Varun Gupta 1

Biology 201
Biology Day 2 (Aug. 28): Natural Selection

There were two scientists who came up with the theory of natural selection
o Charles Darwin was a naturalist aboard the H.M.S. Beagle
o Alfred Russell Wallace was a commercial collector of tropical species
Plato and Aristotle had a major influence on both men
o Plato Theory of Form
Humans are slightly imperfect representations of the ideal man/woman
o Aristotle had Great Chain of Being
Ranked animals in terms of complexity and perfection
Beginning to late 19th century had many Natural Theologists (creationists)
o Earth is about 6,000 years old
o God created all things and they have not changed
Bishop William Paley said organisms are complex and adapted because they were made
by God
o Known as the watchmaker argument
An intelligent designed had to create the natural world
Fossil records were beginning to be discovered
o Led to an idea of catastrophism
God created and destroyed animals over and over again
o Georges Cuvier believed in this idea
Uniformitarianism (gradualism) said Earth has been changing over a very long time
o Earth is very old
o Charles Lyell believed in this and published books about it
Jean-Baptis Lemarck claimed that organisms had a drive to complexity
o Involved change over time and passed to offspring (Adaptive Force)
Thomas Malthus said that there would not be enough food to feed everyone
o Struggle for existence
Darwin and Wallace both had key ideas:
o Diversity among species
o The more alike two species are, the more likely that they are to be near each other
o Many species have gone extinct
o Modern species differ from extinct species
They both realize that species tend to produce more offspring
o Population sizes do not change too much
Scarcity of resources
Both men recognized the importance of variation
o Some species will survive more in specific environments
Differential reproduction (fitness) based on differences in traits allow for
natural selection
More favored traits are passed on
Animal breeding showed that traits are heritable

2 Lecture Notes

o When the favored trait is found, that trait is passed on

This is descent with modification (evolution)
Change in a population over time
Evolution is a genetic change over time
Conditions for evolution by natural selection:
o Differences in traits
o Differences affecting survival and/or reproduction
o Differences have to be heritable

Biology Day 3 (Aug. 30): Natural Selection

Darwin spent 20 years preparing his manuscript on natural selection
Wallace developed his ideas and sent a letter to Darwin
o Both men jointly presented their ideas at Linnaean Society of London
o In 1859, Darwin published his book
Fitness is Darwins term for an individuals ability to reproduce
Evolution is a change in alleles for a population
Natural selection is a mechanism of evolution
Adaptation is an increase in fitness
Genotype is a set of alleles
Phenotype is any physical characteristic
Single locus (monogenic) a phenotypic trait controlled by one gene
Multi Locus (polygenic) a phenotypic trait controlled by multiple loci
Evolution only affects a population, not an individual
o Individuals acclimate rather than adapt
Phenotypic selection is the component of natural selection where some traits have greater
fitness
Evolution cannot anticipate change
o Variation has its origin in chance
o Selection usually acts on pre-existing variation
Selection cannot cause a beneficial mutation, it is random
Evolution is not inherently progressive
Microevolution:
o Changes within species
o May be short or long term
o Single mutations and quantative changes
Macroevolution:
o Speciation over long periods of time
Evidence for evolution
o Microevolution has been recorded in labs and field studies
o Macroevolution has been seen through fossil records
Two approaches that look at evolution
o Comparative: compare existing variation

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Biology 201

o Experimental: manipulate variations

Common Garden experiment:
o Bring population samples into a lab and raise in same conditions
o Compare findings to see a genetic difference

Observations of Natural Selection

o Antibiotics were initially very effective against TB
After repeated use, the bacteria evolved
Had a single amino acid difference, preventing the drug from
working
After the mutation was present, the characteristic was favored
o More offspring had the mutation
Evidence for Macroevolution
o Evolutionary theory predicts that traits evolve over time
Fossil records and comparative studies prove that transitional species exist
New species form from existing species
o Species in closer geographic regions tend to be more similar
As time goes on, bigger differences occur in species
o Species are in their respective locations because of continental drift
Long ago, continents were attached and on tectonic plates
Moved over time
Remote islands support speciation because a single colonizing species may find niches
o Anolis lizards in Caribbean and Honeycreepers in Hawaii
Anolis lizards are specialized in different ways based on where they live
Honeycreepers in Hawaii have developed into new species
Typically developed based on what they eat
Taxonomic relationships point to evolutionary similarities
o Points to homologous traits as taxons converge
o Homologies are even present in embryonic development
Vestigial traits are evidence of evolution and development
o A vestigial trait is a trait that no longer has a function
Remnants of a pelvic girdle in the bowhead whale

Biology Day 4 (Sep. 2): Evolutionary Mechanisms

The Hardy-Weinberg Principle allows us to find expected values for allele frequency
o Gives a null model for expected genotype frequency without evolution
Mendelian inheritance applies to diploid sexual species
For Hardy-Weinberg to apply:
o Needs to be a gene pool, a combination of all alleles for a population

4 Lecture Notes

o Random mating
Assumptions of Hardy-Weinberg:
o No natural selection
o No genetic drift
o No gene flow
o No mutations
o Random mating

Biology Day 5 (Sep. 4): Natural Selection and Trait Distribution

Selection may favor traits in many ways:
o Directional selection selection against one trait or another
Reduces variability
o Stabilizing selection selection against extreme values, stabilizing traits to the
norm
o Disruptive selection selection against average, favors extremes
Directional reduces genetic variability by eliminating alleles
Stabilizing reduces genetic variability by eliminating extremities
Disruptive is the slowest at reducing genetic variability
Biology Day 5 (Sep. 4): Limitations on Evolution
Does not result in perfectly adapted organisms
o Fit enough to survive
Evolution requires genetic change
o Can cause limited genetic variability
o There may also be genetic correlations among traits
Historical constraints:
o Acts on existing characteristics
o New traits evolve from old ones
Chemical and Physical constraints:
o Rate and nature of biochemical processes
o Physical characteristics of biological materials
With evolution, there will always be physical and fitness trade-offs
Variable selective conditions
o Changes in environmental conditions can make certain traits seem old/useless
Nonrandom mating means the likelihood of alleles being paired is biased
o Assortative mating: mate with individuals that are similar or different to their
genotype
o Inbreeding: mating with similar people are likely to have same alleles at loci
Increasing likelihood of homozygosity at loci
Reduction in heterozygosity is known as inbreeding depression
Sexual selection occurs in differences occur in mating based on phenotypes
o If differences are heritable, increased reproduction means increased frequency

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Biology 201

Differences of phenotypes of sexes is known as Sexual Dimorphism

o Often due to the fundamental asymmetry of sex
Females invest more in offspring than males do
Males can reproduce more quickly and are less involved
Can choose based on good overall male fitness