Download Anthro 1050, University of Utah Evolution of Human Nature Study

Anthro 1050, University of Utah
Evolution of Human Nature
Study Guide for Exam 1
Alan Rogers
September 22, 2009
This study guide does not cover the lectures, because you and Murphy say about eyes? Is it possible for natural
can review all of those on the class web site. Instead, it selection to produce a camera-type eye (like ours) by a
will review the assigned readings.
series of small steps, each of which is an improvement?
How might this have happened? Once you understand
how eyes might have evolved, it becomes interesting to
Rogers, Darwin’s Mockingbird Introduces the book ask how they really did evolve. To answer this second
by telling the story of Darwin on the Galapagos. What question, we need to look for traces of shared ancestry
was puzzling about the mockingbirds he found there? among the various sorts of eyes. In this context, I discuss
opsin genes (which make light sensitive pigments), develHow did the theory of evolution solve that puzzle?
opmental genes (which turn other genes on and off), and
crystallins (which make lens proteins). Don’t get lost in
Rogers. Do species change? There are really two ques- the detail here—focus on the big picture. What do opsins
tions here: do species change at all, and do they change tell us about eye evolution? What about regulatory genes
into new species. Be familiar with the evidence on both and crystallins? Are there traces of common descent in
all parts of the eye? How early did the various parts of the
issues.
eye evolve?
Rogers. Does evolution make big changes? Summarizes two sorts of evidence, both of which indicate that
evolution does make big changes. Be familiar with the
various intermediate fossils that I discuss. How can we
detect traces of common descent in living organisms? I
might give you a data set like those in tables 4.1 and 4.2
and ask you to reconstruct a tree. What does this sort of
data tell us about the question of large changes in evolutionary history? What is pax6, and how does it bear on
this question? Ditto for the genetic code.
Rogers, Peaks and valleys Many authors have pointed
to the problem of maladaptive intermediates. What is this
problem? One response was given in the previous chapter.
It is not true that complex adaptations can only evolve by
passing through intermediate stages with low fitness. Yet
some biologists argue that this is not the whole story. This
issue is explored in this chapter. First, be sure you understand the problem itself. What is an intermediate form?
Why should they be maladaptive? Next, learn about the
fitness surface and about peaks and valleys in that surface.
What does it mean to cross a “fitness valley?” Third, how
Rogers, Can evolution explain design? How and why do we know that there really are peaks in the fitness surdoes natural selection produce adaptation? Be familiar face? In the text, this issue is discussed in the section on
with the finches of Daphne Major. What did Pritchard poor engineering. Fourth, is it possible for populations to
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cross a fitness valley? What is the evidence? Finally, put
this all together: how would you respond to the critique
of Michael Denton, which I summarized at the start of the
chapter.
quired culture. Now it appears that culture may have
actually accelerated evolution. To understand this case,
you need to get clear about linkage disequilibrium, or LD.
Why do we see more LD surrounding a positively selected
allele than a neutral one? Be able to discuss one human
Incidentally, the section on poor design might have been a locus that has experienced strong selection in the last few
chapter of its own. It is hard to reconcile the evidence for tens of thousands of years.
poor design with the notion that organisms were designed
by an omnipotent deity. Be familiar with the evidence for
poor design.
Pinker (I and thou) and Ridley (from Origin of Virtue)
Both of these assignments are brief critiques of the idea
of group selection. You need to understand why natural
Rogers, Islands in the 21st century This chapter revis- selection tends to favor the “selfish,” what these authors
its the evidence from islands, using modern methods and mean when they say “selfish,” and why group selection is
data. Be familiar with geological history of the Hawai- not thought to be a useful explanation of those cases in
ian islands. Also be comfortable with the idea of an area which animals behave unselfishly.
cladogram. How do we expect Hawaiian history to be reflected in the area cladogram of Hawaiian species? How
does this prediction fare when compared against the area Chiu. The fighting hypothesis Why (according to
cladograms of real Hawaiian species? I argue that this Chiu) do left-handers have an advantage in fights? Why
pattern provides further support for evolution.
is this advantage frequency-dependent, and what does this
term mean? What evidence did Raymond and Faurie offer
in support of this hypothesis?
Rogers. Has there been enough time? Argues that the
earth is very old. Understand the principle of the radiometric clock. In other words, understand why radioactivity enables us to tell time. Most of the chapter is about
isochrons, which deal with the fact that we ordinarily
do not know how much of each isotope was in the rock
when it first formed. I will not ask you to explain how an
isochron works. I might ask you to use one to infer the
age of a rock. You should also know the bottom line: how
old is the earth, and how do we know?
Rogers, Did humans evolve? First, be able to summarize evidence regarding intermediate forms. Are there fossils intermediate between humans and apes? The rest of
the chapter is about evidence for common ancestry. What
evidence indicates that apes and humans evolved from a
common ancestor? Be familiar with the transposon evidence and with the pseudogenes.
Rogers, Are we still evolving? People used to argue
that humans stopped evolving genetically when they ac2