BIOL 2400 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Macroevolution, Microevolution, Hypothesis
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18 Jan 2017
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Lecture 1: evolution as a framework for understanding. Can be simply defined as a change in gene frequencies through time. Defined as a descent with genetic modification. Can be studied at the species level: microevolution. Can be studied above the species level: macroevolution: descent with modification. Evolution is about relationships among all of biodiversity. Some species are more similar b/c of their ancestry. But more importantly, it is also about the path taken: natural selection. Use principles of natural selection as a starting point to generate hypotheses about why a particular trait exists. Hypothesize that structures and functions that we see increase some component of evolutionary fitness. Prior benefit but now no cost- vestigial. Contemporary species were not created de novo (from the beginning) Evolution is descent with genetic modification . sequential accumulation of (cid:494)jury rig(cid:495) a nautical term meaning to make do with what is available. Where you go next entirely depends on where you came from.
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Related Questions
Question 1
Evolutionary algorithms are used:
| In engineering, to arrive at solutions by going through many permutations of possible solutions and allowing them to evolve. |
| A genetic feature of complex organisms. |
| A process undergone by the human brain, which is similar to evolution by natural selection. |
| Another term used for a computer algorithm in general. |
Question 2
Human literature and languages can be studied using methods similar to those used for constructing phylogenies because:
| There is no other way of studying these things. |
| Languages evolve roughly along the lines of species, with mutations (changes in words and pronunciation), descent with modification (languages becoming more different along the way), and branching of languages (languages giving rise to other languages that are similar to them). |
| Because literature and languages are constructed by organisms (human beings), so what applies to one must apply to the other. |
| Languages undergo a process of word swapping, which is analogous to horizontal gene transfer. |
Question 3
The degree to which horizontal gene transfer occurs in eukaryotes is:
| Something upon which the entire validity of evolutionary biology hinges. |
| A mystery that may or may not disprove evolution, but we simply don't know enough about it at this point. |
| Something that would overthrow the notion that this phenomenon is important in bacteria. |
| An interesting and potentially important aspect of biology with relevance for how evolution occurs, but not something that would call it into question one way or the other. |
Question 4
Learning about the history of scientific theories and the reasons for why they are initially accepted or rejected is important mostly because:
| It makes for exciting story telling, and this is very much needed to get people interested in science. |
| It teaches us about the process of science as it actually occurs, which is somewhat different to the idealized notion of a purely objective undertaking. |
| It tells us which theories are definitely true or false. |
| It tells us that science is actually a totally subjective process that tries to present itself as objective. In reality, personal subjective factors are the only relevant factors that really matter in science. |
