MECHANISMS OF EVOLUTION Muhamad Rifqi Rizkillah Dan Sherlin Yuliani

Download as docx, pdf, or txt
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1of 6

MECHANISMS OF EVOLUTION

OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to :
1. Define evolution
2. Ask question about evolution
3. Define natural selection
4. Construct a graph based on the data
5. Construct hypotheses from the phenomenon
6. Predict an explanation from the phenomenon

The Onymacris unguicularis beetle lives in the coastal Namib desert


ofsouthwestern Africa, a land where fog is common, but virtually no rain falls. To
obtain the water it needs to survive, the beetle relies on “a pecullar uhead standing"
behavior Tilting head-downward, the beetle faces into the winds that blow fog across
the dunes. Droplets of moisture from the fog collect on the beetle's body and run down
into its mouth.
This headstander beetle shares many features with the more than 350,000
other beetle species on Earth, including six pairs oflegs, a hard outer surface, and two
pairs of wings. But how did there come to be so many variations on the basic beetle
theme? The headstander beetle and its many close relatives illustrate three key
observations about life: the striking ways in which organisms are suited for life in their
environments; the many shared characteristics (unity) of life; and the rich diversity of
life. A century and a half ago, Charles Darwin was inspired to develop a scientific
explanation for these three broad observations. When he published his hypothesis in
The Origin a Species, Darwin ushered in a scientific revolution-the era of evolutionary
biology.
For now, we will define evolution as descent with modification, a phrase
Darwin used in proposing that Earth's many species are descendants ofancestral
species that were different from the present day species. Evolution can also be defined
more narrowly as a change in the genetic composition of a population from generation
to generation. Whether it is defined broadly or narrowly, we can view evolution in two
related but different ways: as a pattern and as a process. The pattern of evolutionary
change is re· vealed by data from a range of scientific disciplines, including biology,
geology, physics, and chemistry. These data are factsthey are observations about the
natural world. The process of evolution consists of the mechanisms that produce the
observed pattern ofchange. These mechanisms represent natural causes of the natural
phenomena we observe. Indeed, the power of evolution as a unifying theory is its
ability to explain and connect a vast array of observations about the living world.

EXERCISE A Asking questioning


Based to the text, raise a question about the evolution, next find what the
answer is? Question :
How do beetles get water?
..............................................................................................................................................
Answer:
To obtain the water it needs to survive, the beetle relies on “a pecullar uhead
standing" behavior Tilting head-downward, the beetle faces into the winds that
blow fog across the
dunes............................................................................................................................................
...

NATURAL SELECTION (A Summary)


 Natural selection is a process in which individuals that have certain heritable
characteristics survive and reproduce at a higher rate than other individuals.
 Over time, natural selection can increase the match between organisms and
their environment
 If an environment changes, or if inviduals move to a new environment, natural
selection may result in adaptation to these new conditions, sometimes giving
rise to new species in the process
One subtle but important point is although natural selection occurs through
interaction between idividual organisms and their environment, individuals do not
evolve. Rather,in the population that evolves over time.
A second key point is that natural selection can amplify or diminish only
heritable traits-traits that ape passed from organisms to their offspring. Though an
organism may become modified during its lifetime, and these acquired
characteristics may even help the organism in its environment, there is little
evidence that such acquired characteristics can be inherited by offspring.
Third, envirometal factors vary from place and over time, a trait that is
favorable in one place or time may be useless-or even detrimental- in oter places or
times. Natural selection is always opertaig, but which traits are favored depends on
environmental.

EXERCISE B Checking of Understanding


1. How does the concept of descent with modification explain both the unity and
divertsity of life?
With the concept of natural selection where natural seletion can increase
the compatibility between organisme and their
environment........................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................
2. Describe how over reproduction and heritable variation relate to evolution
by natural selection!
If an environment changes, or if inviduals move to a new environment,
natural selection may result in adaptation to these new conditions,
sometimes giving rise to new species in the process
One subtle but important point is although natural selection occurs
through interaction between idividual organisms and their environment,
individuals do not evolve. Rather,in the population that evolves over
time.
.......................................................................................................

EXERCISE C Constructing a graph


Mosquitoes resistant to the pesticide DDT first appeared in India in 1959, but now are
found throughout the world.
Graph the data in the table below!
Month Percentage of Mosquitoes Resistant* to DDT
0 4%
8 45%
12 77%
*Mosquitoes werw considered resistant if they were not killed within 1
hour of receiveng a dose of 4% DDT

Source
:C.F. Curtis et.al., Selection for and against insecticide resistance and
possible methods of inhibiting the evolution of resistance in mosquitoes,
Ecological Entomology 3:273-287(1978)
Graph:
y

12

0
4% 45% 75% x

X : Percentage of Mosquitoes Resistant to DDT.

Y : month
EXERCISE D Constructing hypotheses
Examining the graph, hypothesize why the percentage of mosquitoes resistant to DDT rose
rapidly!
....................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................

EXERCISE E Predicting
Suggest an explanation for the global spread of DDT resistance!
..............................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................

You might also like