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To make
senseabout
of structure
and function,
we
Also
unique
biology:
individual
need to deal with biological diversity.
organisms
change within their lifetimes!
Two important levels of diversity:
1. Development,
growth, maturation,
There are many species of organisms, and
aging
they are often very different from each
other -- interspecific variation
Plants
~ 300,000 ~ 1,000,000 insects
> 350,000 beetles!
invertebrates
(not arthropods)
~ 150,000
Vertebrates
~ 52,000
4500 mammals
More commonalities:
common ancestors
Similar species (like humans and
chimpanzees) have recent common ancestors
Dissimilar species had common ancestors
much farther in the past
All species share common ancestry from very
long ago (~ 3.5 billion years ) -- origin of life
present
common ancestors
time
past
Branch points ( )
indicate events that
formed new lineages
(last shared ancestors)
time
present
past
common ancestor
Lineages separated
by few branch points
are more related than
lineages separated by
many branch points.
'dead leaves'
show extinct lineages.
Closely related
(recent shared
ancestor)
time
green 'leaves'
show existing species
past
common ancestor
Distantly related
(no recent shared
ancestor)
time
present
time
present
past
common ancestor
common
ancestor
past
past
common ancestor
common
ancestor
time
present
past
time
present past
time
present
Species
Genus (genera)
Family
Order
Class
Phylum (phyla)
Kingdom
Domain
Species
Genus (genera)
Family
Order
Class
Phylum (phyla)
Kingdom
Domain
lupus
Canis
Canids (dogs)
Carnivores
Mammals
Chordates
Animals
Eukaryotic organisms
lupus
Canis
Canids (dogs)
Carnivores
Mammals
Chordates
Animals
Eukaryotic organisms
Wolf
Examples of clades
Canid clade includes
all dogs : domestic
dogs, wolves, coyotes,
foxes, jackals, etc., back
to an ancestral dog
Mustelid clade
includes all mustelids:
skunks, otters, weasels,
wolverines, etc., back to
an ancestral mustelid.
Carnivore clade
includes all carnivores:
cats, dogs, weasels,
bears, etc., back to an
ancestral carnivore.
2.
Only
a tiny fraction
discovered
Some
examples
of modelof
organisms:
species
have coli
been
carefully studied
Escherichia
(bacterium)
Most
Arabidopsis
thaliana
(small
plant) in terms
have simply
been
described
Chaenorhabditis
(nematode
worm)
ofbasic
morphologyelegans
(what they
look like).
Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly)
Brachydanio
rerio (zebrafish)
A few
have been examined
in more detail:
Mus musculus
mouse)
physiology,
ecology, (house
behavior,
etc.
A very small number of model organisms
have been intensively studied, and their
biology is understood in considerable detail.
If we understand evolutionary
history, we dont need complete
knowledge to make useful
generalities and predictions.
More examples:
We know a lot about the fruit fly
Drosophila melanogaster. Therefore we also
know a lot about other Drosophila, a bit less
about other kinds of flies, something about
insects in general, and a little about other
animals.
If we know about disease causality, and
treatment in mice, rats, or monkeys, we
also know a lot about the causes and
treatment of similar diseases in people.
mutation:
random
genetic
changes
source of
change,
because
natural selection
it is
not random.
natural selection
This is a change
the of
genetic
structure
OBSERVATION
#2:inSome
it is heritable
OBSERVATION
#3: Organisms
reproduce
of the population,
which can
is the
faster than they do reproduce
definition of evolution.
There is much#3:direct
evidence
of this will
INFERENCE
Successful
individuals
happening
all the time. to the genes in the
contribute
disproportionately
The next generation will have a higher
frequency of advantageous genes.
Phenotypic traits of
individuals: morphology,
physiology, behavior