Download Evidence for Macroevolution Notes

WARM UP
1. List the major eras in
geologic/life history, and the
years they encompass.
2. Describe why major changes in
organisms occur at the end of
one era of geologic time and the
beginning of another.
Evidence for Macroevolution
The Earth
• Extremely old
– 4.6 billion years
The Earth
• Extremely old
– Radiometric dating
The Earth
• Processes occur in the same way now that they
did before
The Earth
– Uniformitarianism (James Hutton and Charles Lyell)
Evidence 1: Fossils
• Hard parts or imprints
Evidence 1: Fossils
• Age based on rock age or layer
Evidence 1: Fossils
• Show transitional forms
Evidence 1: Fossils
• Show transitional forms
Evidence 1: Fossils
• Show transitional forms
Evidence 1: Fossils
• Show transitional forms
Evidence 1: Fossils
• Show transitional forms
Evidence 1: Fossils
• Record is
incomplete
due to
destruction of
rock
Evidence 2: Comparative Anatomy
• Morphological divergence
– Ancestral structure leads to many variations
Evidence 2: Comparative
Anatomy
• Vestigial structures
– Ancestral “leftovers”
Evidence 2: Comparative Anatomy
• Vestigial structures
– Ancestral “leftovers”
Evidence 2: Comparative Anatomy
• Vestigial structures
– Ancestral “leftovers”
Evidence 2: Comparative Anatomy
• Need to show
homology
– Similarity
due to
ancestry
Evidence 2: Comparative Anatomy
• Be careful of
analogy
– Similarity due
to environment
Evidence 3:
Comparative Embryology
• Look at development
– Flower bud growth rate
Evidence 3:
Comparative Embryology
– Vertebrate embryos similar
Evidence 4:
Comparative Biochemistry
• Similarity of amino acids in common proteins
and the DNA code
WRAP UP
• List 3 ways fossils help
us understand evolution.
WARM UP
1. List the 4 pieces of evidence
that support evolution.
2. Give a specific example of each
type of evidence.
WRAP UP
• Describe the piece of evidence
that you think most strongly
supports evolution, and explain
why that is your choice.