• Study Resource
  • Explore
    • Arts & Humanities
    • Business
    • Engineering & Technology
    • Foreign Language
    • History
    • Math
    • Science
    • Social Science

    Top subcategories

    • Advanced Math
    • Algebra
    • Basic Math
    • Calculus
    • Geometry
    • Linear Algebra
    • Pre-Algebra
    • Pre-Calculus
    • Statistics And Probability
    • Trigonometry
    • other →

    Top subcategories

    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Earth Science
    • Environmental Science
    • Health Science
    • Physics
    • other →

    Top subcategories

    • Anthropology
    • Law
    • Political Science
    • Psychology
    • Sociology
    • other →

    Top subcategories

    • Accounting
    • Economics
    • Finance
    • Management
    • other →

    Top subcategories

    • Aerospace Engineering
    • Bioengineering
    • Chemical Engineering
    • Civil Engineering
    • Computer Science
    • Electrical Engineering
    • Industrial Engineering
    • Mechanical Engineering
    • Web Design
    • other →

    Top subcategories

    • Architecture
    • Communications
    • English
    • Gender Studies
    • Music
    • Performing Arts
    • Philosophy
    • Religious Studies
    • Writing
    • other →

    Top subcategories

    • Ancient History
    • European History
    • US History
    • World History
    • other →

    Top subcategories

    • Croatian
    • Czech
    • Finnish
    • Greek
    • Hindi
    • Japanese
    • Korean
    • Persian
    • Swedish
    • Turkish
    • other →
 
Profile Documents Logout
Upload
Cultural Niche Construction
Cultural Niche Construction

... of atmospheric gases and modifying nutrient cycles; fungi decomposing organic matter; and bacteria fixing nutrients. Organisms also construct and destroy resources and habitat utilized by other species in their environments (‘ecosystem engineering’). These interactions connect diverse organisms and ...
Key Stage 3 Biology Specification
Key Stage 3 Biology Specification

... • Describe how cells in the leaf and root are adapted for photosynthesis and for taking in water • Learn about the importance of photosynthesis to humans and other animals • Describe the relationship between photosynthesis and respiration in plants Unit 9D: Plants for Food • Learn about humans as pa ...
04 Chapter 2 FINAL
04 Chapter 2 FINAL

... the topic, like mutations, variation and adaptation. One of the central principles of evolution is Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection, which explains that individuals in a population have genetic variations that allow some individuals to survive and reproduce better than others, so th ...
Review Mitonuclear Ecology - Oxford Academic
Review Mitonuclear Ecology - Oxford Academic

... Rogell et al. 2014). Genomic conflict gives rise to the “mother’s curse” because, when transmission of genetic elements is primarily through female lines, selection can favor mutations that are beneficial to females regardless of whether they are detrimental to males (Frank 1996; Gemmell et al. 2004 ...
Wells, Icons of Evolution
Wells, Icons of Evolution

... This theory posits that “phylum-level differences could not have appeared right at the start. Yet that is what the fossil record shows.” (35) We call this “sudden” appearance of many phyla the Cambrian explosion, and biologists typically propose three solutions.  “So the branching-tree pattern of e ...
Lab review 1-6
Lab review 1-6

... Are the 2 sub-populations of F1 (hairy vs. nonhairy) different? Are the means statistically different? A T-test could be used to determine if 2 sets of data are statistically different from each other ...
LabReviewS13 Labs1-6-2
LabReviewS13 Labs1-6-2

... Are the 2 sub-populations of F1 (hairy vs. nonhairy) different? Are the means statistically different? A T-test could be used to determine if 2 sets of data are statistically different from each other ...
File
File

... Some of the strongest evidence of common ancestry is contained in our genetic code. Look at the table above which lists sequences of amino acids in the protein hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is used in all organisms to deliver oxygen to the tissues, but there are slight differences among the species. 9. Whi ...
TEACHER`S NOTES EVOLUTION
TEACHER`S NOTES EVOLUTION

... Organisms tend to produce…more offspring…….than the environment will support. A…struggle for survival… follows and a large number of these offspring die before reaching reproductive age. Members of the same species…are not identical but show variation….in all characteristics. Much of this…variation… ...
Characteristics and Classification of Living Organisms (Extended)
Characteristics and Classification of Living Organisms (Extended)

... (b) Describe three features of myriapods that could be used to make a dichotomous key to distinguish between the four species in Fig. 6.1. ...
On the Origin of Cats and Carnivores
On the Origin of Cats and Carnivores

... (3) A recessive mutation which does not immediately reveal its presence, but can show up later in the lineage with mostly deleterious results. Mutations can occur spontaneously, but can also be caused by chemicals and/ or radiation. Evolutionist biologists claim that a very small percentage of mutat ...
File - Mr. Tugman`s Earth Science
File - Mr. Tugman`s Earth Science

... like that in Figure 10C. Black shale often contains carbon film fossils. Sometimes, the carbon film itself is lost from a fossil. However, an impression of the fossil may remain. Impressions, like those of the fish in Figure 10D, often show fine details of an animal’s structure. Preserved Remains Someti ...
as a PDF
as a PDF

... the phenotype channel, bias or limit morphological evolution? The formation of eyespots on the wings of the butterfly Bicyclus anynana is a process which is becoming comparatively well understood from the genetical, developmental and ecological perspectives. We have begun to combine this knowledge w ...
AP Biology - Macomb Intermediate School District
AP Biology - Macomb Intermediate School District

... • Mitosis alternates with interphase in the cell cycle~regulation • The mitotic spindle distributes chromosomes to daughter cells~regulation • Cytokinesis divides the cytoplasm~regulation • External and internal cues control cell division~regulation • Cyclical changes in regulatory proteins function ...
Evolutionary Biology (Life Sciences 3500) Fall 2014
Evolutionary Biology (Life Sciences 3500) Fall 2014

... retention of ancestral character states over long periods of evolutionary time. incorrect inference of the phylogeny of the organisms. unrecognized homology of the character involved. chance. ...
Can Heritable Epigenetic Variation Aid Speciation?
Can Heritable Epigenetic Variation Aid Speciation?

... environmental fluctuations can trigger multiple epimutations in the same individual. This renders fast ecological adaptation affecting (complex) adaptive traits more plausible [50]. Hence, recombination is not necessarily a prerequisite for adaptive change, if the latter is driven from the epigenetic ...
CPE 2nd semester exam Review
CPE 2nd semester exam Review

... Summarize other scientific ideas of evolution and why they are no longer accepted Compare/contrast divergent and convergent evolution and the structures they lead to Give examples of divergent evolution, convergent evolution, coevolution, adaptive radiation and artificial selection Give examples of ...
Lesson 23
Lesson 23

... birds, trees, insects, dogs, spiders, lizards and so on. In the countryside, you would see a still larger variety of organisms. There are all kinds of crop plants like wheat, maize and sugarcane. Then, there are wild plants growing of their own like keekar. In a forest you would see strange wild ani ...
Molluska
Molluska

... break apart food particles). Has a complete digestive track with mouth, anus, and complex stomach. Most have a closed digestive system with only one opening. ...
Darwin`s Conjecture - Thedivineconspiracy.org
Darwin`s Conjecture - Thedivineconspiracy.org

... modern evolutionary biology. His ideas attracted much attention because of their suggestion that humankind was not of divine origin but descended from apes. But this proposition was neither original nor his major achievement. Indeed, Darwin postponed discussion of human evolution to the 1871 Descent ...
Sustainability and the “struggle for existence”
Sustainability and the “struggle for existence”

... emergence of complexity within the system boundary can only occur in the presence of continuing inputs of available energy from outside the system, together with mechanisms which “pump out” from the system the entropy associated with converting this available energy into useful work (Odum 1983). The ...
Sustainability and the "struggle for existence".
Sustainability and the "struggle for existence".

... emergence of complexity within the system boundary can only occur in the presence of continuing inputs of available energy from outside the system, together with mechanisms which “pump out” from the system the entropy associated with converting this available energy into useful work (Odum 1983). The ...
theory of evolution
theory of evolution

... Charles Darwin and Natural Selection 1) The theory of evolution is the fundamental concept in biology…… Evolution describes the theory of change in populations over time, not individual species. 2) Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882) 3) Fossils shaped ideas: Why have some species become extinct? 4) How ar ...
Elaiosomes and seed dispersal by ants
Elaiosomes and seed dispersal by ants

... years ago but they were not as important in these ancient ecosystems as they are today. Amber deposits collected around the world show a marked increase in ant fossils towards the end of the Eocene epoch— about 40–45 million years ago. Was this before or after the appearance of elaiosomes? d. Does ...
Sustainability and the `Struggle for Existence`: The Critical Role of
Sustainability and the `Struggle for Existence`: The Critical Role of

... system to preserve or even increase order and complexity within the system boundary. Indeed, later work by Nobel-laureate Prigogine and his co-workers at the ‘Brussels school’ of thermodynamics suggests that the spontaneous emergence of ordered structures is to be expected in such systems (Nicolis a ...
< 1 ... 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 ... 449 >

Introduction to evolution



Evolution is the process of change in all forms of life over generations, and evolutionary biology is the study of how evolution occurs. Biological populations evolve through genetic changes that correspond to changes in the organisms' observable traits. Genetic changes include mutations, which are caused by damage or replication errors in an organism's DNA. As the genetic variation of a population drifts randomly over generations, natural selection gradually leads traits to become more or less common based on the relative reproductive success of organisms with those traits.The age of the Earth is about 4.54 billion years old. The earliest undisputed evidence of life on Earth dates at least from 3.5 billion years ago, during the Eoarchean Era after a geological crust started to solidify following the earlier molten Hadean Eon. There are microbial mat fossils found in 3.48 billion-year-old sandstone discovered in Western Australia. Other early physical evidence of a biogenic substance is graphite in 3.7 billion-year-old metasedimentary rocks discovered in western Greenland. More than 99 percent of all species, amounting to over five billion species, that ever lived on Earth are estimated to be extinct. Estimates on the number of Earth's current species range from 10 million to 14 million, of which about 1.2 million have been documented and over 86 percent have not yet been described.Evolution does not attempt to explain the origin of life (covered instead by abiogenesis), but it does explain how the extremely simple early lifeforms evolved into the complex ecosystem that we see today. Based on the similarities between all present-day organisms, all life on Earth originated through common descent from a last universal ancestor from which all known species have diverged through the process of evolution. All individuals have hereditary material in the form of genes that are received from their parents, then passed on to any offspring. Among offspring there are variations of genes due to the introduction of new genes via random changes called mutations or via reshuffling of existing genes during sexual reproduction. The offspring differs from the parent in minor random ways. If those differences are helpful, the offspring is more likely to survive and reproduce. This means that more offspring in the next generation will have that helpful difference and individuals will not have equal chances of reproductive success. In this way, traits that result in organisms being better adapted to their living conditions become more common in descendant populations. These differences accumulate resulting in changes within the population. This process is responsible for the many diverse life forms in the world.The forces of evolution are most evident when populations become isolated, either through geographic distance or by other mechanisms that prevent genetic exchange. Over time, isolated populations can branch off into new species.The majority of genetic mutations neither assist, change the appearance of, nor bring harm to individuals. Through the process of genetic drift, these mutated genes are neutrally sorted among populations and survive across generations by chance alone. In contrast to genetic drift, natural selection is not a random process because it acts on traits that are necessary for survival and reproduction. Natural selection and random genetic drift are constant and dynamic parts of life and over time this has shaped the branching structure in the tree of life.The modern understanding of evolution began with the 1859 publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. In addition, Gregor Mendel's work with plants helped to explain the hereditary patterns of genetics. Fossil discoveries in paleontology, advances in population genetics and a global network of scientific research have provided further details into the mechanisms of evolution. Scientists now have a good understanding of the origin of new species (speciation) and have observed the speciation process in the laboratory and in the wild. Evolution is the principal scientific theory that biologists use to understand life and is used in many disciplines, including medicine, psychology, conservation biology, anthropology, forensics, agriculture and other social-cultural applications.
  • studyres.com © 2025
  • DMCA
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Report