
the likelihood of the offspring of any crossbreed
being fertile is slim to none, they aren’t able to
continue producing more ligers and tigons.
Read more at
[Link]
ws-most-ferocious-crossbreeds-earth?image=2#
kB5YEO9BYYvqykdu.99
Between the two animals, the Liger definitely gets the better deal. They will
generally end up with all of the good characteristics of both animals, whereas the
tigon will get all of the less desirable ones. Growing, on average, as large as both
parents put together, the liger enjoys swimming, and is a very social animal. The
liger is also much more likely to grow a distinct mane. Liger cubs are also much
more likely to live past birth than their counterparts, with some reports indicating
that it’s not uncommon for a liger to live to be 20 or more years old.