Lesson 1: Evolution

• is a change in the genetic make-up of a population over time.

  evolution
• is the process by which species of organisms undergo genetic changes over generations, resulting in the development of new species.​

  evolution
• types of evolution:

  1. microevolution
  2. macroevolution
• the gradual changes within a species over time

  microevolution
• the development of new species.​

  macroevolution
• a group of primates that includes humans, evolved over millions of years into modern humans.​

  hominins
• evolution occurs through 4 main mechanisms:

  1. natural selection
  2. genetic drift
  3. mutation
  4. gene flow
• process by which individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing their beneficial traits to future generations.​

  natural selection
• a random process that occurs when certain traits become more or less common in a population due to chance events, such as genetic mutations or natural disasters.​

  genetic drift
• a change in DNA that can occur spontaneously or due to exposure to certain environmental factors, such as pollutants or radiation.​

  mutation
• a group of interbreeding organisms of the same species

  population
• believed that species have been created seprately and remained unchanged from the time of their creation until the present time

  Plato
• believed that organisms on Earth are rellated to one another in a hierarchy from simple to complex forms

  Aristotle
• believed that individuals in a species are basically identical and can ve arranged hierarchally, and species remain the same

  Aristotle
• believed that life evolved from one common ancestor, which branched off into all species we know today

  Erasmus Darwin
• believed that changes in nature are uniform and gradual

  Lyell
• believed that species change and they migrate from their original location to a new environment, explaining their distribution

  Buffon
• believed that new species evolve from existing species through environmental forces acting on them. Traits could be passed on to the next generation

  Jean Baptise Lamarck
• believed that species, including humans, descended from other species

  Jean Baptise Lamarck
• they believed that individuals in a population have variation, species evolve through the process of natural selection

  Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace
• a theory that physiological changes acquired during an organism's lifetime can be passed down to the offspring

  Theory of Acquired Characteristics
• ensures the survival and reproductive success of individuals who better adjusted to their environment

  Natural selection
• the line that separates animals from Asia and Australia

  Wallace Line
• organs that have different functions but have similarities in structures

  Homologous structures
• organs of different species that are similar in function but not necessarily in structure

  analogous structures
• these organs are redumenrary structures with no obvious use at present but resemble useful structures in ancestral relatives

  Vestigal structures
• one of the key enzymes practically present in every living organisms that can reveal evolutionary relationships

  Cytochrome
• the adjustment of organisms to their environment in order to improve their chances at survival in that environment

  evolutionary adaptation
• when natural selection favors a particular or one extreme traitt present in every member of the population over all other forms

  Directional selection
• favors the elimination of certain traits at the opposite range which can result to individuals who have intermediate characteristics

  Stabilizing selection
• two extreme phenotypes or characteristics are favored for, while the intermediate condition is selected against

  Disruptive selection
• a group of organisms that have similar characteristics and can interbreed and produce fertile offsprings

  Speciation
• occurs when closely related species divert into new habitats, often as a result of diverging lifestyles, ultimately producing distinct species

  Divergent evolution
• groups of distantly related lineages tend to evolve similar structures as adaptations to a similar habitat or way of life

  Convergent evolution
• total disppearance of all members of a certain species from the planet

  Extinction
• happens when ancestral species invades a new territory with no known competitors, allowing them to exploit the resources of the said environment and occupy a specific niche

  Adaptive radiation
• two or more nonbreeding species affecting each other's survival and evulution

  Coevolution
• some partnerships are so matched that removing ine in the environment could lead to the extinction of the other species

  Obligatory mutualism
• the idea that evolution occurs in spurts instead of following the slow, but steady path

  Punctuated equilibrium