Earth and Life Science. Chapter 10
Earth and Life Science. Chapter 10
Earth and Life Science. Chapter 10
These ideas were also found in the Old Testament account of creation,
which holds that specific species were individually designed by God,
and therefore, perfect (creationism). In the 1700s, this was interpreted
by scientists as marks of God’s work, that species were so perfectly
adapted to their environments.
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One such scientist was Carolus Linnaeus, who developed the binomial
system of naming species. For instance, humans are designated as
homo sapiens. In contrast to the linear hierarchy of scala naturae,
Linnaeus developed a nested classification system, which was used to
group organisms into specific categories. However, he did not ascribe
these classifications to evolutionary adaptations. Rather, he ascribed
them to God’s creative powers.
Many scientists drew their work from the remains of living things,
which are fossils. Most fossils have been found in sedimentary rocks
formed from mud and sand that settle into the bottom of seas, lakes,
and swamps. New layers of sediments form over older ones and
compress them into superimposed layers of rocks called strata. At the
time the layers were formed, the fossils were deposited in the rocks.
Thus, the fossils provide clues about the organisms that lived during
the time that the strata were formed.
In 1975, James Hutton proposed that the geologic features of the Earth
could be explained by gradual mechanisms that were still operating.
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Several naturalists, during the 18th century, suggested that life evolved
as environments change. However, only one of Darwin’s predecessors
proposed how life changes over time. French biologist, Jean-Baptiste
Lamarck proposed a mechanism for evolution, which was later found
to be incorrect. Lamarck published his hypothesis in 1809, the year
that Darwin was born. By the comparison of living things and fossils,
he found what appeared to be several lines of descent. Each
chronological order of species led to the subsequent species that was
alive at the time. He explained this occurrence using two principles.
The first was use and disuse, the idea that parts of the body that are
commonly used become larger and stronger and parts of the body that
are no longer being used shrink and become weaker. The second
principle was the inheritance of acquired characteristics, which stated
that an organism could pass the modifications to its offspring. He also
thought that organisms had an inner drive to evolve. Darwin rejected
this idea. However, he thought that variations were introduced into
species through the inheritance of modified characteristics. Today,
however, Lamarck’s hypothesis has been rejected, as there is no
genetic mechanism that would allow inheritance in the way that
Lamarck proposed.
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Darwin’s Research
During the voyage on the Beagle, Darwin was able to observe that
there were many examples of adaptations. These are characteristics
that enable organisms to thrive in the environment that they are in.
Later, he perceived adaptations to the environment and the origin of
new species as closely related processes. By the 1840s, the hypotheses
of Darwin were published in a paper. He anticipated that there would
be uproar about the implications of his proposal, but he continued on
his pursuit.
Darwin’s book, The Origin of Species, had two main ideas: that
descent with modifications explains life’s unity and diversity and that
natural selection brings about the match between organisms and their
environment.
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Aside from this, Darwin also observed that an organism’s traits can
influence not only its own performance, but also how well its
offsprings cope with environmental changes. Organisms with offspring
that are able to obtain food or withstand physical conditions are able to
survive and reproduce, thus producing more offspring. Thus, natural
selection is imposed by factors such as predators and environmental
conditions, which can increase the favorable traits in a population.
Over time, natural selection can increase the match between organisms
and their environment.
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The fossil record is the second evidence for evolution. Fossil records
show that present-day organisms differ significantly from organisms
that existed before. Many species have also become extinct. Fossils
show the evolutionary changes that have occurred over time in various
groups of organisms.
Over longer time scales, fossils are able to document the origins of
major new groups of organisms. An example of this is the fossil record
of early cetaceans, which is the mammalian order to includes whales,
dolphins, and porpoises. The early cetaceans lived about 60 million
years ago. Fossil records indicate that, prior to that time period, most
mammals were terrestrial. However, fossils were recovered in
Pakistan, Egypt, and North America that document the transition from
life on land to life in the sea. Collectively, these and other early fossils
document the formation of new species and the origin of a major group
of mammals, the cetaceans. In addition to providing evidence for the
pattern of evolution, fossil records can also be used to test the
evolutionary hypotheses. For instance, based on anatomical data,
scientists believe that early land vertebrates evolved from a group of
fishes. They also believe that early amphibians also evolved from
descendants of land vertebrates. If these relationships were correct, we
would predict that the earliest fossils of fishes would be older than the
earliest fossils of amphibians. These predictions can be tested using
radioactive dating techniques.
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humans and cats, show the same arrangement of bones from the
shoulder to the tips of the digits, even though they have very different
functions. These striking anatomical similarities would not be there if
they had arisen anew in each species. Rather, the underlying skeletal
structures of arms, flippers, and wings of different mammal are
homologous structures that show the variations in a common theme,
and also that that these animals have a common ancestor.
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Genetic Drift
Chance events can cause allele frequencies to fluctuate unpredictably
from one generation to the next, especially in small populations. This
is known as genetic drift. Certain circumstances can result in genetic
drift having significant effects on a population. Two examples are the
founder effect and the bottleneck effect.
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which chance events alter the allele frequencies, occur in such a case
because the wind transported individuals to another location, leaving
the rest of the population behind. The founder effect accounts for the
relatively high frequency of certain inherited disorders among isolated
human populations.
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Gene Flow
Allele frequencies can also change by gene flow, which is the transfer
of alleles into or out of a population due to the movement of fertile
individuals or their gametes. Since alleles are exchanged among
populations, gene flow tends to reduce the genetic variations between
populations. If it is extensive enough, gene flow can result in
neighboring populations combining into a single population with a
common gene pool.
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Activities/Exercises
Assignment 1: Find an article on the internet about the controversy between evolution and
creation theories. Pick one of the theories and explain why you think they explain how life
evolved on earth. Do this in 450 words, with 3 references formatted in APA style.
Assignment 2: Observe a dog’s tail. What do you think is the evolutionary purpose of its tail,
if there is any? Explain your answer in 300 words, with 2 references formatted in APA style.
Glossary
Heterozygosity: refers to two different alleles in a single gene locus
References
Ferrell, V. (2001). Evolution Handbook. Altmont: Evolution Facts,
Inc.
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