EVOLUTIONARY

THEORY
The change of species over time

References:
Understanding Evolution. 2014. University of California Museum of Paleontology. 22 August 2008.
<http://evolution.berkeley.edu/>.
Understanding Science. 2014. University of California Museum of Paleontology. 3 January 2014.
<http://www.understandingscience.org>.
HABITS OF THE MIND
 Managing Impulsivity
 Refrain from making judgments about an idea
despite personal views
 Listen to other points of view
 Questioning and Posing Problems
 Know what questions to ask to find out the
information needed
 Ask a range of questions to get a more complete
picture of topic
HABITS OF THE MIND
 Thinking Flexibly
 Can see things from many points of view
 Can adjust thinking, as needed, based on
new information
 Remaining Open to Continuous
Learning
 Keep an open mind
TITAN CREED
 Titans endeavor to recognize and pursue
truth, beauty, and goodness.
OBJECTIVES
 Define evolution as related to biology.
 Identify basic differences between
microevolution and macroevolution.
 Analyze the mechanisms for microevolution.
VOCABULARY
 Fact  Charles Darwin
 Law  Evolution (biology)
 Hypothesis  Microevolution
 Theory  Mechanism
 Descent  Mutation
 Species  Migration
 Population  Genetic drift
 Variation  Natural selection
 Macroevolution
 EVOLUTION – 2 MAIN QUESTIONS

1. Why are there so many

different kinds of plants
and animals?
2. How can the similarities
among organisms be
explained?
 EVOLUTIONARY THEORY (BIOLOGY)
 Definition: change in the hereditary characteristics of groups of organisms over the
course of generations ("descent with modification")
 Evolutionary biologists say that organisms undergo changes in gene frequency in a
population from one generation to the next (microevolution).
 Population - a group of organisms of one species that interbreed and live in the
same place at the same time (e.g. deer population)
 Specie - the major subdivision of a genus or subgenus, regarded as the basic
category of biological classification, composed of related individuals that
resemble one another, are able to breed among themselves, but are not able to
breed with members of another species
 It is thought that some organisms can undergo so much change that they become a
whole new species (macroevolution).
 Large-scale evolution is the descent of different species from a common ancestor
over many generations.
CHARLES ROBERT DARWIN
12 FEBRUARY 1809 – 19 APRIL 1882

 Father of Evolution
 English naturalist
 Revolutionary theory laid the foundation for both the
modern theory of evolution and the principle of common
descent by proposing natural selection as a mechanism.
 A worldwide sea voyage aboard HMS Beagle and
observations on the Galapagos Islands in particular
provided inspiration and much of the data on which he
based his theory.
 Published proposal 1859 - The Origin of Species
KEY QUESTION TO PONDER

How is the genetic variation

of a population changed over
time (evolution)?
MICROEVOLUTION
 A change in gene frequency within a
single population over time

Video: What is Evolution?

DETECTING MICROEVOLUTIONARY CHANGE
 Individuals of one beetle species live on a particular mountaintop.
 Year 1: Data collected determines that 80% of the genes in the population are
for green coloration; 20% of them are for brown coloration.
 Year 2: Repeat the procedure; new ratio: 60% green genes to 40% brown
genes.

A microevolutionary pattern has

been detected - a change in gene
frequency.
• Question: How did it
happen?
 MECHANISMS OF MICROEVOLUTION
4 Mechanisms that Influence Gene Frequency:
 Mutation
 Migration
 Genetic drift
 Natural selection

Mechanism - the fundamental processes involved in or responsible for natural phenomenon

MUTATION
 Definition: a change in DNA, the hereditary material of
life; To pass from one generation to another, the mutation
must be contained in the gamete cells

 Example: Some ‘green genes’ randomly mutated to ‘brown genes’

 This process alone cannot account for a big change in allele
frequency. Why?
Video: Mutations (Amoeba Sisters - 7 minutes)
VIDEO: HHMI Malaria and Sickle Cell Anemia
(14 minutes)
MIGRATION (OR GENE FLOW)
 Definition: any movement of genes from one population to another
 Pollen being blown to a new destination
 People moving to new cities or countries.
 If genes are carried to a population where those genes previously did
not exist, gene flow can be a very important source of genetic
variation (different gene versions that are present in a population).

 Example: Some beetles with brown

genes immigrated from another
population, or some beetles carrying
green genes emigrated.
GENETIC DRIFT
 Definition: In each generation, some individuals may, just by chance,
leave behind a few more descendants (and genes, of course!) than
other individuals. The genes of the next generation will be the genes
of the "lucky" individuals, not necessarily the healthier or "better"
individuals.
 Example: When the beetles reproduced, just
by random luck more brown genes than green
genes ended up in the offspring.
 In the diagram, brown genes occur slightly
more frequently in the offspring (29%) than in
the parent generation (25%).
NATURAL SELECTION
 Definition: The process in nature by which, only the organisms best
adapted to their environment tend to survive and transmit their genetic
characteristics in increasing numbers to succeeding generations while
those less adapted tend to be eliminated.
 Example: Beetles with brown genes escaped predation and survived to
reproduce more frequently than beetles with green genes, so that more
brown genes got into the next generation.

Video: Natural Selection (Amoeba Sisters - 7 minutes)

Video: What is Natural Selection (9 minutes)
Video: When will the next mass extinction occur? (TedEd)
DEFINITION EVOLUTION
Evolution is the process by which species of organisms arise from earlier life forms
and undergo change over time through natural selection. The modern understanding of
the origins of species is based on the theories of Charles Darwin combined with a
modern knowledge of genetics based on the work of Gregor Mendel. Darwin observed
there is a certain amount of variation of traits or characteristics among the different
individuals belonging to a population. Some of these traits confer fitness—they allow
the individual organism that possesses them to survive in their environment better than
other individuals who do not possess them and to leave more offspring. The offspring
then inherit the beneficial traits, and over time the adaptive trait spreads through the
population. In twentieth century, the development of the science of genetics helped
explain the origin of the variation of the traits between individual organisms and the
way in which they are passed from generation to generation. This basic model of
evolution has since been further refined, and the role of genetic drift and sexual
selection in the evolution of populations has been recognized.
Video: Evidence for Evolution (11 minutes)
Video: The 12 Days of Evolution (18 minutes)

The American Heritage® Science

Dictionary
 WHICH ONE IS AN EXAMPLE OF EVOLUTION?
Evolution only occurs when there is a change in gene frequency within a
population over time. These genetic differences are heritable and can be
passed on to the next generation.
1. Beetles on a diet - Imagine a year or two of drought in which there are few
plants that these beetles can eat. All the beetles have the same chances of survival
and reproduction, but because of food restrictions, the beetles in the population
are a little smaller than the preceding generation of beetles.

2. Beetles of a different color - Most of the beetles in the population (say 90%)
have the genes for bright green coloration and a few of them (10%) have a gene
that makes them more brown. Some number of generations later, things have
changed: brown beetles are more common than they used to be and make up
70% of the population.

Evolution or Not?
KEY QUESTION TO ANSWER

How is the genetic variation

of a population changed over
time (evolution)?

VIDEO: HHMI Galapagos Finch Evolution

 NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS

 MS-LS4-4: Construct an explanation based on evidence that

describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase
some individual’s probability of surviving and reproducing in a
specific environment.
 MS-LS4-6: Use mathematical representations to support
explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and
decreases of specific traits in populations over time.
A Framework for K-12 Science Education
LS4.B: Natural Selection
• Natural selection leads to the predominance of certain traits in a
population and the suppression of others. (MS-LS4-4)

LS4.C: Adaptation
• Adaptation by natural selection acting over generations is one
important process by which species change over time in response to
changes in environmental conditions. Traits that support successful
survival and reproduction in the new environment become more
common; those that do not become less common. Thus, the
distribution of traits in a population changes. (MS-LS4-6)
 American Association for the Advancement of Science
WHEN INHERITED TRAITS ARE FAVORABLE TO INDIVIDUAL ORGANISMS, THE PROPORTION OF
INDIVIDUALS IN A POPULATION THAT HAVE THOSE TRAITS WILL TEND TO INCREASE OVER SUCCESSIVE
GENERATIONS.
Students are expected to know that:
 There is variation in the inherited traits of organisms of the same species, including traits that
affect their ability to find food, avoid predators, and attract mates.
 Some inherited traits (e.g. bacterial resistance to antibiotics, skin pigmentation in some
organisms) may give individuals of a species an advantage in surviving and reproducing in their
environment compared to other individuals of the same species (e.g. increased ability to find
food or nesting sites, avoid predators, attract mates, resist diseases). Conversely, the individuals
that do not have advantageous trait(s) are more likely to be unable to survive and reproduce.
 An organism’s survival influences its reproductive success. Usually, the longer an organism lives
(during its reproductive years), the more chances it has to reproduce; therefore traits that
improve chances of survival (such as finding food or avoiding predators) also increase chances
of success in reproduction.
 Changes in environmental conditions (such as the appearance of a new predator, a slight change
in temperature, or changes due to the eruption of a volcano) can change which traits are more
advantageous (or less detrimental) in the new environment.
 American Association for the Advancement of Science
WHEN INHERITED TRAITS ARE FAVORABLE TO INDIVIDUAL ORGANISMS, THE PROPORTION OF
INDIVIDUALS IN A POPULATION THAT HAVE THOSE TRAITS WILL TEND TO INCREASE OVER SUCCESSIVE
GENERATIONS.
Students are expected to know that:
 Because more of the individuals with favorable inherited traits survive and reproduce than those that
do not have them, and because the favorable traits are passed on to the offspring, the proportion of
individuals with the favorable inherited traits increases in each subsequent generation. This process is
called natural selection.
 There is no guarantee that any members of a population will be able to survive and reproduce in a
changed environment. Sometimes changes in environmental conditions may cause an entire
population of organisms to die, or even an entire species to become extinct.
 The process of natural selection does not lead to changes in the characteristics of individual
organisms. It only changes the characteristics of populations (i.e. the proportion of individuals in the
population having certain inherited traits) over time.
 After natural selection has operated on many successive generations of a population, the descendants
can be very different from their original ancestors.
 Even though organisms can be very different in both appearance and behavior from their ancestors of
many generations ago, they retain some of the inherited traits of those early ancestors.
BENCHMARKS FOR SCIENCE LITERACY
PROJECT 2061

 Small differences between parents and offspring can

accumulate (through selective breeding) in successive
generations so that descendants are very different from their
ancestors. 5F/M1
 Individual organisms with certain traits are more likely than
others to survive and have offspring. 5F/M2a
 Changes in environmental conditions can affect the survival
of individual organisms and entire species. 5F/M2b

Benchmarks for Science Literacy - Project 2061

STANDARD: 2. LIFE SCIENCE
Prepared Graduates:
 Explain how biological evolution accounts for the unity and diversity of living organisms
 

Grade Level Expectation: Seventh Grade  

Concepts and skills students master:  

1. Individual organisms with certain traits are more likely than others to survive and  
have offspring in a specific environment
Evidence Outcomes 21st Century Skills and Readiness Competencies  
Students can: Inquiry Questions:
a. Develop, communicate, and justify an evidence-based explanation 1. What is the relationship between an organism’s traits and its
for why a given organism with specific traits will or will not potential for survival and reproduction?  
survive to have offspring in a given environment (DOK 1-3) 2. How is the use of the word “adaptation” different in everyday
b. Analyze and interpret data about specific adaptations to provide usage than in biology? 
evidence and develop claims about differential survival and
reproductive success (DOK 1-3) Relevance and Application:
c. Use information and communication technology tools to gather 1. Bacteria have evolved to survive in the presence of the
information from credible sources, analyze findings, and draw environmental pressure of antibiotics – giving rise to antibiotic
 
conclusions to create and justify an evidence-based scientific resistance.
explanation (DOK 1-2) 2. Species that can live with humans –such as rats and pigeons – are
d. Use computer simulations to model differential survival and more common around towns and cities.
reproductive success associated with specific traits in a given Nature of Science:
environment (DOK 1-2) 1. Create and use sound experimental designs to collect data around
  survival and genetic traits. (DOK 2-3)
 
2. Describe several ways in which scientists would study genetics,
and suggest ways that this has contributed to our understanding of
survival and populations. (DOK 1-2)
STANDARD: 2. LIFE SCIENCE
Prepared Graduates:
 Explain and illustrate with examples how living systems interact with the biotic and abiotic environment
 

Grade Level Expectation: Sixth Grade  

Concepts and skills students master:  

1. Changes in environmental conditions can affect the survival of individual organisms,  

populations, and entire species
Evidence Outcomes 21st Century Skills and Readiness Competencies  
Students can: Inquiry Questions:
a. Interpret and analyze data about changes in environmental 1. How do ecosystem changes affect biodiversity?  
conditions – such as climate change – and populations that support 2. How does biodiversity contribute to an ecosystem’s equilibrium?
a claim describing why a specific population might be increasing or Relevance and Application:
decreasing 1. The development and application of technologies intended to aid  
b. Develop, communicate, and justify an evidence-based explanation some populations and ecosystems.
about how ecosystems interact with and impact the global Nature of Science:
environment (DOK 1-3) 1. Ask testable questions and make a falsifiable hypothesis about how
c. Model equilibrium in an ecosystem, including basic inputs and environmental conditions affect organisms, populations, or entire
outputs, to predict how a change to that ecosystem such as climate species and design a method to find the answer. (DOK 2-4)
change might impact the organisms, populations, and species within 2. Recognize and describe the ethical traditions of science: value peer
it such as the removal of a top predator or introduction of a new review; truthful reporting of methods and outcomes; making work  
species public; and sharing a lens of professional skepticism when
d. Examine, evaluate, question, and ethically use information from a reviewing the work of others.
variety of sources and media to investigate how environmental 3. Use models and technology tools to show what might happen to
conditions affect the survival of individual organisms (DOK 1-2) individuals, populations, and species as environmental conditions
change. (DOK 1-2)