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of:
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two groups suggesting that a transition occurred from one group to another.
These fossils are called transitional forms and represent successive
change in organisms over time.
Transitional Form Examples
Fish to Amphibians. Lobe finned fish (fleshy finned fish) had bones in their
fins which could have allowed them to drag themselves over land. These
fins represent the ancestral limbs of terrestrial vertebrates.
Reptiles to Birds. Archaeopteryx is the oldest recognised fossilised bird. It
Correct age sequence has doubts as radiocarbon dating only goes back
50,000 years (not long in evolutionary terms)
Conclusion
Fossils give consistent evidence of past life forms that reflect evolutionary
patterns. However it has its limitations so further evidence is required to validate
the theory of evolution
Biogeography
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of both living and extinct
organisms. The theory of evolution states that for a new species to appear a
group of individuals must become isolated from the rest. Predictions from
biogeography provide supporting evidence to the theory of evolution.
Prediction
If isolation is necessary for new species to appear, the new species should
resemble species that share a habitat. They will be more similar to:
Species that live close by than to species far away. (even if environmental
Evidence
Ratites: present day distribution of flightless birds suggested they
Analogous Structures:
Where body parts appear similar at first but are actually very different in
structure. e.g. wings of bird and wings of grasshopper.
They differ greatly in basic plan and are called analogous
Evolved to become similar as they were selected to be used for similar
purpose (flight).
Examples: Australian echidna, European hedgehog, well developed eyes in
octopuses, vertebrates and insects.
Vestigial Structures:
Evolutionary remnants of past body parts that do not serve a function
within population.
Presence of vestigial structures provides evidence for common ancestry
e.g. presence of appendix and coccyx in humans. Pelvic bones in snakes
and whales.
Limitations:
Bias in the organisms represented in the fossil record (lack of soft bodied
fossils, many hard bodied fossils) area in which fossil located, swamps,
riverbeds suitable for fossilisation, desert not.
Superficial structures may be analogous and not show common ancestors.
Many genes not expressed anatomically or have such subtle effects that
they are hard to detect
Different genes may affect phenotypic
Comparative Embryology
Comparison of the developmental stages of different species. Similarities
Evidence
Embryos show similarities during early development e.g. fish, amphibians,
birds, reptiles and mammals all have gill slits and tails with muscle blocks
during early embryonic life. This can be explained through common
ancestry. This suggests that their common ancestor lived in an aquatic
environment.
Gill slits developed into gills in fish and some amphibians. Embryonic gills
in mammals developed into part of the Eustachian tube that connects the
middle ear with the throat
Conclusion
Closely related embryonic organisms have homologous parts, providing
DNA. The more closely the base pairs are matched, the stronger the
bindings between the hybrid DNA.
Heat is applied to test how strong the bonds are in the hybrid DNA. The
higher the temperature required to separate, the more closely related the
species.
Closely related species have a similar order of nucleotide based so they
DNA Sequencing
Exact order of nucleotide bases is compared between species.
Conclusion
Closely related species have fewer differences in amino acid and DNA and
Limitations
Some changes in DNA may not be identified if a change in the past has
reverted back to original form in a recent organism
Very expensive and can only be performed in high tech labs
Predator
String
Rubber
band
Match
sticks
Paper
Straws Beans
Total
Peg
168
003
213
164
533
112
Spoon
32
21
01
44
10
17 17
chopstick 6 2
s
30
01
15
14
10
Skewer
50
Forceps
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
This isn't a multi-generation test. What would increase the validity of this
test in terms of natural selection would be to remove the weakest predator
and replace it with another strong predator at the end of the round. Another
way would be to set a time limit of 30 seconds and see how many specific
prey had been eaten in that time. If all the beans had died out then they
would not survive to reproduce and would not be in the next round
Gametes: Sex cells that allow an organism to reproduce
Hybrid: offspring of parents who have different traits
Pollination: transferring of male pollen grains to the pistil
Fertilisation: when the male and female gametes unite
Parental generation: first generation
F1: offspring of second generation
F2: offspring of F1 generation
Dominant: trait that is more expressive in alleles than other traits (capital letter)
Recessive: trait that is submissive in the alleles to the other trait (lower case)
If organism contains a dominant and recessive allele then dominant trait will be
expressed
Phenotype: physical expression of organism's genes
Genotype: genetic make up of an organism
Outline the experiments carried out by Gregor Mendel
What he studied
Investigated breeding patterns of garden peas to determine inheritance of
characteristics
Used garden peas as they can be easily grown and cross bred, have a
short life cycle and both male and female parts are in the flowers
Traits he studied:
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Valid and reliable: Changed one variable at a time, controlled
all others. Used large sample sizes and repeated experiments for
different traits. Mathematically analysed results to identify patterns
and applied formulae to draw valid conclusions
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Accurate: reduced possibility of experimental error.
Experiments were all in a controlled environment. Self fertilisation
kept plants isolated. Cross pollination removed anthers of one plant
and stigma of another then manually transferred pollen to prevent
self pollination
Describe outcomes of monohybrid crosses involving simple dominance
using Mendel's explanations
If organism has identical alleles for a genetic trait (TT or tt) they are
homozygous
Hybrid = heterozygous
If organism has contrasting alleles for a trait (Tt) the individual is termed
heterozygous
Distinguish between the terms allele and gene, using examples
Gene
Segment of DNA on a chromosome
Allele:
Alternative forms of the same gene
population
Segregate during gamete formation
Law of Segregation
families.
Useful for studying heredity patterns in animals
Human Pedigrees
Can be used to:
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Determine if family traits are genetically inherited
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Trace occurrence of genetic disorders, abnormalities or diseases
within a family
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Deduce genotypes and assess if parents are carriers of defective
alleles
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Predict likelihood of family members inheriting a trait or disorder
Advantages
Used by genetic counsellors to advise parents on the risks of producing a
population
To study genes which cause disorders, researchers use pedigrees to select
those individuals who are at risk and focus gene analysis on them
Animal Pedigrees
Pedigrees in animal breeding are used to:
Select suitable individuals for breeding by identifying desirable traits
Limitations of Pedigrees
Useful only for studying animals with small quantities of offspring