EVOLUTION (BIOL 318) BIOLOGY EXAM
STUDY NOTES COMPETE AND
ACCURATE LATEST GUIDE VIRGINIA
COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
, Exam 1 Study Guide
Biological Evolution
• World = diverse place
o Diversity in species and lineage leading to humans
▪ Different cell types
o Diversity in ecological interactions and across landscapes
o Diversity in humans
▪ Diversity within a species = characteristic of all species
• Explaining diversity through time and space
o Ex: Barro Colorado Island (BCl) - in lake Gatton, Panama; about 12km2
▪ 240,000 trees, >300 species (same amount of species of VA)
• Evolution: Any instance of change throughout time
o Process of descent with modification responsible for origin, maintenance, and diversity of life
• Natural Selection: Mechanism of evolution. Evolutionary process by which beneficial alleles increase
in frequency over time in a population due to increased survival and reproductive success of
individuals carrying those alleles
o Consequence of variation, inheritance, and differential survival
▪ Ex: Blue jays not eating red beetles and only eating brown beetles
• Color is inherited, differential survival between beetles – more red survive
differential reproductive success
• Predation = selective pressure
• Evolutionary biology = a science use scientific method
o Observation, hypothesis, prediction, experimentation and conclusion
o Ex: Resonick? Et al – Trinidad and Tobago
▪ Study on fish – species of guppies; 2 populations – 1 above waterfall and 1 below
• Both need same access to resources
• Members above falls had difference reproductive strategies than fish below falls
o Above falls larger offspring, but few in numbers
o Below many smaller offspring
• Lower predation pressure above falls tradeoff between number of offspring and
average size
o Energy budge = finite
• Predicted if you move downstream guppies upstream, natural selection would
result in descendants producing larger and less offspring
• Studying evolutionary biology
o Empirical – collection of data, mathematical data
o Theoretical – models (sex ratio)
▪ C = k (N/m) + (1-k)(N/f)
▪ Empirical and theoretical often come together
• Micro vs macro evolution
o Microevolution: Evolution at/below species level
o Macroevolution: Evolution above species level
▪ Mechanisms are the same though
History of Evolution
• World’s interesting phenomena can be attributed to both supernatural and natural cases
o Supernatural – all cultures develop supernatural causes for original of the world and species
o Started shifting from supernatural to natural with ancient Greek philosopher
▪ Methodological Naturalism: Phenomena are the result of natural causes
• Basis for the scientific method
• Ex: Sun and moon rotation
o Anaximander: Made contributions to many areas of science
▪ Held that the earth and moon were physical and not divine
▪ Sought natural explanations
• Can be tested and refined – characteristic of a natural explanation
o Aristotle: Thought critically about hypothesis testing
▪ Hypothesis are generated through initial observations then tested with observations
• Said that hypothesis must be tested to determine with observations are
consistent with the hypothesis
o Empedocles: Hypothesized that observations can change
, ▪ Believed that plants preceded animals
o Xenophanes: Fossils in mountains suggest that rocks previously under water
o Ibn Sina/Avicenna: Correctly identified how fossils formed and that they often looked different
than living forms
o James Hutton: Proposed that the Earth was very old based on rock strata and sedimentation
▪ Recognized the same forces acting now as they were in the past – uniformitarianism
• Uniformitarianism: States that the same geological processes in operation
today were those of the past
o Charles Lyell: Geologist that advocated for Hutton’s work and the historical continuity of
geological forces
▪ The geological forces are working today as they were in the past
▪ Published Principles of Geology
▪ Began the shift to uniformitarianism from catastrophism
• Catastrophism: Theory that explains the observed modern geology as the result
of extreme, catastrophic events
o Cuvier supported this
o Hard to test
o John Playfair: Advocated for Hutton and wrote plays I guess
• Origin of Life
o Spontaneous Generation: Belief of life continuously arising from non-life
▪ Francesco Redi: Performed a series of experiments testing spontaneous generation
• Rotting meat with lids no flies no maggots
• Refuted hypothesis that life originated spontaneously from non-life
o Erasmus Darwin: Set out ideas about species changing through time
▪ Knew the earth was super old – proposed there was a possible mechanism of change
o Robert Chambers: Published a book and proposed that species change over time is a gradual
process and not related to catastrophe
▪ Also recognized that populations evolve and not individuals
▪ His book was influential
• Lacked mechanism of change
o Jean-Baptiste Lamarck: Showed that organisms change through time; proposed mechanism
▪ Mechanism – organisms pass on acquired characteristics to their offspring
• Was wrong, proposed that organisms can pass on characteristics acquired in their
lifetime
• Proposed that environment dictates the traits results in increasing complexity
of life
▪ But proposed a naturalistic mechanism that can be tested
o Design and the match between organism and environment
▪ Reaction to growing thought about the transmutation of species
• William Paley: Proposed a supernatural argument consistent with bible
o Father of telelological argument
o Proposed organisms fit to the environment must have been created by a
designer
• Victorian Era – Period of rapid scientific process from 1837-1901
o Framed conditions for Darwin’s ideas
▪ Large fascination with natural world and a fossil craze
▪ Natural history voyages/exploration
o Mary Anning: Sold fossils and shells
▪ Had significant fossil founds
▪ Mother of modern paleontology
▪ Ineligible to become a member of the geological society of London because she was a
woman
o Alfred Russell Wallace: Cofounder of modern evolutionary thinking
▪ Took a trip to South America and sold specimen he collected
• Got sick, but got back to the coat with the specimens, but then the ship caught
fire and lost specimens
• Was on a lifeboat for 10 days until picked up by another ship and returned to
England
• 18 months, on a ship to the East Indies and came to the same conclusions as
Darwin
STUDY NOTES COMPETE AND
ACCURATE LATEST GUIDE VIRGINIA
COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
, Exam 1 Study Guide
Biological Evolution
• World = diverse place
o Diversity in species and lineage leading to humans
▪ Different cell types
o Diversity in ecological interactions and across landscapes
o Diversity in humans
▪ Diversity within a species = characteristic of all species
• Explaining diversity through time and space
o Ex: Barro Colorado Island (BCl) - in lake Gatton, Panama; about 12km2
▪ 240,000 trees, >300 species (same amount of species of VA)
• Evolution: Any instance of change throughout time
o Process of descent with modification responsible for origin, maintenance, and diversity of life
• Natural Selection: Mechanism of evolution. Evolutionary process by which beneficial alleles increase
in frequency over time in a population due to increased survival and reproductive success of
individuals carrying those alleles
o Consequence of variation, inheritance, and differential survival
▪ Ex: Blue jays not eating red beetles and only eating brown beetles
• Color is inherited, differential survival between beetles – more red survive
differential reproductive success
• Predation = selective pressure
• Evolutionary biology = a science use scientific method
o Observation, hypothesis, prediction, experimentation and conclusion
o Ex: Resonick? Et al – Trinidad and Tobago
▪ Study on fish – species of guppies; 2 populations – 1 above waterfall and 1 below
• Both need same access to resources
• Members above falls had difference reproductive strategies than fish below falls
o Above falls larger offspring, but few in numbers
o Below many smaller offspring
• Lower predation pressure above falls tradeoff between number of offspring and
average size
o Energy budge = finite
• Predicted if you move downstream guppies upstream, natural selection would
result in descendants producing larger and less offspring
• Studying evolutionary biology
o Empirical – collection of data, mathematical data
o Theoretical – models (sex ratio)
▪ C = k (N/m) + (1-k)(N/f)
▪ Empirical and theoretical often come together
• Micro vs macro evolution
o Microevolution: Evolution at/below species level
o Macroevolution: Evolution above species level
▪ Mechanisms are the same though
History of Evolution
• World’s interesting phenomena can be attributed to both supernatural and natural cases
o Supernatural – all cultures develop supernatural causes for original of the world and species
o Started shifting from supernatural to natural with ancient Greek philosopher
▪ Methodological Naturalism: Phenomena are the result of natural causes
• Basis for the scientific method
• Ex: Sun and moon rotation
o Anaximander: Made contributions to many areas of science
▪ Held that the earth and moon were physical and not divine
▪ Sought natural explanations
• Can be tested and refined – characteristic of a natural explanation
o Aristotle: Thought critically about hypothesis testing
▪ Hypothesis are generated through initial observations then tested with observations
• Said that hypothesis must be tested to determine with observations are
consistent with the hypothesis
o Empedocles: Hypothesized that observations can change
, ▪ Believed that plants preceded animals
o Xenophanes: Fossils in mountains suggest that rocks previously under water
o Ibn Sina/Avicenna: Correctly identified how fossils formed and that they often looked different
than living forms
o James Hutton: Proposed that the Earth was very old based on rock strata and sedimentation
▪ Recognized the same forces acting now as they were in the past – uniformitarianism
• Uniformitarianism: States that the same geological processes in operation
today were those of the past
o Charles Lyell: Geologist that advocated for Hutton’s work and the historical continuity of
geological forces
▪ The geological forces are working today as they were in the past
▪ Published Principles of Geology
▪ Began the shift to uniformitarianism from catastrophism
• Catastrophism: Theory that explains the observed modern geology as the result
of extreme, catastrophic events
o Cuvier supported this
o Hard to test
o John Playfair: Advocated for Hutton and wrote plays I guess
• Origin of Life
o Spontaneous Generation: Belief of life continuously arising from non-life
▪ Francesco Redi: Performed a series of experiments testing spontaneous generation
• Rotting meat with lids no flies no maggots
• Refuted hypothesis that life originated spontaneously from non-life
o Erasmus Darwin: Set out ideas about species changing through time
▪ Knew the earth was super old – proposed there was a possible mechanism of change
o Robert Chambers: Published a book and proposed that species change over time is a gradual
process and not related to catastrophe
▪ Also recognized that populations evolve and not individuals
▪ His book was influential
• Lacked mechanism of change
o Jean-Baptiste Lamarck: Showed that organisms change through time; proposed mechanism
▪ Mechanism – organisms pass on acquired characteristics to their offspring
• Was wrong, proposed that organisms can pass on characteristics acquired in their
lifetime
• Proposed that environment dictates the traits results in increasing complexity
of life
▪ But proposed a naturalistic mechanism that can be tested
o Design and the match between organism and environment
▪ Reaction to growing thought about the transmutation of species
• William Paley: Proposed a supernatural argument consistent with bible
o Father of telelological argument
o Proposed organisms fit to the environment must have been created by a
designer
• Victorian Era – Period of rapid scientific process from 1837-1901
o Framed conditions for Darwin’s ideas
▪ Large fascination with natural world and a fossil craze
▪ Natural history voyages/exploration
o Mary Anning: Sold fossils and shells
▪ Had significant fossil founds
▪ Mother of modern paleontology
▪ Ineligible to become a member of the geological society of London because she was a
woman
o Alfred Russell Wallace: Cofounder of modern evolutionary thinking
▪ Took a trip to South America and sold specimen he collected
• Got sick, but got back to the coat with the specimens, but then the ship caught
fire and lost specimens
• Was on a lifeboat for 10 days until picked up by another ship and returned to
England
• 18 months, on a ship to the East Indies and came to the same conclusions as
Darwin
