Macroevolution

• fossils are biased due to unconformities and discontinuities in geological sequence
• soft tissues are are harder to fossilise
• fossils need low energy, anaerobic, protective sediment, rapid burial, no scavengers
• phylotic gradualism


  slow and steady divergence of lineages
• punctuated equilibrium


  large amounts of change in a short time
• punctual equilibrium includes a sudden burst in a short period of transitional fossils
• macromutation


  big mutations producing a sudden evolutionary change
• macromutation skips over the transitional form
• macromutation often occurs in polyploid organisms
• Richard Goldschmit 


  evolutionary-developmental biologist that identified transcriptional factors
• a single mutation can have large effect on gene regulatory networks
• Cambrian explosion saw increased disparity and diversity
• cambrian explosion may have been caused by...

  changes in environment, genetic capability, changes in ecology
• cambrian saw the macroscopic body
• macroscopic body


  the morphological interaction between predators and prey