C HAPTER 16: D ARWIN ’ S T HEORY OF E VOLUTION Section 16-4: Evidence of Evolution.
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Transcript of C HAPTER 16: D ARWIN ’ S T HEORY OF E VOLUTION Section 16-4: Evidence of Evolution.
CHAPTER 16: DARWIN’S THEORY OF EVOLUTIONSection 16-4: Evidence of Evolution
BIOGEOGRAPHY
The study of where organisms live now and where they and their ancestors lived in the past
Patterns of distribution tell how modern organisms evolved from ancestors
Two patterns important to Darwin: Closely related but different – Galapagos
species similar to mainland species, suggests natural selection caused variations
Distantly related but similar – similar habitats can lead to similar adaptations in distantly related species
THE AGE OF THE EARTH AND FOSSILS
Hutton/Lyell argued Earth was old – but how old?
Modern geologists use radioactive dating to determine age of rocks/fossils
Earth is about 4.5 billion years old Darwin’s study of fossils convinced him, but
paleontologists had not yet found enough fossils of intermediate species
Since then, many have been found Whales from ancient land mammals
RECENT FOSSIL FINDS
History of life incomplete Always more to learn Evidence shows change
COMPARING ANATOMY AND EMBRYOLOGY All vertebrate limbs have same basic bone
structure Animals with similar structures evolved from
common ancestor Homologous structures – same basic
structure, shows common ancestry – different function
Study anatomical details, development in embryos, pattern of appearance
Similarities/differences show how recently organisms shared a common ancestor
COMPARING ANATOMY AND EMBRYOLOGY
Common structure = common descent, not common function
Body parts that share common function but not structure are analogous structures
Bee wing and bird wing
COMPARING ANATOMY AND EMBRYOLOGY
Vestigial structures – inherited from ancestors but have lost much of their original function
Ex: hipbones of dolphins, wings of flightless birds
Maybe presence of structure has no affect on fitness
COMPARING ANATOMY AND EMBRYOLOGY
Early developmental stages of many vertebrates look similar
Cells develop in the same order Shows common ancestry
GENETICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Central dogma Genetic code is universal – most organisms
share the same genes Shows common ancestry
HOMOLOGOUS MOLECULES
Homologous proteins share structural/chemical similarities
Ex: Similar versions of cytochrome c (cellular respiration) found in all living cells
Can also have homologous genes – Hox genes direct limb development
Minor changes in genes leads to major changes in structures
TESTING NATURAL SELECTION
Gather evidence by observing it in action
Grants and the Galapagos finches (read in text!) Showed competition and environmental change
drive natural selection Heritable variation the key – increased variation
increases likelihood of adapting/surviving changes
EVALUATING EVOLUTIONARY THEORY
Theory of evolution considered the grand unifying theory of the life sciences
Constantly being reviewed as new data is gathered
Questions that remain are about how evolution works, not whether it occurs