HIERARCHICAL SYSTEM variety of methods to name organisms.

Many organisms were given long,

Taxonomy - is the science of naming living descriptive names in Latin or Greek that
things. The term is derived from the Greek described their appearance, habitat, or
taxis (“arrangement”) and nomos (“law”). uses. However, this system was not
standardized, leading to confusion and
Scientific Name - given by the scientist to inconsistency.
identify organisms and it consists of two
Latin names and italicized. Ex. Canis From the time of Plato and Aristotle, it
familiaris was believed that all life could be
organized from most primitive to most
Common Name - used by non-scientists advanced along a "Great Chain of Being."
and names may vary from one location to The most primitive forms of life were
another. placed at the bottom of the hierarchy,
while humans resided on the top closest
Binomial System of Classification - way of to God.
naming organisms.
The great chain of being is a hierarchical
Binomial Nomenclature structure of all matter and life, thought by
Common Name: Tiger medieval Christianity to have been
Scientific Name: Panthera tigris (Genus- decreed by God. The chain begins with
Species) God and descends through angels,
Common Name: Elephant humans, animals, and plants to minerals.
Scientific Name: Loxodonta africana
Dog: Canis familiaris Carolus Linnaeus
Cat: Felis catus - Is known as the “Father of
Human: Homo sapiens Taxonomy“
Red maple: Acer rubrum - Swedish biologist
Corn: Zea mays - He developed a system known
as the Linnaean taxonomy for
Importance of Scientific Names the categorization of organisms
•The scientific name of an organism gives and binomial nomenclature for
biologists a common way of naming organisms.
communicating, regardless of their native
language.
•One species may have many common
names, and one common name may be
used for more than one species.

The evolution of life on Earth over the past 1. DOMAIN - is the largest category into
4 billion years has resulted in a huge which organisms have been classified. It
variety of species. For more than 2,000 has the greatest number of organism.
years, humans have been trying to classify
the great diversity of life. Scientists used a
 EUKARYA - includes all eukaryotes such as
3 Domain System of Classification organisms that contain a nucleus within
Carl Woese and colleagues proposed the their cells.
three-domain system in 1990. The -the only domain that consists of
Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. multicellular and visible organisms
- examples are organisms such as animals,
plants, fungi, andprotists.

2. KINGDOM - Living things are placed into

certain kingdoms based on how they
obtain their food, the types of cells that
make up their body, and the number of
cells they contain.

Prokaryotic organisms belong either to the 6 KINGDOM OF LIFE

domain Archaea or the domain Bacteria; 1. Kingdom Archaebacteria
organisms with eukaryotic cells belong to -Microscopic organism/unicellular
the domain Eukarya. microorganisms.
-They live in various places, some even in
ARCHAEA - are a specialized group of severe environment (asexual
unicellular prokaryotes. The Organisms reproduction)
living in areas of extreme conditions.
EXAMPLES: 2. Kingdom Eubacteria
•HALOPHILES – archaea inhabiting -They are referred to as true bacteria and
extremely salty environments. are usually called the bacteria.
•METHANOGENS - archaea producing -Eubacteria are found everywhere on the
methane. surface of Earth.
•THERMOPHILES - archaea that thrive in Examples: Bacteria that can be converted
scorching environments. into food is Lactobacilli bulgaricus and
streptococcus thermophilus.
BACTERIA – They are tiny organisms that
reproduce asexually. Some bacteria are
autotrophs (make their own food), but
most of them are heterotrophs (consume
their food.) Examples are spirilla, cocci and
bacilli.
•Bacilli (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) – 3. Kingdom Protista
Rod-shaped -Eukaryotes
•Cocci/Staphylococci (Staphylococcus - Differ in size, movement and method of
aureus) – Sphere Shaped Obtaining energy
•Spirilla (Helicobacter pylori) – Spiral Methods of Obtaining Energy
Shaped a. Phototrops
-produce their own food
-like plants they have chlorophyll.
examples: algae, dinoflagellates,
euglenoids 5. Kingdom Plantae
-Multicellular organisms and have
chlorophyll so they can make their own
food.
-photosynthetic organisms, plants are
primary producers and support life for
most food chains in the planet's major
biomes.
2 Groups of Plantae
b. Heterotrops 1.Nonvascular Plant
-feed on their organism Those which do not have tissues to
-no permanent structure for movement. transport water and food.
The term stems from the Greek words Examples are liverworts, mosses,
hetero for “other” and trophe for hornworts.
“nourishment.”
Example: Heterotrophs (Consumers) – an
organism that obtains energy by
consuming other organisms.
c. Sporozoan
-members of this group are all parasitic
Examples: lice, mosquitos 2. Vascular Plant
-transport system
4. Kingdom Fungi -Example is fern, tress, rose
- Include both unicellular (yeast and Angiosperm – also called flowering plants
molds) and multicellular (mushrooms) Gymnosperm – has no flower or fruits
organisms.
- Undergo asexual reproduction by 6. Kingdom Animalia
forming buds and many spores -Made up of many celled organisms that
- are important for the recycling of can move about and get their food by
nutrients back into the environment. ingestion or eating.
2 Major groups
Invertebrates -lack backbone
Vertebrates -has backbone

3. PHYLUM -It is an attempt to find some

kind of physical similarities among
organisms within a kingdom.

4. CLASS - organisms of a class have even

more in common than those in an entire
phylum
- VERTEBRATES
- INVERTEBRATES
 SUBSPECIES - designates a population of a
particular geographic region genetically
distinguishable from other such
populations of the same species and
capable of interbreeding successfully with
them where its range overlaps theirs.
Example: The dog (Canis lupus familiaris)
and the dingo (Canis lupus dingo) are both
subspecies of the wolf (Canis lupus)
5. ORDER - Distinct groups based upon
what they eat or the organism gets its
energy.
Carnivore (meat eaters),
Herbivore (plant eaters),
Omnivore (both eat plants and animals)

6. FAMILY - Organisms within a family have

more in common than with organisms in
any classification level above it. Because
they share so much in common, organisms
of a family are said to be related to each
other.
Examples: Canidae, Hominidae, Felidae

7. GENUS - Genus is a way to describe the Taxonomy is all about relationships, and
generic name for an organism. When relationships create groups. Taxonomists
using taxonomy to name an organism, the look for what one organism has in
genus is used to determine the first part of common with another and try to figure
its two-part name. out the relationship between them. Based
on that relationship, the organisms are
8. SPECIES – It is the lowest and most strict grouped together in ways that help us
level of classification of living things. The make sense of the world.
main criterion for an organism to be
placed in a particular species is the ability NATURAL SELECTION IN POPULATIONS
to breed with other organisms of that KEY CONCEPT
same species. The species of an organism Populations, not individuals, evolve.
determines the second part of its two-part
name. Natural selection acts on distributions of
traits.
A normal distribution graphs as a bell-
shaped curve.
-highest frequency near mean value
(MEAN VALUE IS THE AVERAGE VALUE) 2) Stabilizing selection favors the
-frequencies decrease toward each intermediate phenotype leading to a
extreme value decline of extreme phenotypes and
-EXTREME VALUES LIE TOWARD THE possibly extinction.
BOTTOM OF EACH SIDE OF THE TOP-
MIDDLE MEAN/AVERAGE VALUES

Traits not undergoing natural selection

have a normal distribution.
•Microevolution is evolution within a
population from generation to generation
-observable change in the allele
frequencies 3) Disruptive selection favors both
-can result from natural selection extreme
•Natural selection can change the phenotypes. Favoring both extreme
distribution of a trait in one of three ways. phenotypes can lead to development of
1) Directional Selection new species thru speciation.
2) Stabilizing Selection
3) Disruptive Selection
These types of selection shifts cause a
certain phenotype trait to become more
common in the population.
1) Directional selection favors phenotypes
at one extreme of a trait’s range causing it
to shift in that direction.

TRACING ANCESTOR-DESCENDANT
RELATIONSHIPS

PHYLOGENY
The term phylogeny was derived from
German Phylogenie that was coined by
Ernst Haeckel in 1866. Phylogenie, in turn,
came from the Greek words φῦλον
(phûlon), meaning “tribe”, “genus”, or
“species” and -γένεια (-géneia, -geny), •In the earliest stages of development,
meaning “generation” or “production”. tails are found in all vertebrate species –
•Phylogeny is the evolutionary history of a even if they don’t grow and develop to
species or group of related species. actually have a tail.
•The discipline of systematics classifies •The similarities found in the embryos of
organisms and determines their species that grow up to be very different
evolutionary relationships. are evidence of common ancestry.
•Systematists use fossil, molecular, and Structural & Anatomical Evidence
genetic data to infer evolutionary •Structure evidence also called anatomical
relationships. evidence involves comparing the body
One way of classifying organisms that structures of organisms. This could include
shows phylogeny is by using the clade. comparing (teeth, bones, organs, etc.)
Clades are represented by cladograms. •Shows that we share the same basic set
Phylogenetics - refers to the scientific of bones.
study of phylogeny. (e.g., populations, •Vestigial Structures – snakes evolved
species, or higher taxa), or other biological from an ancestor that had legs
entities with evolutionary histories (e.g., Molecular Evidence from DNA Sequences
genes, biochemicals, or developmental •There are gens that we all have in
mechanisms). common.
•THE STRONG AND ABSOLUTE EVIDENCE
THAT WE HAVE TO SUPPORT COMMON
ANCESTRY IS THE DNA THAT WE SHARE.
ORGANISMS THAT HAVE MORE GENES IN
COMMON ARE MORE CLOSELY RELATED.
Branches of Phylogeny The Fossil Record
Molecular Phylogeny - a branch of •It tells that species from the past were
phylogeny, that makes use of molecular very different than they are today.
sequencing to study evolutionary •Fossils cannot provide DNA so scientists
relationships and histories. analyze the structural evidence to look for
Microbial Phylogeny - is the evolutionary similarities and differences, and use
history or development of chemical evidence to determine the age of
microorganisms, such as bacteria. the fossils.
Animal Phylogeny - depicting the
evolution METHODS OF PHYLOGENY
of major organs ofhigher organisms. Phenetics, also known as numerical
taxonomy, classifies species by using as
EVIDENCE OF PHYLOGENY many characteristics as possible and
o Molecular evidence from DNA arranges them by similarity regardless of
Sequences any evolutionary relationships.
o The Fossil Record Phenetics approach based classification
o Comparative Embryology strictly on similarities between organisms
o Structural & Anatomical and emphasized numerical analyses of a
Evidence set of phenotypic&characteristics
Comparative Embryology
 TREE OF LIFE
WHAT IS IT? HOW DOES IT WORK?
physical diagrammatic representation of a
hypothesis of inferred relationship
between species.
In phenetics, the shared history between WHO FIRST INTRODUCED TREE OF LIFE?
one organism and another, such as the CHARLES DARWIN - From the first dawn of
archosaur ancestry of both crocodiles and life, all organic beings are found to
birds, was simply irrelevant. resemble each other in descending
In the name of objectivity only the degrees, so that they can be classed in
common characters were counted without groups under groups. This classification is
respect to ancestry. Hence the the more evidently not arbitrary like the grouping of
characters in common, the closer the the stars in constellations.
classification. The tree reveals evolutionary histories:
Each "fork in the road," or branching
Cladistics, on the other hand, bases the point,
classification of a group of species solely indicates a common ancestor splitting into
on their most-recent common ancestor. two descendants. And the fewer
Synapomorphies/synapomorphic trait. branching points there are between any
Traits that are shared by some taxa but two species, the more closely they are
not others because the former inherited it related.
from a common ancestor that acquired WHAT DRIVES THE DIFFERENCES?
the trait after its lineage separated from natural selection
the lineages going to the other taxa. In CHALLENGES FACED IN FORMATION OF
short they are shared historical (or TOL (TREE OF LIFE)
derived) characteristics. Examining differences in their anatomy
Shared derived characters, used in and structure (morphology).
cladistics are the selected characteristics Evolution itself
that infer monophyly (descent from a TREE OF LIFE:
single species) In layman's term= is the metaphor and
visual representation or a diagram to show
and describe the relationship, relatedness
and common ancestry of a certain
organism or species.
DESCENT PRINCIPLES
KInsgip - is a social institution that refers
to relations formed between members of
society
Descent – refers to the origin or
background of a person in terms of family
or nationality.
DESCENT SYSTEM is a social and cultural to their father's kin group but not their
framework that determines how family mother's. However, only males pass on
relationships are defined and how their family identity to their children.
resources are inherited and passed down Matrilineal - Both male and female
from generation to generation. children are members of their mother's
Diagram of Kinship Chart/Descent System matrilineal descent group, only daughters
can pass on the family line to their
offspring.

Other Symbols Cognatic Descent

A method of tracing kinship through both
mother's and father's ancestors to some
degree.
Bilineal - When both patrilineal and
matrilineal descent principles are
combined, the result is the bilineal, Every
individual is a member of his or her
mother's matrilineage and father's
patrilineage.
Parallel - With this system, men trace their
ancestry through male lines and women
trace theirs through female lines.
Ambilineal - Ambilineal descent is a
system of tracing family lineage in which
individuals have the choice to affiliate with
either their father's or mother's clan, or
Types of Descent System both.
Unilineal Descent Bilateral - Traces descent from all
 Patrilineal biological ancestors regardless of their
 Matrilineal gender and side of the family. In addition,
Cognatic Descent all male and female children are members
 Bilineal of both their father's and mother's
 Parallel families.
 Ambilineal
 Bilateral SYSTEMATICS
•It is the science of naming species and of
Unilineal Descent recovering the relationships between
This traces descent only through a single species.
line of ancestors, male or female, but •The study of the diversification of living
descent links are only recognized through forms, both past and present, and the
relatives of one gender. relationships among living things through
Patrilineal - Both males and females time.
belong •Organisms diversify rapidly from an
ancestral species into a multitude of new
forms, particularly when a change in the b. Forests products
environment makes new resources c. Fossil fuels
available. d. Other plant and animal products
•Relationships are visualized as Identification and Communication:
evolutionary trees. Nomenclature
•A combination of taxonomy and 1. Identification
phylogenetic analysis. Taxonomic characters - These are the
•Taxonomy - Classifying and naming specific features or traits used to
organisms based on shared characteristics. distinguish and classify organisms.
•Phylogeny - the study of evolutionary Descriptive terminology - The
relationships among groups of organisms. standardized terms used to describe and
communicate the characteristics of
Scope of Systematics organisms.
1. Deals with populations, species 2. Determination
and higher taxa. -Knowing the name of the group (taxon) to
2. Using the comparative which an unknown belongs.
methodology, it determines -The use of Taxonomic Keys.
what:
a. The unique properties of
each species and higher
taxa are.
b. Properties certain taxa have
in common. 3. Nomenclature
c. The biological causes of the -Naming an organism (bionomial name/
differences or shared scientific name)
characteristics area. Orderly, Logical Sequence of Classification
3. Concerned with variation within -An example is a Hierarchical Classification
taxa. System for Human
4. Classifies taxa making organic Demonstrate Evolutionary Implications of
diversity accessible to other Biodiversity
disciplines. - systematics looks at the origin of ancient
diversity
Goals of Systematics - systematics looks at process and pattern.
Inventory Earth's Biota -morphological and molecular characters.
- 1.4 million species discovered and tree metaphor = genealogy = phylogeny
described
- But cannot estimate the number of Contributions of Systematics
species to an order of magnitude! 1. No other branch of biology has
- insects and microbes problematic made a greater contribution to
1. Discovery and extinction of species. our understanding of evolution.
Estimated number of species: 2. No thorough ecological survey
EXTANT 10M-100M; EXTINCT = 0.5B can be conducted without the
2. Sources of important products: most painstaking identification
a. Herbal medicines
 of all species that are of
ecological importance.
3. In the delimitation of geological
strata, key fossil species have
played a decisive role.
4. Made contributions on applied
sciences-medicine, health,
agriculture, conservation,
management of natural
resources.

POLYGENIC INHERITANCE
•Polygenic inheritance is a fancy term for
those genetic traits that are controlled by
more than 1 gene.
•It also refers to the phenomenon by MOLECULAR CLOCK
which multiple different allele pairs have a A figurative term for a technique that uses
similar and additive effect on a given trait. the mutation rate of biomolecules to
•In human, many traits such as height and deduce the time in prehistory when two
skin color are controlled by many different or more life forms diverged.
pairs of alleles. •The biomolecular data used for such
calculations are usually nucleotide
sequences for DNA, RNA, or amino acid
sequences for proteins.
•Measures the number of changes, or
mutations, which accumulate in the gene
sequences of different species over time.
The term ‘molecular clock’ is now used
more broadly to refer to a suite of
methods
and models that assess how rates of
genetic evolution vary across the tree of
life, and use this information to put an
absolute timescale on this tree.
•Modern molecular clocks are thus critical
to inferring evolutionary timescales and
understanding the process of genetic
change. However, some major theoretical,
empirical and computational challenges
remain.

DEFINITION OF TERMS
Mutation - a change in the sequence of an
organism's DNA.
Mutation Rate - the frequency of genetic primates to include cow, pig, shark
variation generated in a population. (Cephaloscyllium), bony fish
Neutral Mutation - are changes in DNA (Pimelometopon), lungfish (Lepidosiren),
sequence that are neither beneficial nor and Echiurid "worm" (Urechis).
detrimental to the ability of an organism •"The gorilla, chimpanzee and human
to survive and reproduce. patterns are almost identical in
Fossil Record - the documentation of the appearance. The difference from human
history of life on Earth based primarily on patterns is somewhat greater for
the sequence of fossils in sedimentary orangutan peptide. As one gets further
rock layers. away from the group of Primates, the
amount of primary structure that is shared
1960's discovery with human hemoglobin decreases."
Emile Zuckerkandl and Linus Pauling
•They noted that proteins experience Genetic Equidistance
amino acid replacements at a surprisingly Emanuel Margoliash
consistent rate across very different First noted in 1963
species. The number of amino acid The genetic equidistance result shows that
differences in hemoglobin between sister species are approximately
different lineages changes roughly linearly equidistant to an outgroup as measured
with time, as estimated from fossil by DNA or protein dissimilarity. The
evidence. equidistance result is the most direct
•They generalized this observation to evidence, and remains the only evidence,
assert that the rate of evolutionary change for the constant mutation rate
of any specified protein was interpretation of this result.
approximately constant over time and Why do we need to use molecular clock?
over different lineages. To deduce how species evolve, and to fix
Comparative Hemoglobin Research the date when two species diverges on the
•Pauling suggested that Zuckerkandl evolutionary timeline. Used for putting a
analyze the hemoglobin of various series of evolutionary events into
primates using the newly invented chronological order. This is done by
electrophoretic-chromatographic comparing sequences from different
technique of "fingerprinting". This species to determine when they last
technique combined the "one- shared
dimensional" techniques of paper a common ancestor, in effect drawing the
chromatography and paper family tree.
electrophoresis to form unique two-
dimensional patterns of tryptic NEUTRAL THEORY OF EVOLUTION
hydrolysates of hemoglobin. Motoo Kimuura
•For the first two or three months of The neutral theory of evolution was first
Zuckerkandl's appointment, Jones taught proposed by Japanese biologist Motoo
Zuckerkandl the technique of Kimuura in the 1960s as an alternative to
"fingerprinting." After Zuckerkandl had the traditional view of natural selection,
perfected the technique, he widened the which held that genetic variation was
number of species in the analysis from
driven by the selective pressures of the •Harmful mutations have a negative
environment. impact on an organism’s evolutionary
•It is a scientific hypothesis that proposes fitness.
that most genetic variations in a •Beneficial mutations have a positive
population arise by chance and have NO impact on organism’s evolutionary fitness.
EFFECT on an organism’s ability to survive •Most mutations are neutral: They have
and reproduced. no effect on an organism’s revolutionary
•This is true provided that the mutation fitness.
rate remains constant across species. -Their frequency in the succeeding
generations of the population is
Implications determined by chance rather than natural
-Understanding of molecular evolution, selection.
population genetics, and the diversity of •Neutral mutations are used for molecular
life on Earth. clocks because they tend to accumulate at
-It suggests that many of the genetic a constant rate over time.
differences between organisms are simply •The graph above is a very schematic
the result of chance mutations, and that representation of a molecular clock. It
natural selection plays a relatively minor represents the number of mutations that
role in shaping the overall genetic diversity occurred to the gene at different points in
of a population or species. time, expressed millions of years in the
past.
Molecular Clock •Molecular clock diagram showing the
-A method used to estimate the amount amino acid substitutions per millions of
of time needed for a certain amount of years to show the rate at which the gene
evolutionary change. CCDC92 changes
-Analyzing biomolecular data, such as the How it is used?
number of changes or substitutions in •To determine when different species last
nucleotide sequences of DNA, RNA, or the shared a common ancestor.
amino acid sequence of proteins. •Construction of phylogenetic tree.
-Molecular clocks provide clues to •A phylogenetic tree, also known as a
evolutionary history. phylogeny, is a diagram that depicts the
•As time passes, there will be more lines of evolutionary descent of different
mutations. species, organisms, or genes from a
common ancestor.

How are DNA mutations used in molecular

clock?
•The phylogenetic tree shown tells us that
the common ancestor Pelagibacter, which
are free-living bacteria, existed over 750
million years ago.
•Around 525 to 775 million years ago,
there was a transition to living inside cells
and, at around 425 to 525 million years
ago, split into Holospora and a clade that
primarily infests arthropods. The genus
Rickettsia emerged approximately 150
million years ago. It is important to note
that not all phylogenetic trees indicate the
date of divergence of the organisms being
studied; such is made possible by the use
of a molecular clock.
•This general technique has been used to
investigate several important issues,
including the origin of modern humans,
the date of the human/chimpanzee
divergence, and the date of the
"Cambrian" explosion.
•Molecular clocks are also useful for
studying species that do not fossilize well.
For example, using molecular clock
analyses, researchers found that animals
and fungi last shared a common ancestor
more than a billion years ago. This kind of
information is difficult to obtain from the
fossil record because the oldest fossils of
fungi–which do not fossilize well because
they are soft–can be dated only as far back
as about 460 million years ago.

Molecular-clock methods and models

Limitations
•DNA, RNA, or protein sequences may •Any human-like species, including us.
change at irregular bursts instead of at a •Bipedal (walks on two legs).
constant rate. •Intelligent (large brain, uses tools).
•Some DNA, RNA, or protein sequences Hominids are not the same as modern
may appear to change at a smooth apes.
average rate but actually have some •Modern apes like chimpanzees, gorillas,
deviations from that average rate. orangutans are not bipedal.
•As a result of natural selection, some •Modern apes do not have a large brain
genetic changes are favored over others. case compared to ours.
•The same DNA, RNA, or protein •Modern apes do not make tools.
sequence substitutions may be occurring •However, chimpanzees are our closest
at different rates in different organisms. relative - our DNA is 98% similar to theirs!
•Some DNA, RNA, or protein sequences -There have been at least a dozen different
evolve faster than others. species of hominids over the last five
•As such, despite its limitations, molecular million years or so.
clocks can still be useful in determining -Since the first hominid fossils and
evolutionary relationships when used artifacts were found, we have found
carefully. literally hundreds of others.
•In conclusion, the molecular clock - Anthropologists compare the skulls,
hypothesis states that the divergence of teeth, bones, and tools. Together they
species can be estimated using the begin to show our family tree - how we
constant accumulation of amino acid evolved to who we are today. Notice that
substitutions in a protein sequence which most species have gone extinct – there are
is similar to the regular ‘ticks’ of a clock. a lot of “dead ends”.
•The molecular clock is a method used to - We are still not exactly sure when the
estimate the amount of time needed for a first bipedal hominids evolved, but an
certain amount of evolutionary change amazing discovery in 1974 proved that
using biomolecular data such as hominids were bipedal a lot earlier than
nucleotide sequences in DNA and RNA or previously believed. Her name was Lucy.
amino acid sequences in protein.
•The molecular clock is useful for: “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.”
determining when different species last •Discovered in Ethiopia in 1974.
shared a common ancestor, putting •Dated at 3.2 million years old!
evolutionary events in chronological order, •40% of her skeleton was found.
and studying the evolutionary history of •Only four feet tall.
organisms that do not easily fossilize. •Bipedal for certain. She walked upright.
•A key assumption in using a molecular •Her scientific name is Australopithecus
clock is that the nucleotide or amino acid afarensis, a distant ancestor to us, Homo
sequences mutate at a constant rate. sapiens.
- An even more impressive fossil was
HOMINID EVOLUTION: ON THE ORIGIN OF found in 1978, but there were no bones to
HUMANS it at all. This discovery proved that there
were bipedal hominids even earlier than
What is a hominid? Lucy.
 This evidence matches the fossils and fills
The Laetoli Footprints in the gaps.
•3.6 million years old. - We find that all humans alive today,
•Even older than Lucy. including us, descended from a SINGLE
•Clearly bipedal. FEMALE. Scientists have called her “Eve”.
•Also showed that these early hominids
walked together. From Lucy to “Eve”.
- It is important to remember that there •Using fossils, artifacts, and now even our
were several species in the genus Homo DNA, we are slowly getting a good picture
that came before Homo sapiens. of our own hominid evolution.
•Homo habilis is the earliest fossil
discovered so far. (2.3 million years old).
•It means “handy man”. HUMAN EVOLUTION: THE ORIGIN OF OUR
•Homo habilis used very simple tools. SPECIES
- Homo erectus was a serious toolmaker What is a human?
and a fine hunter. Evidence also indicates Humans are culture-bearing primates
that they were the first to use fire. classified in the genus Homo, especially
the species Homo sapiens. They are
Fossils of several other species in the anatomically similar and related to the
genus Homo have also been found. great apes (orangutans, chimpanzees,
•Homo ergaster. bonobos, and gorillas) but are
•Homo heidelbergensis. distinguished by a more highly developed
•The most famous is Homo brain that allows for the capacity for
neanderthalensis (Neanderthal Man). articulate speech and abstract reasoning.
•Neanderthal Man lived in Europe. Humans display a marked erectness of
•They too went extinct. body carriage that frees the hands for use
•Probably lived side-by-side with Homo as manipulative members.
sapiens. Apart from our species,: Homo habilis,
•Possibly interbred with them. Homo rudolfensis, Homo erectus, Homo
antecessor, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo
Homo sapiens. Anatomically modern floresiensis (nicknamed 'the hobbit'),
humans. Homo neanderthalensis (the
•Oldest fossils found so far are perhaps Neanderthals) and the recently discovered
195,000 years old. Homo naledi. The mysterious Denisovans,
•Found in Africa (also in Ethiopia). who may or may not turn out to be a
We are all Africans. distinct species, also make an appearance.
•DNA testing of thousands of humans
today, using a simple saliva test kit, has
created a “map” of human migration since
modern humans first left Africa 80,000
years ago.
- We now have an excellent “road map” of
how humans evolved from Africa and
migrated to populate the rest of the earth.
 •Genetic analyses provide imprecise
dating, with a margin of error of around
•Scientists use ancient bones, stone tools, 200,000 years.
genetic studies, and environmental •Genetics offer more accurate divergence
reconstructions to understand human dates compared to fossil evidence alone.
evolution. •Homo heidelbergensis is a possible
•Evidence suggests that Homo sapiens common ancestor of modern humans,
originated in Africa, but not necessarily in Neanderthals, and Denisovans.
a single time and place. •Ancient DNA from Africa, where human
•Diverse groups of human ancestors lived evolution likely occurred between 800,000
in different regions of Africa, evolving and 300,000 years ago, is scarce due to
physically and culturally in isolation. unfavorable preservation conditions.
•Climate-driven changes to African •Few ancient African human genomes
landscapes led to migrations and gene have been sequenced, hindering a clearer
flow among different populations. understanding of human evolution during
•This process eventually gave rise to the this crucial timeframe.
unique genetic makeup of modern
humans. 300,000 Years Ago: Fossils Found of
•East Africa played a significant role in the Oldest Homo sapiens
mixing of genes from migrating •Fossils provide valuable insight into
populations across the continent. ancient human populations but require
•New discoveries continually contribute to interpretation due to a wide range of
our understanding of human evolution. morphological features.
•The timeline of Homo sapiens' evolution •Human remains often exhibit a mixture
is shaped by evidence from various fields, of modern and primitive features, with
including archaeology, genetics, and anatomical evolution occurring in separate
paleoclimate studies. clusters over time and place.
•Scientists cannot definitively classify
550,000 to 750,000 Years Ago: The remains as Homo sapiens or other human
Beginning of the Homo sapiens Lineage relatives solely based on morphology.
•Oldest-recovered DNA of an early human •Early evidence for Homo sapiens
relative comes from Sima de los Huesos in primarily comes from South Africa and
Spain's Atapuerca Mountains. East Africa, rather than Morocco.
•Thousands of teeth and bones from 28 •Jebel Irhoud in Morocco has yielded
individuals were found in the Pit of Bones. fossils dating back 300,000 years,
•In 2016, scientists extracted a partial including skulls, jaws, teeth, and other
genome from these 430,000-year-old remains.
remains, revealing them as the oldest •These fossils exhibit a mix of modern and
known Neanderthals. archaic traits, with some features
•Molecular clock estimates suggest a resembling modern humans and others
common ancestor between Neanderthals resembling more archaic humans.
and modern humans lived between •The presence of Homo sapiens remains
550,000 and 750,000 years ago. in Jebel Irhoud does not indicate the origin
point of our species but highlights the •By 1.75 million years ago, they had
widespread distribution of early humans adopted the Acheulean culture,
•Other ancient fossils classified as early characterized by chunky handaxes and
Homo sapiens include those from cutting implements, which remained in
Florisbad, South Africa (around 260,000 use for nearly 1.5 million years.
years old), and the Kibish Formation along •Thrusting spears, used for hunting large
Ethiopia’s Omo River (around 195,000 prey, were developed around 400,000
years old). years ago in what is now Germany.
•The 160,000-year-old skulls from Herto, •However, these spears had limitations,
Ethiopia, were classified as the subspecies particularly in close combat situations.
Homo sapiens idaltu due to slight •As human anatomy evolved, so did the
morphological differences, such as larger ways our ancestors lived and the tools
size. they created.
•Some argue that the Herto fossils are so •The Middle Stone Age, which began
similar to modern humans that they around 300,000 years ago, marked a
should not be considered a subspecies. significant advancement in tool
•A skull from Ngaloba, Tanzania, dating technology.
back 120,000 years, exhibits a mix of •Finely crafted tools with flaked points
archaic and modern traits, including were attached to handles and spear
smaller facial features and a further shafts, greatly improving hunting prowess.
reduced brow. •Projectile points, such as those dated to
•There is ongoing debate among experts 298,000 to 320,000 years old in southern
about which fossil remains represent Kenya, revolutionized hunting by enabling
modern humans, given the disparities in the killing of elusive or dangerous prey.
morphology. •This innovation not only changed how
•Some experts advocate for simplifying early Homo sapiens interacted with their
the characterization by considering these ecosystems but also influenced their
fossils as part of a single, diverse group of interactions with other people.
early Homo sapiens.
•Older fossils typically exhibit 100,000 to 210,000 Years Ago: Fossils
combinations of archaic and modern Show Homo sapiens Lived Outside of
features, making it challenging to Africa
definitively classify them as belonging to •Genetic analyses confirm that Homo
our lineage or as evolutionary dead ends. sapiens originated in Africa, but evidence
•The best model currently suggests that suggests early humans had a tendency to
these fossils are all early Homo sapiens, migrate earlier than previously thought.
based on both morphological •A jawbone found in Misliya Cave, Israel,
characteristics and material culture dates back 177,000 to 194,000 years ago
evidence. and shows clear similarities to modern
humans. The discovery was accompanied
300,000 Years Ago: Artifacts Show a by sophisticated handaxes and flint tools.
Revolution in Tools •Human remains found at Qafzeh, Israel,
•Our ancestors began using stone tools as dating from 100,000 to 130,000 years ago,
early as 3.3 million years ago. suggest a long human presence in the
region. The site includes evidence of •Genetic analysis of present-day
intentional human burial. individuals has provided valuable insights
•In southern China, evidence dating from into human history, revealing that a group
80,000 to 120,000 years ago suggests dispersed out of Africa around 50 to 60
Homo sapiens groups were living far from thousand years ago.
Africa. Discoveries include a 100,000-year- •This group eventually traveled around
old jawbone from Zhirendong and ancient the world and populated all habitable
teeth from Daoxian. regions.
•Some believe there is evidence of human •While earlier African migrants to the
migration to Europe as early as 210,000 Middle East or China may have interbred
years ago, although this remains debated. with archaic hominids living at the time,
The Apidima skull fragment from southern their lineage appears to have faded out or
Greece, possibly over 200,000 years old, is been overwhelmed by later migrations.
controversial, with some suggesting it
resembles Neanderthals more than 15,000 to 40,000 Years Ago: Genetics and
modern humans. Fossils Show Homo sapiens Became the
•While various human groups lived Only Surviving Human Species
outside of Africa during this era, they do •Throughout much of human history,
not contribute to the modern human Homo sapiens coexisted with other
evolutionary story. human species and frequently interbred
•Genetic studies indicate that these early with them.
human groups did not contribute ancestry •Genetic evidence suggests that Homo
to present-day individuals. sapiens interbred with various hominin
•The possibility of multiple out-of-Africa species, some of which have not yet been
dispersals exists, but they did not leave identified.
genetic contributions to present-day •Over time, these other human species
human populations. disappeared, leaving Homo sapiens as the
sole representatives of humanity.
50,000 to 60,000 Years Ago: Genes and •Some of these species vanished relatively
Climate Reconstructions Show a recently on an evolutionary timescale.
Migration Out of Africa •Fossils found on the Indonesian island of
•Genetic studies indicate that all living Flores provide evidence of a diminutive
non-Africans, including Europeans and human species known as Homo
Australia's Aboriginal people, can trace floresiensis, often referred to as "hobbits."
most of their ancestry to a migration out •Homo floresiensis may have lived until
of Africa around 50,000 to 60,000 years around 50,000 years ago, but their fate
ago. remains a mystery.
•Lower sea levels during this period •Despite living in the same region, Homo
created advantageous opportunities for floresiensis does not appear to have any
humans to leave Africa for the Arabian close relation to modern humans,
Peninsula and the Middle East, with one including the Rampasasa pygmy group.
such period occurring approximately •Neanderthals once inhabited a vast
55,000 years ago. region stretching across Eurasia, from
Portugal and the British Isles to Siberia.
•As Homo sapiens became more prevalent - is the process by which ancestral species
in these areas, Neanderthals gradually diverge into two or more descendant
faded from existence, largely disappearing lineages. As such, speciation has occurred
from the fossil record by around 40,000 at each of the branching events that have
years ago. generated the 8-14 million species
•Some evidence suggests that a few thought to exist across the domains of life.
Neanderthals may have survived in - It is a lineage-splitting event that
isolated enclaves, such as Gibraltar, until produces two or more separate species.
as recently as 29,000 years ago.
•Modern humans carry traces of
Neanderthal DNA in their genome,
indicating interbreeding between the two
species.
•Denisovans, our more mysterious - It is when individuals within a population
cousins, left behind few identifiable fossils, undergo change to such a degree that
making it uncertain what they looked like they become a new and distinct species.
or whether they comprised multiple - It occurs when a group within a species
species. separates from other members of its
•Recent genetic studies in Papua New species and develops its own unique
Guinea suggest that humans may have characteristics.
lived with and interbred with Denisovans
there as recently as 15,000 years ago, Here is one scenario that exemplifies how
although this claim is controversial. speciation can happen:
•Despite their sparse fossil record, many The scene: a population of wild fruit flies
living Asian people inherit 3 to 5 percent minding its own business on several
of their DNA from Denisovans, confirming bunches of rotting bananas, cheerfully
their genetic legacy. laying their eggs in the mushy fruit…
•Despite contributing genetic ancestry to Disaster strikes: A hurricane washes the
modern humans, all of our close relatives bananas and the immature fruit flies they
eventually died out, leaving Homo sapiens contain out to sea. The banana bunch
as the sole surviving human species. eventually washes up on an island off the
•The question of why Homo sapiens was coast of the mainland. The fruit flies
the only human species to survive remains mature and emerge from their slimy
intriguing and possibly unanswerable, nursery onto the lonely island. The two
adding complexity to the story of human portions of the population, mainland and
evolution. island, are now too far apart for gene flow
to unite them. At this point, speciation has
SPECIES not occurred — any fruit flies that got
A group of organisms that can breed with back to the mainland could mate and
each other and produce fertile offspring. produce healthy offspring with the
How do new species arise? SPECIATION mainland flies.
The populations diverge: Ecological
Speciation conditions are slightly different on the
island, and the island population evolves
under different selective pressures and 2. Reduced gene flow probably
experiences different random events than plays a critical role in speciation.
the mainland population does. Modes of speciation are often
Morphology, food preferences, and classified according to how
courtship displays change over the course much the geographic separation
of many generations of natural selection. of incipient species can
So we meet again: When another storm contribute to reduced gene flow.
reintroduces the island flies to the
mainland, they will not readily mate with Modes of Speciation
the mainland flies since they’ve evolved  Allopatric Speciation
different courtship behaviors. The few that  Peripatric Speciation
do mate with the mainland flies, produce  Parapatric Speciation
inviable eggs because of other genetic  Sympatric Speciation
differences between the two populations.  Artificial Speciation
The lineage has split now that genes
cannot flow between the populations. Allopatric Speciation
Factors: •Speciation by geographic isolation
1. The demands of a different •Extrinsic factors prevents two or more
environment or the groups from mating with each other
characteristics of the members regularly, eventually causing that lineage
of the new group will to speciate.
differentiate the new species
from their ancestors. Allopatric Speciation
2. This most often occurs due to •This may be a result of geographical
geographic isolation or changes, such as the formation of a
reproductive isolation of mountain by a volcano, island formation,
individuals within the habitat separation by glaciers and rivers,
population. As the species or habitat fragmentation caused by
evolve and branch off, they can human activity.
no longer interbreed with • (allo = other, patric = place)
members of the original species

The key to speciation

1. The evolution of genetic
differences between the
incipient species. For a lineage
to split once and for all, the two •Galapagos Finches
incipient species must have •The finches are isolated from one
genetic differences that are another by the ocean. Over millions of
expressed in some way that years, each species of finch developed a
causes matings between them unique beak that is especially adapted to
to either not happen or to be the kinds of food it eats.
unsuccessful.
Peripatric Speciation
(a special version of the allopatric •Evidence for its speciation includes
speciation) genetic divergence, behavioural
•happens when one of the isolated differences, and difficulty in mating.
populations has very few individuals.
•Imagine fruit flies float to a new island on Parapatric Speciation
a banana bunch • (para- = beside, -patric = place)
-Fruit Flies are isolated and population size •Parapatric means population is not
is small isolated by a physical barrier and are
-Rare genes survive instead "beside" each other.
These few survivors just by chance carry •Nonetheless, the population does not
some genes that are rare in the mainland mate randomly within the population, but
population. One of these rare genes rather individuals mate more commonly
happens to cause a slight variation in the with their closest geographic neighbors,
mating dance. Another causes a slight resulting in uneven gene flow.
difference in the shape of male genitalia.  Some factors that could
- Gene frequencies drift: These small influence parapatric speciation
differences, which are rare on the include pollution or an inability
mainland, drift to fixation in the small to spread seeds for plants.
population on the island over the course •Partial spacial isolation, leads to
of a few generations (i.e., the entire island Parapatric speciation. The species in the
population ends up having these genes). two different niches becomes two distinct
-Founder Effect - is the loss of genetic species over a period of time. The
variation that occurs when a new evolution of the new species takes place in
population is established by a very small a separate niche.
number of individuals from larger
population. Sympatric Speciation
- More changes - Over time natural •a new species evolve from a single
selection improves the fit of male and ancestral species while inhabiting the
female genitalia to one another and same geographic region.
female sensitivity to nuances of the •occurs when two groups of the same
mating ritual. Flies also experience natural species live in the same geographic
selection that favors individuals better location, but they evolve differently until
suited to the climate and food of the they can no longer interbreed and are
island. considered different species. It is different
After some generations, the island flies from other types of speciation, which
become reproductively isolated from the involve the formation of a new species
mainland flies, Peripatric speciation when a population is split into groups via a
occured. geographic barrier or migration.
•An example of this is the London Example of Sympatric Speciation
Underground mosquito, a variant of the CAUSES OF INTRINSIC SPECIATION
mosquito Culex pipiens, which entered in Ecological isolation
the London Undgerground in 19th Temporal Isolation
century. Behavioral Isolation
Mechanical Isolation
Gametic Isolation •However, it has been controversial since
Hybrid Inviability its introduction in the 19th century by
British naturalist Charles Darwin. Often,
Artificial Speciation selfless behaviours jeopardize the acting
•Artificial speciation is the form of individuals’ fitness, possibly lowering their
speciation that can be achieved by the chances for leaving behind offspring.
input of human influence. Darwin realized that this presented a
•By separating populations, and thereby problem for his theory of natural
preventing breeding, or by intentionally selection,
breeding individuals with desired for which the bearing and survival of
morphological or genotypic traits. offspring was a vital determinant of
•This is also known as ‘artificial selection’; evolutionary success.
most modern domesticated animals and •In the early 20th century, Darwin’s
plants have undergone artificial selection. observations of group behaviour were
•This is used to produce new breed or explored by others in studies that focused
varieties of plants and animals. on the evolution of certain physical traits
Summary and behaviours that appear to benefit
•New species form by speciation, in which social groups. But toward the middle of
an ancestral population splits into two or that century, following the rise of neo-
more genetically distinct descendant Darwinism, in which Darwin’s theory of
populations. natural selection was synthesized with
•Speciation involves reproductive isolation genetics (the modern evolutionary
of groups within the original population synthesis), the idea that selection acted on
and accumulation of genetic differences groups was largely dismissed. Many
between the two groups. evolutionary biologists agreed that
adaptation through selection at the level
of the individual and the gene was of
GROUP SELECTION greater consequence than selection at
•group selection, in biology, a type of the group level.
natural selection that acts collectively on •But in the 1960s, group selection
all members of a given group. reemerged with the publication of Animal
•Group selection may also be defined as Dispersion in Relation to Social Behaviour
selection in which traits evolve according (1962), a work by British zoologist V.C.
to the fitness (survival and reproductive Wynne-Edwards. Wynne-Edwards argued
success) of groups or, mathematically, as that individual subordination of selfish
selection in which overall group fitness is interests to promote group well-being
higher or lower than the mean of the could not be explained by individual
individual members’ fitness values. selection.
Altruism •Wynne-Edwards’s idea, however,
•In biology, altruism refers to behaviour contradicted emerging ideas associated
by an individual that increases the fitness with the neo-Darwinian synthesis, and
of another individual while decreasing the many of his examples were based on
fitness of themselves. individuals or on noncohesive groups. His
idea was attacked by various proponents
of individual selection and gene selection, CLINES AND HYBRID ZONES
including British ornithologist David Lack,
American evolutionary biologist George C. CLINES - The gradual change of a certain
Williams, and British evolutionary characteristics within one species, and this
biologist Richard Dawkins. gradual change can involve a phenotype
or
Kin Selection genotype.
•is the evolutionary strategy that favours Phenotype – refers to the physical
the reproductive success of an organism's characteristics of a species.
relatives, even when at a cost to the Genotype – refers to the genes found
organism's own survival and reproduction. within a species.
Kin altruism can look like altruistic Allele – is one specific type or variant of a
behavior whose evolution is driven by kin gene.
selection. Alleles will determine the genotype of a
•Kin selection occurs when an animal species, and the genotype impacts the
engages in self-sacrificial behaviour that phenotype of the species.
benefits the genetic fitness of its relatives.
•According to the theory of sexual Analysis of Clines
selection, even though some individuals Environmental clines or variation can be
possess certain conspicuous physical traits defined as either continuous or
(such as prominent coloration) that places discontinuous.
them at greater risk of predation, the trait CONTINUOUS VARIATION
is thought to remain in the population - refers to the characteristics of an
because the possessors of such traits have organism that range between two
greater success in obtaining mates. extremes.
•Adult zebras (Equus burchellii, E. grevyi, - graphing continuous variation of a
and E. zebra), for instance, will turn particular characteristic within a species
toward an attacking predator to protect usually form a bell.
the young in the herd rather than fleeing DISCONTINUOUS VARIATION
to protect themselves. - refers to when there are only a specific
•Female lions (Panthera leo) appear to and limited amount of options of a specific
nurse cubs that are not their own, characteristic within a species.
although some authorities note that such Ex. of Discontinuous Variation
cubs suckle the lioness when she is asleep.
•Belding’s ground squirrels (Spermophilus CAUSES OF CLINES
beldingi) give alarm calls that warn other  The clines produced by
group members of a predator’s approach drift/migration balance
but also attract the predator’s attention to  Extrinsic or environmental
the caller. selection
•Worker honeybees (Apis mellifera)
perform suicidal attacks on intruders to a) Clines produced by drift/migration
defend their colony. balance
The clines produced by drift/migration
balance are primarily shaped due to the
interplay between genetic drift and gene offer better camouflage, making
flow in populations. These clines arise individuals with dark coloration more
from the balance between two likely to survive and reproduce compared
evolutionary forces – genetic drift and to their lighter-colored counterparts.
gene flow. Gene flow can help to
counteract the genetic drift by introducing USE OF CLINE THEORY
new genetic variation and reducing •Jim Bishop (1972) studied melanism in
genetic differences between populations. peppered moth between North Wales and
When the balance between these two Liverpool
forces is maintained, we can observe the •Bishop obtained expected cline by
emergence of these clines in a population, computer simulation rather than by
where genetic variation within a group analytical theory.
changes gradually across a geographical Cline theory is a powerful tool for
area. These clines can be observed in understanding how genetic variation is
various traits, including morphological, distributed across different populations
physiological, and behavioral and how this variation is shaped by
characteristics. evolutionary forces such as selection, drift,
Genetic drift – a change to a population’s and gene flow.
gene pool by chance. (Founder effect and
Bottleneck effect) Clines Produced by Selection Migration
Balance – INTRINSIC SELECTION
INTRINSIC SELECTION - refers to the
As a result, over long distances, the allele internal factors and mechanisms that drive
frequencies in a population gradually the selection and maintenance of gradual
change in response to the combined trait variations across a geographic area.
effects of migration and genetic drift. Within a population, individuals with traits
that are advantageous in specific
b) Extrinsic or environmental selection: environmental conditions have higher
imposed by the environment directly. fitness and reproductive success.
If (1) environments favour different genes •This natural selection acts on genetic
or phenotypes, and (2) these variation, favoring traits that enhance
environments are sufficiently widely survival and reproduction along the cline.
spaced, and (3) if migration rates are not While extrinsic factors like gene flow and
too high environmental changes also influence
- refers to the influence of environmental clinal variation, intrinsic factors play a key
factors on the distribution of phenotypic role in shaping and adapting populations
traits in a geographic gradient. to different environments along a
EXAMPLE: gradient.
MELANISM
It is a trait that is influenced by external "Heterozygous Disadvantage"
environmental factors such as •Heterozygous Disadvantage creates a
temperature, humidity, and predation kind of disruptive selection. Equilibrium
pressure. In areas where there is a higher gene frequency, is unstable. selection
predation pressure, darker coloration may prevents polymorphism.
•The reduced fitness of individuals who •As a result, natural selection acts to
are heterozygous for certain traits along a increase the frequency of the more
geographic gradient. As individuals move advantageous homozygous genotypσes
across the gradient, different alleles may (either light or dark fur) at different points
provide advantages in specific along the cline. This process leads to a
environmental conditions. Heterozygotes gradual change in coat color frequencies
may not possess the full benefits of either as the mice population adapts to the
homozygous genotype, leading to lower varying environmental conditions along
fitness. This selective pressure contributes the gradient.
to the maintenance and shaping of clinal •This is just one example, and
variation by favoring the more heterozygous disadvantage can manifest
advantageous homozygous genotypes at in various traits and species. The specific
different points along the cline. traits and selective pressures involved in a
"Heterozygous Disadvantage can cause given cline will determine whether
clines" heterozygotes experience a disadvantage
Dispersal (or mixing) can be balanced by or advantage in fitness.
selection. Intrinsic selection like this will
cause clines with shape similar to those "Moving Clines"
caused by extrinsic selection. Constant of •The shifting distribution or position of
proportionality is different, but equations traits along a geographic gradient due to
similar. the internal factors and mechanisms that
Example: Coat Color Variation in Certain drive selection within a population. This
Mammals movement occurs as individuals with
•species of mice living in a region with advantageous traits for specific
varying levels of vegetation cover, ranging environmental conditions have higher
from light- colored sandy areas to dark- fitness and reproductive success. Over
colored forested areas. In this scenario, time, the selective pressures can cause the
mice with light-colored fur have a clinal position of these traits to change
camouflage advantage in the sandy within the population, reflecting the
environment, while mice with dark- adaptive response to varying
colored fur are better camouflaged in the environmental factors. This dynamic
forested environment. nature of moving clines highlights the role
•As individuals move across the cline from of intrinsic selection in shaping and
sandy to forested areas, the selective adapting populations to different
pressures change. In sandy areas, the ecological conditions along a gradient.
fitness of homozygous light-colored mice •There is a big difference, Intrinsic
is higher due to their better camouflage, selection does not depend on the outside
while in forested areas, the fitness of environment. Depends only on "Internal
homozygous dark-colored mice is higher. environment" of each population, that is,
However, heterozygous mice with a mix of the local gene frequency.
light and dark fur may not be optimally •No tendency for a cline to remain
camouflaged in either environment, stationary. if s ≠ t, cline will move
leading to reduced fitness compared to
the homozygous mice.
 enhance survival and reproduction in
specific ecological contexts, and resulting
in the shifting distribution of these traits
Example: along the geographic gradient.
•Imagine a species of plants that exhibit
variation in drought tolerance along an "Frequency-dependent selection"
aridity gradient. At one end of the refers to a type of natural selection where
gradient, there are populations of the the fitness of a particular trait or
species in a more arid environment, while phenotype depends on its frequency
at the other end, populations exist in a within a population. The selective
relatively more advantage or disadvantage of a trait
moist environment. changes as its frequency in the population
•Intrinsic selection acts upon the changes.
populations, favoring individuals with Example
higher drought tolerance in the arid •Consider a cline of flower color in a plant
regions and individuals with lower drought species. If pollinators have a preference
tolerance in the moist regions. Over time, for a specific flower color, the fitness of
this differential selection leads to a shift in individuals with that color will be higher
the cline, as the advantageous drought- when the trait is rare in the population.
tolerant traits become more prevalent in However, as the frequency of that color
the arid populations, while the less increases, the pollinators may become
drought-tolerant traits become more saturated or develop a preference for a
prevalent in the moist populations. different color, leading to a decline in
•As environmental conditions change, fitness for the previously advantageous
such as due to climate shifts or natural color. This creates a cyclical pattern of
habitat alterations, the position of the selection, where the fitness of a trait
cline may shift as well. If the aridity depends on its prevalence within the
gradient expands due to drying conditions, population.
the cline may move towards the moister •Frequency-dependent selection can
end as individuals with higher drought result in the maintenance of multiple
tolerance become advantageous in what distinct phenotypes or strategies within a
used to be the less arid regions. population, preventing any one phenotype
Conversely, if there is an increase in from dominating completely. This diversity
moisture, the cline may shift towards the can be beneficial for the population's
drier end as individuals with lower overall fitness and adaptability to
drought tolerance gain a fitness advantage changing environmental conditions.
in the previously arid regions.
•These movements of clines driven by "Epistatic and Disruptive Selection"
intrinsic selection reflect the adaptation of •Disruptive selection, a kind of intrinsic
the plant populations to the changing selection caused by the environment
environmental conditions along the aridity Selection
gradient. It showcases how natural •can favour a bimodal phenotypic
selection acts upon the genetic variation distribution, or two adaptive peaks
within a population, favoring traits that simultaneously
Example FUSION: Weakening of Reproductive
•Darwin's finches have available large Barriers
tough seeds, and small soft seeds which •Reproductive Barriers weaken until the
are hard to get out of their pods or off two species become one.
grass stems. •If the hybrids are as fit or fitter than the
•Large seeds select for stout, deep beaks; parents, the two species may fuse back
small seeds for narrow pincer-like beaks into one species (reconnection).
•CICHLIDS
Hybrid Zones Cause of Weakened Barrier = Pollution =
•an area where the ranges of two Hybrid Speciation
interbreeding species meet and hybrid speciation: the formation of a new
interbreed. species as the direct result of mating
•a region where members of different between members of two existing species.
species mate and produce some offspring Hybrids are fitter than their parents =
of mixed ancestry. reconnection
WARBLER BIRD STABILITY: no real net change is taking
place
HYBRID SPECIATION •Fit hybrids continue to be produced.
•the formation of a new species as the •For a hybrid zone to be stable, the
direct result of mating between members offspring produced by the hybrids have to
of two existing species. be less fit than members of the parent
•their offspring are known as hybrids. species.
•Hybrids can have less fitness, more Bombina
fitness, or about the same fitness level as •Bombina bombina
the purebred parents. Usually, hybrids •Bombina variegate
tend to be less fit. The fire-bellied/yellow-bellied toads
(Bombina) Meet in a narrow east-west
3 POSSIBLE OUTCOMES OF HYBRID hybrid zone stretching over a large part of
ZONES eastern Europe.
1. Reinforcement
2. Fusion
3. Stability

REINFORCEMENT: Strengthening of
Barriers
•Hybrid are less fit than either pure breed
species. The species continue to diverge
until hybridization can no longer occur.
Caused of strengthened barrier: •Hybrid zone, where narrow clines at
•Reinforced mating choices of female multiple loci occur together.
flycatchers. •NO strengthening or weakening of
•Female flycatchers living in the hybrid reproductive barriers, rather equilibrium
zones have a strong ability to choose was attained.
males from their own species. •State of stability within the Hybrid Zone
 birds would be descended from these
heavier-beaked individuals.
RATE OF EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE Environmental Stress - More stressful
•Rates of evolution change vary widely, environments trigger mechanisms
among characteristics, and among species. allowing more mutations, which enables
•Evolutionary change is the heritable faster evolution and therefore adaptation
change in populations and species over of the species to changing environments.
time, due to mechanisms such as natural EXAMPLE: Scientists have discovered that
selection, random genetic drift, and sexual some species of bacteria and yeast,
selectio. including the primary bacterium of the
2 Competing Hypotheses Designed to human digestive system, Escherichia coli,
describe the Rate of Evolutionary Change can change their mutation rate in
•Punctuated Equilibrium response to environmental stress. In
•Gradualism effect, certain species turn up the speed
Factors that can influence the Rate of control on their own evolution in response
Evolutionary Change to environmental factors.
•Mutation Rate Relationship between Longevity and
•Selective Pressure Fertilty - Species whose individuals have
•Environmental Stress short life spans are generally capable of
•Relationship of Longevity and Fertility changing more quickly than those that
have a longer life span and reproduce less
Mutation Rate – the rate at which random often.
changes appear in species DNA. Example: Animals with shorter lifespans,
Example: Rapid evolution of resistance to for example, are often very fertile, while
antiviral drugs by the human ones that live longer produce only a few
immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which descendants. Mice, for instance, only live
causes acquired immunodeficiency for about two years but they become
syndrome (AIDS). sexually mature after just a few weeks and
Selective Pressure – can be imagines as give birth to three to eight babies for up to
the importance of a given feature in a eight times a year. Elephants, on the other
given environment. hand, may live for up to 80 years, but over
Example: If a certain species of bird is the course of their lives, elephant cows
accustomed to using fine, narrow beaks to are only able give birth to ten calves at
extract seeds from a certain bush for food, most.
but a drought kills off many of those
bushes while leaving another kind of bush STEFANO GIAIMO and ARNE TRAULSEN
with large, heavy-shelled seeds relatively from the Department of Evolutionary
intact, then there would be selective Theory at the Max Planck Institute for
pressure for beaks to become heavier and Evolutionary Biology in Plön, Germany,
shorter in this group. That is, birds who have developed a mathematical model
randomly happened to have bills better which calculations revealed that
suited to eating the available food would "IF AN ORGANISM LIVES LONGER, ITS
have a better chance of eating well and FERTILITY DECREASES"
reproducing, so each new generation of
Gradualism ancestral group and its derived
•In modern biology, gradualism, or descendant group.[1] This is especially
"phyletic gradualism," refers primarily to a important where the descendant group is
pattern of sustained, directional, and sharply differentiated by gross anatomy,
incremental evolutionary change over a and mode of living from the ancestral
long period during the history of a species. group.
•Geologist/anthropologist Charles Lyell Gross anatomy is the study of anatomy at
formulated the philosophy of the visible or macroscopic level
uniformitarianism or gradualism, which
claimed that smooth gradual processes The Problem of Gradualism
were at work in natural systems. •Not all phenotypic changes are small,
e.g. The Grand Canyon. Canyons carved by incremental ones. Some mutations that
rivers show gradual change. Therefore appear during artificial breeding change
changes on Earth occur by small steps the phenotype substantially in a single
over long period of time. mutational step.
•Charles Darwin seemed to accept this •The minute changes taking place in a
view-he stated that evolution is smooth species is hard to be noticed. The visible
and gradual. Charles Darwin's original effects of Gradualism occur when many
theory of natural selection that such small changes get together over
populations change gradually over time. time.
Small Changes are passed through from • The paucity of transitional species.
each generation on the next generation.
e.g. horses over 50 millions years. Punctuated Equilibrium
•Was proposed by Stephen Jay Gould and
Niles Eldredge in 1972.
。 hypothesized that species remain
Phyletic Gradualism relatively stable for long periods of time
•In modern bology, gradualism or and then is punctuated by rapid changes
"phyletic gradualism refers to primarily to that result in the formation of new
a pattern of sustianed, directional and species.
incremental evolutionary change over • Punctuated equilibrium attempts to
along period during the history of species explain how speciation occurs during rapid
•Small variations that fit an organism evolutionary change.
slightly better to its environment are
selected for: a few more individuals with The central proposition of punctuated
more of the helpful trait survive, and a few equilibrium embodies three concepts:
more with less of the helpful trait die. stasis, punctuation and dominant relative
•Very gradually, over a long time, the frequency.
population changes. Change is slow, •Stasis refers to a long period of relatively
constant, and consistent. unchanged form (thousands-millions of
years) where an organism makes very little
Transitional Fossils relative evolutionary change. Stasis usually
•is any fossilized remains of a life form follows speciation events.
that exhibits traits common to both an
•Punctuation is radical change over a Discuss ideas on the pace of evolution
short duration; including gradualism and punctuated
•Dominant relative frequency is the rate evolution
these events occur in a particular situation Phyletic Gradualism, as the name
suggests, is the idea that evolution occurs
Punctuated Equilibrium at a slow-but-steady pace.
• In Punctuated Equilibrium, evolution Punctuated Equilibrium is the idea that,
occurs in spurts of relatively rapid change for most of the time, species are stable.
with long periods of non-change. But every now and then there is a
• Species tend to show morphological disruptive event that prompts rapid
stasis between abrupt speciation events. change.
• The punctuated equilibrium model
depicts evolution as long periods of no
evolutionary change followed by rapid
periods of change.
• Vertical lines are periods of equilibrium
in which change is minimal or no change.
• Horizontal lines represent rapid
evolutionary change.

Punctuated Equilibrium
• Based on punctuated equilibrium
hypothesis, speciation events occur
rapidly in geological time that is over
hundreds of thousands to millions of years
and that little change occurs in the time
between speciation events.

The Founder Effect

•The top image is a gradual, linear view of • Occurs when a small group of individuals
Darwin's theory of evolution where is separated from the ancestral (original)
species emerge gradually and consistently population by either migration or an
over time. environmental barrier (e.g mountain
•The bottom image is a "punctuated formations, glacier retreat, bodies of
equilibrium" view of evolution where water, or habitat fragmentation).
there are long periods of very little change
and short periods of "explosions" with What will happen when founder effect
huge amounts of evolutionary activity. occur?
•Gradualism vs. Punctuated Equilibrium: • Genetic diversity of the new population
Branches indicate speciation, straight lines will be very low to start because there are
indicate long periods of stasis. fewer individuals to reproduce with.
• Lack of genetic diversity makes the new
population more susceptible changes (e.g
disease or environmental).
However... Bird Adaptation Example
if that new group or new variation of • A species of birds exist in stasis for many
genes are successful in their new thousands of years. Suddenly, bacteria
environment, population size genetic cause their primary tree of sheltering
diversity increases, choice to die. The birds must adapt within
increases, and the rate of evolution the environment to trees that are much
increases. This is one way speciation higher, requiring more wing strength.
occurs Some birds die. The remaining birds'
through punctuated equilibrium. bodies adapt longer, stronger wings to
survive. The strong birds survive meaning
Another explanation for how punctuated more are born until the others die out.
equilibrium occurs is when a group of The species returns to a state of stasis.
individuals from the ancestral population Worm Adaptation Example
enters a new ecological niche. • A species of worms live in the soil in a
• A niche in ecology refers to all the biotic particular climate and is in a state of
and abiotic factors influencing a species stasis. Climate changes cause the pH of
distribution and role within an ecosystem. the soil to change. The change in pH
• When an organism enters a new causes some worms to die, but those that
ecological niche, they may need to adapt survive adapt and reproduce with a new
new ways to forage food or avoid ability to withstand the pH change in the
predation. The rate of evolution increases soil. The species returns to stasis.
because the stakes of survival are much Cheetah Adaptation Example
higher. • Punctuated equilibrium can also happen
• For example, organisms with a gene because of gene mutations. For example,
variation that increases camouflage will a cheetah species has no spots. However,
survive longer, thus passing on the due to a gene mutation, a cheetah cub is
variation to their offspring. Punctuated born with spots. Because this adaptation
equilibrium occurs because genetic helps the cheetah to hide and survive,
variations are passed down quicker, thus more cheetahs are born with spots. This
increasing the rate of evolution, and continues until the spotless cheetahs are
speciation. all replaced by spotted cheetahs. The
species stays that way for many years.

Punctuated Equilibrium Examples Why there is a need to understand

Tyrannosaurid fossils in Montana, United punctuated equilibrium?
States showed evidence of stasis for • Punctuated equilibrium predicts that a
around 5 million years. When sea levels lot of evolutionary change takes place in
rose, the Tyrannosaurids were forced to short periods of time tied to speciation
migrate to smaller habitats. The events
evolutionary pressures of the new • It describes and solely explains the
environment resulted in the rapid reason behind the speciation and
diversification of the Tyrannosaurids from diversified characteristics of the organisms
Tyrannosaurus to Daspletosaurus. living on our planet.
 Animals are killed for their meat, bones,
Endangered Species and horn, which are used to manufacture
An endangered species is an organism that medicine and ornaments, for their fur
is on the verge of extinction. Species (which is used to make jackets and
become endangered due to two factors: carpets), for their fur, and, tragically,
habitat loss and genetic variation loss. occasionally just for pleasure. A large
number of animals are also captured in
Why animals go extinct? the wild as pets or for use in circuses,
Habitat Destruction zoos, and aquariums. Primates in
• Tropical rainforests are the richest particular are taken from their natural
natural habitats on the planet, containing habitats and sold to research facilities for
more than two-thirds of all plant and use in investigations.
animal species. Unfortunately, rainforests
are being destroyed at an alarming rate Red List
with more than half already gone for IUCN (International Union for
timber and cleared so that the land can be Conservation of Nature) maintains a "Red
used to graze farmed animals or to house List of Threatened Species." The
expanding human populations. If seriousness and precise root causes of an
rainforests disappear, all of the plants and endangered species' endangerment are
animals that live there will perish. Pandas outlined in the Red List. Lesser concern,
live in China's bamboo forests, another near threatened, vulnerable, endangered,
habitat that is being destroyed to make critically endangered, extinct in the wild,
way for rapidly growing population. and extinct are the seven conservation
Loss of Genetic Variation levels included on the Red List. Different
• The diversity found within a species is threat levels are represented by each
referred to as genetic variation. This is why category.
humans can have blond, red, brown, or
black hair. Adaptation to environmental IUCN CONSERVATION CRITERIA OF
changes is enabled by genetic variation. BIODIVERSITY
Generally, the greater a species'
population, the greater its genetic
variation.
• Inbreeding is the reproduction of close
relatives. Inbred species groups typically
have little genetic variation because no
new genetic information is introduced to
the group. Disease is much more common
and lethal among inbred groups. Inbred Vulnerable Species
species lack the genetic variation needed  Ethiopian Banana Frog
to develop disease resistance. As a result,  Snaggletooth Shark
fewer offspring of inbred groups reach Endangered Species
maturity.  Siberian Sturgeon
Human Activity  Tahiti Reed-warbler
Critically Endangered Species
  Bolivian Chinchilla Rat Despite the uncertainties, extinction has
 Transcaucasian Racerunner three major elements.
Extinct in the Wild 1.) For species collectively, extinction is a
 Scimitar-horned Oryx probability if the killing stress is so rare
 Black Soft-shell Turtle beyond their experience and therefore
Extinct outside the reach of natural selection.
 Cuban Macaw 2.) The mass extinctions would pave the
 Ridley’s Srick Insect way for the major restructuring of the
Solutions: biosphere where a few successful groups
Protect the natural habitats of the planet. are eliminated, allowing minor groups to
It is not a solution to keep endangered expand.
species alive in zoos because doing so 3.) In a few cases, there is evidence that
makes it more difficult and expensive to extinction is selectively argued by Darwin.
return them to their natural habitat. It has been made impossible to predict
Repatriation will be practically difficult if which species are going to be the next
we keep polluting and destroying these victim of an extinction event.
habitats. Wild creatures can only exist if
their habitats are protected. Causes of Extinction
Enforce existing regulations to safeguard 1.) Asteroid Strikes
wildlife and prohibit the international A meteor strike on the Yucatan peninsula in
commerce in goods made from Mexico led to the disappearance of
endangered species. dinosaurs millions of years ago. Most of the
To stop the trade in animal products, mass extinctions, such as KT extinction or
Permian- Triassic extinction, were caused
educate people. Stop releasing toxic
due to such events. Astronomers constantly
garbage into the ecosystem.
keep an eye on comets or meteors that could
lead to the end of human civilization.
Extinction
2.) Climate Change
Extinction is the process of evolution that Climate change is yet another factor that
leads to the disappearance of a population could destroy terrestrial organisms. Even
or species. When a species becomes modern civilization is stepping towards the
extinct, all its genetic heritage is lost. threat of extinction due to global warming.
• Over 99% of all the species that once During the end of the last ice age, most of
lived on the Earth, amounting to over five the megafauna were unable to adapt to the
billion species, are estimated to be extinct. changing warm temperatures. They died due
As per the estimations on the number of to a lack of food and hunting by early
current species, a range from 10 -14 humans.
million, of which more than 1.2 million 3.) Disease
have been studied and more than 86% Various epidemics had been the cause of the
have not yet been discovered. extinction of a large population of animals
• This could happen naturally due to a on earth. The Black Death wiped out one-
change in the climate or because of third of the European population in the
Middle Ages.
human activities like overhunting or the
4.) Loss of Habitat
destruction of habitat.
Every animal has its own comfort zone
where it can breed and raise its young ones.
For e.g., a bird is comfortable only on the
branch of a tree. Due to the expansion of
human civilization and industrialization, the
forests have been destroyed, which are an
abode to most animals. Due to lack of space
and eventually food, the populations of
many organisms have been minimized.
5.) Lack of Genetic Diversity
Once the number of species starts
decreasing, the gene pool of that species
grows smaller. Eventually, there is a lack of
genetic diversity. For eg., due to habitat loss,
the African cheetahs have a considerably low
genetic diversity.
6.) Better Adapted Competition
The better-adapted populations win over the
ones that lag behind. For eg., the pre-
historic mammals were better adapted than
the dinosaurs. The ones which are well-
adapted survive, while the others become
extinct.
7.) Pollution
The pollution from industries and vehicles
has led to a drastic change in the oxygen
levels in the atmosphere as well as water.
This has led to the extinction of most of the
aquatic as well as terrestrial species.

Examples of Extinct Animals

•Passenger Pigeons (Ectopistes migratorius)
•Dodo Bird (Raphus cucullatus)
•Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus)
•Baiji White Dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer)
•Pyrenean Ibex (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica)
•Steller’s Sea Cow (Hydrodamalis gigas)
•Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis)
•Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus
primigenius)
•Sabre-toothed Cat (Smilodon popularis)