Download Lecture 1 - BlakeMathys.com

1/21/2011
Introduction
• Dr. Mathys
Biodiversity & Evolution
BIOL 1400‐005
– Ph.D. from Rutgers (Jan 2010)
– Part‐time Lecturer at Rutgers University
Lecturer: Blake Mathys, Ph.D.
January 18th, 2011
My Interests:
Dissertation: Rapid Evolution of Birds Introduced to Islands
Birds, salamanders, mammals
Dr. Mathys
Grade Assignment
• Office: F004b
• 3 exams
• Email: [email protected]
• Office Hours
• 4 quizzes
– Tuesday 9 to 10
– Thursday 9 to 10; 1:10 to 2:10
• Please email me if you don’t use Stockton email
Letter Grades
=
92 – 100%
A – = 90 – 92%
C + = 78 – 80% C = 72 – 78% C – = 70 – 72%
D + = 68 – 70% D = 62 – 68% D – = 60 – 62%
<
45 %
25 %
15 %
15 %
100 %
Attendance
B + = 88 – 90% B = 82 – 88% B – = 80 – 82%
F
3 highest count for final grade
• Homework Assignments
2 Exams Final Exam
Quizzes (Highest 3)
Homework • Phone: (609) 626‐6858
A
Final exam is cumulative
• Not required, but recommended
• Please be on time; if you’re late, be courteous
• No make‐up exams or quizzes
N
k
i
– Except extraordinary circumstances
• Contact me immediately if you must miss an exam
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Electronic Devices
• Make every effort to avoid disruption to others
• If your use of a device is too distracting during lecture, I may ask you to put it away
• Must be turned off and put away during exams and quizzes
Schedule
• All tests and quizzes are listed on the schedule
• If a change concerning an exam or quiz date must be made, I will announce it in class
• There may be some changes to the specific order or duration of the topics listed, but in general the lectures will follow that outline
Academic Honesty
• I take cheating very seriously
• Please be attentive during exams and quizzes, so that others are not tempted to cheat off of you
• Everything must be put away during tests and quizzes, and cell phones must be turned off for the duration
When You Need Help
• There is a lot of information to learn in this class (along with your other classes)
• If you start to get behind, ask for my help
• Come to my office hours, email me, have questions to ask during review periods (the lecture period before each exam)
• Don’t wait until the end and ask for mercy
Why are some species similar?
Darwinian Evolution
January 18th, 2011
1) Organisms are suited to their environments
2) Life is diverse
3) Many characteristics are shared amongst organisms
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Evolution = Descent with Modification
Evolution = Descent with Modification
• Broadly:
• Evolution is a pattern
– Modern species come from ancestral species
– The ancestral species were different
• Evolution is a process
Evolution is a Unifying Theory
• A theory is supported by a large body of evidence (many hypotheses tested many times)
• Science requires repeatability
• Evolution has been tested repeatedly, and has p
y,
been supported by the data
• It unifies modern biology
Carolus Linnaeus (1707‐1778)
• Swedish physician and botanist
• Binomial nomenclature
Before Darwin
• Aristotle: species are unchanging
– scala naturae
• Old Testament
– Genesis, Creation
• A deer looks like a deer
Change Over Time
• Fossils: remains or traces of dead organisms
– Homo sapiens, Puma concolor
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Change Over Time
Change Over Time
• Uniformitarianism: • Paleontology: the study of fossils
mechanisms of change are constant over time
Geological processes that operated during fossil deposition are still happening, and at a similar rate
Georges Cuvier
(1769‐1832)
Catastrophism
James Hutton
(1726‐1797)
Charles Lyell
(1797‐1875)
Change Over Time
Change Over Time
• Uniformitarianism: • Biological Change: Evolution
mechanisms of change are constant over time
Earth much older
• Darwin didn’t come up with evolution
– Needed a mechanism
• Lamarck’s Hypothesis:
James Hutton
Charles Lyell
(1726‐1797)
Jean‐Baptiste Lamarck
(1744‐1829)
– Use and disuse
– Inheritance of Acquired Characters
(1797‐1875)
Darwin’s Breakthrough
Darwin’s Breakthrough
• Natural Selection
– Heritable traits allow some individuals to survive and reproduce more than other individuals
• Mechanism for evolution
Adaptations
Characteristics that enhance survival and reproduction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwFFTxMjxoM&feature=fvw
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Alfred Russel Wallace
• Natural Selection
– Heritable traits allow some individuals to survive and reproduce more than other individuals
• Independently derived same mechanism
Darwin’s Reasoning
1. Individuals in a population vary
2. Traits are inherited
3. More offspring are produced than the environment can support
4 Many offspring will not survive
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Descent with Modification
• Due to differential survival, lineages change through time
• Some lineages go extinct
• More closely related lineages resemble each other (Linnaeus)
Evolutionary Changes
• Individuals cannot evolve
– Populations evolve
• Only heritable traits
• An adaptation for one time/location may be A d t ti f
ti /l ti
b
detrimental other times or places
1. Some individuals will leave more offspring in
the next generation
2. Favorable traits will accumulate in the population (adaptation)
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