lOMoARcPSD|58511717
BIO120
Adaptation and Biodiversity (University of Toronto)
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Downloaded by Samuel Kinyanjui ()
, lOMoARcPSD|58511717
1) What is evolutionary biology?
The central unifying concept of biology. Affects many other areas of knowledge. It was
one of the most influential concepts of Western thought.
1) Living things change over time
2) Adaptations (the process and the trait) have arisen through natural selection
(Evolution challenges the view of special creation)
Major conclusions of evolution:
● Organisms on earth have changed through time
● The changes are not instantaneous (though there is variation in the speed
of evolution)
● Lineages split by speciation, resulting in the generation of biodiversity
● All species have a common ancestor (why is that more likely than there
being multiple ancestors?)
We know this from the biochemical similarities that we find in organisms.
● Adaptations result from natural selection
2) How is evolution studied?
Major areas of evolutionary study: (both of these areas depend on the other)
- Evolutionary history (patterns)
Goals:
Determine the evolutionary relationships of organisms in terms of common ancestry.
Identify and understand long-term patterns in evolution.
- Evolutionary mechanisms (processes)
Goals: Determine the particular processes responsible for evolutionary change
(natural selection).
Identify the major forces of evolution. (focus mainly on the population level)
Microevolution: within species
Macroevolution: among species
3) Why is it relevant to you?
January 2021 there was an amazing roll out of vaccines, initially they blocked
transmission incredibly well. But we had the delta and omicron wave shortly after
(evolution), which rendered much of the vaccines obsolete.
You can answer children’s questions. Which came first: the chicken or the egg? (The
egg)
Agriculture is very closely intertwined with evolutionary study.
Will species be able to evolve quickly enough with climate change?
Downloaded by Samuel Kinyanjui ()
, lOMoARcPSD|58511717
Phylogenetic tree = phylogeny = evolutionary tree
Chimpanzees and humans split apart about 5-6 million years ago. Chimpanzees are not the
ancestors of humans. Distance in relations is proportional to distance to the last common
ancestor.
You can rotate any branch around a node in any way you wish and it doesn’t affect relations, the
only thing you have to look at is common ancestors, not the proximity of the taxons.
How to address scientific questions:
Observational- describe and quantify
Theoretical- develop models: verbal, graphical, mathematical, computational
Comparative- obtain some data from many species
Experimental- manipulate a system to address a specific hypothesis; requires an experimental
design and statistical analysis
Any theory you have for the world should be able to make predictions, and if those predictions
don’t line up with reality then you need to be ready to throw the theory out the window.
Evolution of self-fertilization:
Why? (theory, observation, experiments in the field)
Downloaded by Samuel Kinyanjui ()
, lOMoARcPSD|58511717
How? (genetic crosses, molecular biology, developmental biology)
When? (Evolutionary history, analysis of genetic differences)
What are the consequences?
Public doubts about Evolution:
1) Extremely recent scientific concept! (165 years is a very brief timeframe)
2) Very personal implications
3) Violates literal interpretations of religious texts- also true of other sciences as well, e.g.,
geology, astronomy, physics, biochemistry
Downloaded by Samuel Kinyanjui ()
BIO120
Adaptation and Biodiversity (University of Toronto)
Scan to open on Studocu
Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university
Downloaded by Samuel Kinyanjui ()
, lOMoARcPSD|58511717
1) What is evolutionary biology?
The central unifying concept of biology. Affects many other areas of knowledge. It was
one of the most influential concepts of Western thought.
1) Living things change over time
2) Adaptations (the process and the trait) have arisen through natural selection
(Evolution challenges the view of special creation)
Major conclusions of evolution:
● Organisms on earth have changed through time
● The changes are not instantaneous (though there is variation in the speed
of evolution)
● Lineages split by speciation, resulting in the generation of biodiversity
● All species have a common ancestor (why is that more likely than there
being multiple ancestors?)
We know this from the biochemical similarities that we find in organisms.
● Adaptations result from natural selection
2) How is evolution studied?
Major areas of evolutionary study: (both of these areas depend on the other)
- Evolutionary history (patterns)
Goals:
Determine the evolutionary relationships of organisms in terms of common ancestry.
Identify and understand long-term patterns in evolution.
- Evolutionary mechanisms (processes)
Goals: Determine the particular processes responsible for evolutionary change
(natural selection).
Identify the major forces of evolution. (focus mainly on the population level)
Microevolution: within species
Macroevolution: among species
3) Why is it relevant to you?
January 2021 there was an amazing roll out of vaccines, initially they blocked
transmission incredibly well. But we had the delta and omicron wave shortly after
(evolution), which rendered much of the vaccines obsolete.
You can answer children’s questions. Which came first: the chicken or the egg? (The
egg)
Agriculture is very closely intertwined with evolutionary study.
Will species be able to evolve quickly enough with climate change?
Downloaded by Samuel Kinyanjui ()
, lOMoARcPSD|58511717
Phylogenetic tree = phylogeny = evolutionary tree
Chimpanzees and humans split apart about 5-6 million years ago. Chimpanzees are not the
ancestors of humans. Distance in relations is proportional to distance to the last common
ancestor.
You can rotate any branch around a node in any way you wish and it doesn’t affect relations, the
only thing you have to look at is common ancestors, not the proximity of the taxons.
How to address scientific questions:
Observational- describe and quantify
Theoretical- develop models: verbal, graphical, mathematical, computational
Comparative- obtain some data from many species
Experimental- manipulate a system to address a specific hypothesis; requires an experimental
design and statistical analysis
Any theory you have for the world should be able to make predictions, and if those predictions
don’t line up with reality then you need to be ready to throw the theory out the window.
Evolution of self-fertilization:
Why? (theory, observation, experiments in the field)
Downloaded by Samuel Kinyanjui ()
, lOMoARcPSD|58511717
How? (genetic crosses, molecular biology, developmental biology)
When? (Evolutionary history, analysis of genetic differences)
What are the consequences?
Public doubts about Evolution:
1) Extremely recent scientific concept! (165 years is a very brief timeframe)
2) Very personal implications
3) Violates literal interpretations of religious texts- also true of other sciences as well, e.g.,
geology, astronomy, physics, biochemistry
Downloaded by Samuel Kinyanjui ()
