Chapter 15 - Evolution

Section 15 -1
 What is Evolution??
• “Evolution is ...the sequence of events
involved in the evolutionary development
of a species or group of organisms . In the
"big picture" evolution is the process of
change which LIFE has under gone
since its origin.

• Evolution is change over time….

The Theory of Natural Selection
• What is a theory?
• Watch the video:
Evolution Primer #1:
Isn't Evolution Just a
Theory?
The Theory of Natural Selection
• Charles Darwin (1809-
1882) - Proposed the
Theory of Natural
Selection. Naturalist on
the Voyage of H.M.S.
Beagle (1831-1836) Set
sail 2 days after
Christmas 1831.
• Watch the video:
Evolution Primer #2: Who
Was Charles Darwin?
Darwin’s 5 year Voyage on the
HMS Beagle
 The Galápagos Islands
• The Galápagos Islands have species
found in no other part of the world, though
similar ones exist on the west coast of
South America. Darwin was struck by the
fact that the birds were slightly different
from one island to another. He realized
that the key to why this difference existed
was connected with the fact that the
various species live in different kinds
of environments.
Darwin identified 13 species of finches in the
Galápagos Islands. This was puzzling since
he knew of only one species of this bird on
the mainland of South America, nearly 600
miles to the east, where they had all
presumably originated.
• He observed that the Galápagos species
differed from each other in beak size and
shape. He also noted that the beak
varieties were associated with diets based
on different foods. He concluded that
when the original South American finches
reached the islands, they dispersed to
different environments where they had to
adapt to different conditions. Over many
generations, they changed anatomically in
ways that allowed them to get enough
food and survive to reproduce.
 Artificial Selection
• So evolution is just change over time – the
organism will change and adapt for
survival over generations.
• Darwin inferred that we could speed up
evolution to suit our own needs by
choosing those traits in plants and animals
that we wanted to select
Artificial Selection in Pets
Artificial Selection
• As shown here,
farmers have
cultivated numerous
popular crops from
the wild mustard, by
artificially selecting for
certain attributes.
Artificial Selection in Cattle
• “Since our entry in the
Texas Longhorn business
in 1984, we have used
selection, artificial
insemination, and embryo
transfer to accomplish a
small but quality herd. “
• I found this quote and
picture on a website – it
illustrates artificial
selection in cattle
breeding.
 Natural Selection
• Natural Selection
• Natural selection is the process of interaction
between an organism and its environment that
results in the differential rate of reproduction of
different phenotypes in the population.
• Natural Selection is the most important agent of
evolution.
• Selection acts on phenotypes.
• The result of natural selection is a a change in
the allele frequencies in a population.
 Influence of Thomas Malthus
• One of Darwin’s influences was Thomas Robert
Malthus, a late-eighteenth century economist.
Malthus wrote "Essay on the Principle of
Population" (1798), which Darwin read and was
inspired by. The central theme of Malthus' work
was that population growth would always
overpower food supply growth, creating
perpetual states of hunger, disease, and
struggle. The natural, ever-present struggle for
survival caught the attention of Darwin, and he
extended Malthus' principle to the evolutionary
scheme.
 Influence of Thomas Malthus
• Darwin considered
that some of the
competitors in
Malthus' perpetual
struggle would be
better equipped to
survive. Those that
were less able would
die out, leaving only
those with the more
desirable traits
 Variation
• For many traits that occur
in a population,
individuals are often not
all identical. For
example, if running speed
were measured, some
individuals would likely be
able to run faster than
others but most
individuals would
probably be
intermediate.
 Heritability
• Traits Are Heritable
• Those individuals that
survive better or reproduce
more will pass their superior
genes to the next generation.
Individuals that do not
survive well or that
reproduce less as a result of
"poorer genes" will not pass
those genes to the next
generation in high numbers.
As a result, the population
will change from one
generation to the next. The
frequency of individuals with
better genes will increase.
 Overproduction
• Overproduction means more
offspring of a species are
produced than can possibly all
survive. The ones that have
characteristics that make them
better at feeding, hiding, getting
mates etc. tend to be the ones
that survive and pass on their
genes to the next generation.
This means that, of the great
diversity in the babies born in a
generation, specific traits tend
to make them successful and
these traits get passed on more
effectively and so a higher % of
the next generation have these
"adaptive' traits.
Reproductive Advantage
• Some variations confer a
reproductive
advantage to the
organism in certain
environments. In the
case of the trees, those
which grow taller may
receive more light than
those that are shorter,
and so the taller trees
have more energy to
spend producing seeds.
• End of Section 15.1
• Assessment questions
• 1. Darwin collected specimens and fossils
in the Galapagos, in South America, and
in other locations – he was able to
formulate his theory by making
observations on the linkages he found
 2.
• Darwin observed variation in individuals
and realized that variation was heritable .
He realized that selection (artificial) could
lead to changes over time and that this
concept should also apply to natural
selection.
 3.
• A. more offspring of a species are
produced than can possibly all survive-
example: mice have many more babies
than can survive
 3.
• B. Individuals in a population have
variation – example in a herd of horses
the horses will not all look the same
 3.
• C. Variations can be inherited - example
Variation in a human characteristic, as a result of
inheritance from the parents, is called inherited
variation. Here are some examples:

• eye colour
• hair colour
• skin colour
 3.
• D. Variations increasing reproductive
success will be more common in the next
generation – example more colourful
plumage on male birds makes them more
successful at attracting females
 4.
• Wallace came to the same conclusion as
Darwin
I think you are
right about
Natural
Selection.
Charles

Thank you
Alfred