Class notes
Biology 'evolution' Class Notes
- Course
- Bio120 (BIO120H1)
- Institution
- University Of Toronto (U Of T )
Notes for classes 1-8 for term test 1. Covers natural selection, evidence for evolution, reproduction, and more.
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Bio Term Test 1(L1-L8, sim u text 1, readings 1-6)
L1: Intro to Evolutionary Biology
Essential Takeaways:
- Vocabulary: adaptation, biodiversity, evolutionary history, evolutionary mechanism,
microevolution, macroevolution
- Concepts: phylogenetic trees, approaches to studying evolution, implications and
applications of evolutions
- Scientific theories as testable and falsifiable, as opposed to faith and belief
Pillars of Evolution
- Living things change over time
- Changes are gradual, not instantaneous
- Lineages split through specification and result in biodiversity
- All species have a common ancestor
- Adaptation arise through natural selection
Conclusion: Biodiversity and adaptation are products of evolution
- Challenges the views of religion and special creation
Vocabulary
- Biodiversity: number and kinds of living organism in an area, (diversity of life)
- Adaptation:
- State: trait that allows an organism to survive and reproduce in a given
environment
- Process: leads to the origin and maintenance of these traits
- Microevolution: Evolutionary patterns and processes observed within species
- Small scale and shorter time frame, quick changes
- Ex: Rapid virus mutations
- Macroevolution: Evolutionary patterns and processes observed among species
- Large scale and longer time frame (long term changes - transcends a single
species, and look into speciation)
- Ex: From reptiles to humans
, Bio Term Test 1
(L1-L8, sim u text 1, readings 1-6)
Applications
- Evolution helps us understand our traits and why we have them
- Applied to fields such as:
- Medicine: Understanding virus evolution (rapid mutation, common ancestor of virus),
evolution-proof dug treatments, origin of viruses and bacteria, etc
- Agriculture: Find solution to herbicide and insect resistant pests and weeds
- Environment: Save planet
- Biology: answers ‘Why’ questions, understanding complex traits through natural
selection
Approaches to Studying Evolution
1. Evolutionary history: Based on reconstructing the history of evolution
- Determines evolutionary relationships through common ancestry
- Look into long-term patterns of evolution
- Application: Integrates comparative data from sub-disciplines
2. Evolutionary mechanisms: Based on processes that cause evolution (micro and macro
evolution, natural selection)
- Identify major forces of evolution
- Application: Uses experimental and comparative studies on genetics and ecology
- Focuses on population level
- Both are needed to understand evolution since evolutionary history is a product of
evolutionary mechanisms (not separate but interdisciplinary)
Evolutionary Trees/phylogenetic tree/phylogeny (evolutionary history branch)
- Trees showcase common ancestry, origin, and speciation of organisms
- Uniparental genealogy commonly used
- Points of branching are speciation events
Assumptions
- Rotation of branches still results in equivalent graphs
- Trees with different species (missing species or new added species) can still represent
same common ancestor (equivalent graphs)
, Bio Term Test 1
(L1-L8, sim u text 1, readings 1-6)
Ways Evolution is Studied
- Observation: describe and quantify
- Theoretical: verbal, graphical, mathematical, computational models
- Comparative: data collection from variety of species
- Experimental: Manipulate a system to address a hypothesis
- Scientific theories are testable and can be false
What makes a good theory?
- Evidence
- Testable hypothesis
Application of how evolution is studied (4 W’s)
1. Why does self-fertilization evolve → theoretical, observational, experimental
2. How did self-fertilization → genetics, molecular biology, developmental biology
(interdisciplinary question)
3. When did selfing evolve → evolutionary history, comparative analysis of genetic
differences
4. What are the consequences of evolving selfing → Genome studies
Public Doubts
- Recent concept
- Impacts who we are and where we came from
- Opposes interpretations of religious texts
L2: Darwin’s Big Idea
Essentials
- People: who they are, what they discovered or got wrong
→ Paley, Lamark, Darwin, Wallace, Lyell, Malthus, Weissman
- Concepts: Inheritance of acquired characteristics, uniformitarianism, natural selection.
(there differences, similarities, and predictions)
- Applications: Antibiotic resistance evolution, and how to stop it
People:
Name What they discovered What they got wrong
William Paley Paley’s Argument from design - Living things were not
- All things with a purpose are developed by god, there is no
designed by the divine designer
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