Download LECTURE 1: Evolution Theories

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Krakowski 1
LECTURE 1: Evolutionary Theory
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INTRODUCTION
o On November 24, 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species by Means of
Natural Selection.
o Darwin’s book drew a cohesive picture of life by connecting what had once seemed a
bewildering array of unrelated facts.
o Darwin made two points in The Origin of Species:
 Today’s organisms descended from ancestral species.
 Natural selection provided a mechanism for evolutionary change in populations.
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What is the difference between Hypothesis and Theory?
o Hypothesis
 Tentative explanation of _________________________________
o Theory
 General explanation of important natural phenomena, developed through extensive
____________________________observations &
________________________________
What is Scientific Theory?
o A theory in science is not a “___________________________”
o It represents the best model for making sense out of all the evidence.
 Germ theory, Electrical theory, Cell theory, etc.
o Evolution is a well-supported theory drawn from a variety of sources of data:
 Observation of the fossil record
 Genetic information
 Distribution of plants and animals
 Similarities across species of anatomy and development
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What were Early Evolution Ideas?
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Aristotle
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A.D. – Natural Theology (Creationism)
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(384-322 B.C.) – Greek philosopher
Species are ____________________________________________
With increasing ________________________________________
 Dominant world view for 2000 years
Species are ____________________________________________
Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778)
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Swedish physician & botanist whose passion was _____________
Developed a hierarchical classifications scheme &
_____________________________________________________
 Canis = genus
 lupus = specific epithet that refers to one species in the genus Canis
 The binomial is always italicized or underlined, the genus name is always
capitalized, and the specific epithet is always lower case
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o
Georges Cuvier (1769-1832)
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Scottish geologist who offered an alternative to catastrophism
Proposed that the Earth was millions of years instead of a few thousand years old
Preferred hypothesis for profound geologic change = gradualism
 Changes in Earth’s crust due to ______________ continuous processes
(erosion, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc.)
Charles Lyell (1797-1875)
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French anatomist who largely developed____________________, the study of
fossils
Deeper ________________________contain older taxa
Preferred hypothesis for profound geologic change =catastrophism
 Stated that species ___________________________due to a catastrophic
event of the earth’s crust (volcano, earthquake…)
James Hutton (1726-1797)
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Scottish geologist who incorporated Hutton’s gradualism into the theory of
uniformitarianism
 Geological processes at ___________________________ building &
wearing down Earth’s crust
 Proposed that the Earth was millions of years instead of a few thousand
years old
 Principles of Geology
o Published by Lyell Just Before The Beagle Set Sail & read by
Darwin
o Explained Geological Processes That Shaped The Earth
o Helped Darwin Understand Sea Shells In The Andes Mountains At
12,000+ Feet
o Expanded Earth’s Age
Jean Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829)
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Invertebrate Curator of the Natural History Museum in Paris
One of the 18th & 19th centuries’ biologists who hypothesized that traits of species
are not immutable, i.e., they can ______________
Stated that changes are adaptations to environment
______________________________________________________
Said acquired changes were passed to _______________________
Hypothesized mechanism of evolution:
 Law of Use & disuse
o If a body part were used, it got ________________
o If body part NOT used, it _____________________
 Inheritance of acquired characters
o Proposed That By Selective Use Or Disuse Of Organs, Organisms
Acquired Or Lost Certain Traits During Their Lifetime
o These Traits Could Then Be Passed On To Their Offspring
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English demographer
Hypothesis: Plants and animals are capable of producing far more offspring than
resources can support; the “struggle for existence” (e.g., famine, war) is an
inescapable consequence
 Each Species Struggles For:
o __________________________________
o __________________________________
o __________________________________
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
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o Over Time This ____________________________
What were Lamarck’s Mistakes?
o Lamarck Did NOT Know how traits were inherited (Traits are
passed through genes)
o Genes Are NOT Changed By Activities In Life
o Change Through Mutation Occurs Before An Organism Is Born
Thomas Malthus (1766-1834)
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English gentleman who conceived of natural selection as the principal mechanism
of __________________________ evolution
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913)
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English biologist who also (independently) conceived of natural selection as the
principal mechanism of adaptive evolution
 organisms evolved from ________________________________
Lyell presented the independently derived hypothesis to the Linnaean Society of London on
July 1, 1858
The Origin of Species (1859)
IN SUMMATION: EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY
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Linnaeus: taxonomy
VOCABULARY
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Hutton: gradualism
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Paleontology
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Lamarck: evolution
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Malthus: populations
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Catastrophism
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Cuvier: paleontology/catastrophism
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Lyell: uniformitarianism
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Gradualism
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Darwin: evolution
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Mendel: inheritance
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Uniformatarianism
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Wallace: evolution