Evolution Study Guide
1. Who is the Father of Evolution?
Charles Darwin, brief overview of Darwin: He was supposed
to be a doctor, and then a minister and eventually he became
a naturalist. He sailed around the world on the HMS Beagle
as the ships naturalist. He collected many samples of plants,
animals and fossils and noticed that many organisms on
different continents were similar. (This is the result of
Pangea). He noticed that many species had changed over
time in response to their environment.
2. Biological evolution or evolution mean the same thing, what is evolution?
Evolution is change in a species over time.
3. How does evolution affect species diversity?
As populations adapt to their environment, biodiversity will
increase in that area. Biodiversity is the variety of life in the
world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.
4. Acquired characteristics vs. inherited traits, what does this mean?
Acquired characteristics are “learned” (usually a behavior) they are
not passed on genetically to offspring. Inherited traits are genetic
and are transmitted (passed on) in the gamete cells. Remember
gametes are the sex cells and for humans they are sperm and egg.
5. What is natural selection? (Know this concept inside and out!)
Process that was first proposed by Charles Darwin. Natural
selection is when individuals within a population have
favorable traits for a particular environment that allow them to
survive and reproduce and pass these favorable traits on to
their offspring. This leads to populations changing over time
in response to environmental changes.
6. What is isolation? What are the different types of isolation that can occur?
Isolation is a condition when two populations of the same
species are separated from one another
Isolation leads to species formation.
There is reproductive isolation (mate at different times,
different mating calls) there is also geographical isolation
(organisms are separated from one another, example Mrs.
Butler’s island story)
7. What is speciation?
The formation of new and distinct species in the course of
evolution
8. Why is the Peppered moth studied in evolution? Explain what it represents.
Peppered moth is an example of how environmental changes
can influence traits. Before pollution the majority of the moths
were a light peppery color, after pollution (industrial revolution)
the environment darkened the moths with the darker color
were able to blend into the trees, survive and reproduce
passing this darker color onto their offspring.
9. What happens to favorable traits in a population? What happens to deleterious traits (bad) in a
population? What happens to traits that may not effect the population in one manner or another?
Selective advantage or selective disadvantage, what do these two terms mean?
Favorable traits will increase in a population if they give a
selective advantage to the organisms. Bad traits will decrease
in a population if they pose a selective disadvantage to the
organisms (in many cases they decrease because the
organism will die). If a trait does not really affect the organism
either positively or negatively it will usually remain stable.
(Example of this type of trait could be a widow’s peak; this
does nothing for the organisms’ survival)
10. In order for mutations to affect a population they must be found in the gamete
(sex cells) cells.
11. Explain what all of the following terms mean: If possible use examples.
is when individuals move in and out of populations.
(migration) Example: Humans fathering children during a
foreign war, gene flow is changed for that group of
individuals
a. gene flow
how often an allele occurs in a gene pool relative
to the other alleles for that gene.
b. allele frequency
c. Adaptation the process
of becoming adapted to an environment;
some trait that improves an organisms chance of survival in
that
environment
d.
a state of balance, when a population is steady or
balanced there is no evolution
Equilibrium
e. genetic drift
(small)
random change in allele frequency in a population
Bottleneck- population gets much smaller
very quickly, example natural disaster such
as a forest fire.
2. Founder effect- when a few individuals start or
found a new population
1.
f.
genetic variation differences
that occur in an individuals DNA ( all
organisms have genetic variations within a population)
structure reduced in size and function, these
structures are considered to be evidence of an organism’s
evolutionary past. Examples of vestigial structures are: wings on
flightless birds, human tailbone, human wisdom teeth, snake and
whale’s pelvis)
g. vestigial structures
structures that share a common ancestry; but a
different function example humerus, radius, ulna etc)
h. homologous structure
i.
analogous structure similar characteristics or features that organisms have in common
but evolved independently. Same function different ancestor.
j.
founder effect
k.
bottleneck
l.
natural selection vs. artificial selection
when a few individuals start or found a new population;
subcategory of genetic drift. Example: Amisha community from
the Netherlands
some of the founders had alleles for certain disorders
population gets much smaller very quickly, example a
natural disaster such as a forest fire. The remaining organisms
can cause genetic drift because of the alleles that they have.
natural selection occurs naturally
in nature (traits chosen by environmental needs) artificial is when
you have human interference, “we” choose the traits. Example:
breeding dogs
m. fossils (explain in detail what they are and how they are made) preserved or
mineralized remains or traces of once living organisms. Fossils
are only glimpses into our past because very few organisms will
fossilize due to decay. The type environment that promotes
fossilization is a wet or damp conditions.
Example: footprints, bones, shells, teeth etc.
n. microevolution occurs over a relatively short period of time and occurs within a
population or a species. Example: Grants working with Darwins finches
Occurs over a geologic period of time, long long time
period of time. Can be seen in the fossil record: fall of the
dinosaurs rise of mammals
o. macroevolution
accumulation of differences between groups; can
lead to the formation of new species
p. divergent evolution
q. Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium
r.
slow steady (gradual) change (evolution) over a long
time period
Gradualism
evolution that occurs very rapidly, bursts of
change; short periods of rapid change in species are separated
by long periods of little or no change.
s. Punctuated equilibrium
t.
evolution that occurs between two or more species at
the same time, example flowers and certain birds
Coevolution
u. Endosymbiosis example
chloroplasts or mitochondria may have been
a type of ancient bacteria that were absorbed by other bacteria
and gave rise to the eukaryotic cells