1 Explain teleology be able to identify teleological thinking Teleology is the philosophical concept that all phenomena occur due to a purpose emphasizing the end result rather than causes For example this is a teleological statement seals developed flippers to swim faster Birds developed wings so they could fly Giraffes grew long necks in order to reach tall trees Plants produce oxygen for animals to breathe Evolution created humans to be intelligent 2 Explain why the Misconceptions about evolutionary theory and processes given in Lecture 1 are misconceptions Evolution theory is the origin of life evolution explains changes to a species regarding traits Abiogenesis is what concerns the creation origin of life Evolution also doesn t explain how life Organisms are always getting better through evolution harmful mutations can occur and what is beneficial in one environment can be harmful to another Certain traits can also be lost in evolution Vestigiality Individuals can evolve in a single lifespan evolution occurs in a population over various generations Humans are not evolving genetic drift and mutations occur randomly so humans are still subject to evolution There is still evidence of NS such as sickle cell anemia and tolerance to lactose NS involves organisms trying to adapt NS does not occur consciously and mutations don t simply occur because an organism wants to adapt rather it occurs at random These random traits will either die out if they are not favored by the environment or negative selection or increase positive selection if they are favored by the environment NS gives an organism what it needs and acts for the good of the species NS favors traits suited for an environment leading to higher rates of reproduction NS doesn t give an organism a trait NS doesn t always benefits the species for example peacocks and sexual selection peacocks w beautiful tails often have trouble escaping predators or flying Fitness in NS is defined by the organism s reproductive success and not necessarily survival Fittest organisms in a population is the strongest healthiest fastest no fittest refers to the individuals that reproduce more have a reproductive advantage these individuals aren t necessarily more physically capable NS is about survival of the fittest NS isn t survival of the fittest but rather the fittest have a reproductive advantage Survival of the fittest also implies fitness is associated with strength and physical capabilities which is false NS produces organisms perfectly suited for their environment NS doesn t have an end goal and many developed traits are trade offs NS also acts on existing varying traits in a population these beneficial traits don t pop out of the blue All traits are adaptations genetic drift mutations and gene flow occur independently from NS 3 What does the Great Chain of Being refer to The great chain of being refers to the philosophical concept plato aristotle that all life is arranged in a hierarchical manner by God God angels demons star moon kings princes nobles commoners wild animals domesticated animals trees other plants precious stones precious metals other minerals 4 Explain the important contributions to the development of evolutionary theory made by Lamarck Lyell Malthus Charles Darwin Jean Baptiste Lamarck first person to come up with the idea that species can change over time to become a new species proposed the idea of evolution Charles Lyell a friend of darwin first to believe earth s age is 300 million and he believed this is what allowed for gradual changes in organisms Thomas Malthus believed human population growth exponential is greater than resource supply growth linear eventually leading to shortage This shortage will lead to struggle for existence amongst a population Charles Darwin defined evolution as descent with modification Descendants develop different traits as they adapt to a new environment Darwin came up with the first plausible explanation of evolution or descent with modification aka NS 5 Explain the problems with Lamarck s concept of how evolution occurs Lamarck believed if an organism used it s organ more the organ would grow and vice versa this is untrue for evolution adaptation since assuming an organ can grow during a lifetime that means the size cannot be passed down inheritable Just because a parent exercises the organ causing it to increase in size does not mean it s offspring would be born with a larger organ For example the child of a body builder wouldn t necessarily have a muscular bulky build Lamarck also believed that organisms evolve upward to become greater beings this is false as organisms evolve to adapt to their environment and each organism does what they do best NS can in fact lead to greater simplicity rather than complexity it all depends on the environment and whether the trait has fitness for that environment All organisms For example though bacteria cannot think like humans they have various functions that humans cannot fathom to replicate 6 Explain the idea of Uniformitarianism and the role it played in shaping Darwin s theory of evolution by natural selection Uniformitarianism is the geological idea that the earth is slowly shaped rather than suddenly catastrophism This idea supports Darwin s theory as it provides a long timeframe for organisms to change and similar to land changing animals slowly adapt to the environment 7 Explain what artificial selection is and the role it played in shaping Darwin s theory of evolution by natural selection Darwin used AS to prove that NS is plausible and possible by breeding pigeons In other words if such great changes can dt uoccur in short periods than bigger changes should be able to occur in nature over longer periods 8 Give examples of artificial selection Domesticating animals and crops for example dogs or corn 9 Did Darwin benefit from Mendel s work Explain why or why not Darwin was unaware of Mendel s work which is related to inheritance Mendel s work regarding inheritance was not recognized and unnoticed by the scientific community for a long time 10 Define evolution both definitions Evolution is descent with modification Darwin s theory Evolution is the change in genetic composition of a population over time 11 Explain the importance of Darwin s Finches the finches on the Galapagos Islands in shaping Darwin s theory of evolution by natural selection Darwin s Finches supported the theory of the birds descending off a common mainland