BIOL 3350 Lecture 1 Outline of Current LectureI. What is Evolution?II. How can evolution occur?III. What does evolution do for you?Current Lecture I. What is Evolution?a. Evolution is the unifying theory of biologyb. What does the evolutionary theory explain?i. Diversity of Life1. Tree of Life2. Difference and similarities among organismsa. Changes in the structure of bones shows adaptive changes depending on environment/use of limbi. These structures have been modified to grasp, run, swim3. The characteristics of organisms, both useful and non-usefula. Some features are left over from once function limbsi. Known as vestigial featuresb. Ancestral form was not aquatic and used pelvis/femur to walk on landc. What is evolution?i. Means changeii. A process of descent with modification from common ancestors1. Descent is the cumulative transmission of genetic information across generations2. Modification is the alteration in the composition of genetic information3. Common ancestry means that all of life shares a history of ancestors that are shared4. Evolution occurs in populationsa. Individuals do not evolveb. A population shares a common gene poolThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.c. Evolve through changes in the population of different types across generationsiii. Descent with modification1. Populations of organisms change over timea. Microevolution – small, slow, incremental changes2. Lineages split and diverge3. New forms derive from older formsa. Macroevolution4. All life forms are related5. Microevolution and macroevolution are the same processa. Both results of small changes that occur in population overtimeII. How can evolution occur?a. Acts on variation1. Mutation is the ultimate source of variation2. Genetic recombination also produces variationii. Variation is sorted within a generation1. Chance results in random variation in survival and reproduction of different types2. Selection results in directed variation in survival and reproduction of different typesiii. Evolution occurs when the allele frequency differs between generations1. A particular type may increase or decrease due to chance2. A particular type may increase if favored by selection (adaptive)3. A particular type may decrease if disfavored by selection (maladaptive)a. Most mutations that occur are maladaptive4. Ex: beak depth in bird increased after drought because those birdswith smaller beaks couldn’t process the hard nuts b. Why is evolution a theory?i. Statements based on observation or experimentation that explains the causes of something known or observed.1. Hypothesis – falsifiable proposition; something that can be tested2. Theory – not an unsupported speculation or hypothesis; hypothesis that has been tested in many different ways and continues to be supported3. Fact – hypothesis that has become so well supported by evidence that we are convinced it is true4. The existence of evolutionary change is a scientific factii. Evolutionary theory is a group of interrelated ideas about the processes that cause evolutionary changeIII. What does evolution do for you?a. Health and medicine1. Why certain diseases are clustered temporarily and geographically2. HAART – uses combination of drugs to attack HIV virus to prevent it from adapting to all types of drugs administered  a “drug cocktail”ii. Agricultural and natural resources1. Development of improved varieties of domesticated plants and animals through artificial selection2. GMOsiii. Environment and conservation1. Preserve genetic diversity, decrease probability of extinction2. Target particular populations and habitats for conservation3. Guide restoration and reintroduction plans4. Slow down the rate of loss of