BIOLOGY 1M03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Selective Breeding, Cell Theory, The Strongest
4 Dec 2017
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The cell theory; theory of evolution by natural selection. Redi"s experiment to test spontaneous generation of maggots. Pasteur"s experiment to test spontaneous generation of bacteria. Chemical gradients can be used to store energy. Links a phenotype to the same space as the genotype that encodes it. Evolution postulates that (a) species are related to one another and (b) species can change through time. Natural selection is a process that explains how evolution occurs. Fitness is the ability of an individual to produce offspring. Adaptation is a characteristic that increases the fitness of an individual in a particular environment (not all characteristics are considered adaptations) Adaptation is also the process of a species acquiring fitness-improving traits over time. In order for natural selection to occur you need: (1) variation, that is (2) heritable, and (3) influences fitness. If certain heritable characteristics lead to increased success in producing offspring, then these traits become more common in the population over time.
