Evidence of Evolution
What are fossils?
Remains of organisms that lived in the past
What is Natural Selection?
Organisms with traits and adaptations that are beneficial in the environment in which they live are more likely to survive and reproduce.
What is speciation?
The formation of new species
What is one piece of evidence scientists use to support the theory of evolution?
Fossils, DNA/Amino Acids, Homologous Structures, Embryological Development, Common Ancestry
What is an adaptation?
A physical or behavioral trait that helps an organism survive in its environment
What is extinction?
All members of a species die out
What type of information can scientists gain from fossils? List at least 2.
What the organism looked like, where they lived, how long ago they lived, and relationships to other organisms
A bird lives in an environment where it must crack tree-nut shells to access food. Will the environment select for birds with a long, thin, narrow beak or a shorter, thicker beak? Explain why.
A bird with a shorter, thicker beak will be more successful in the environment because it will be able to access food easily.
What type of speciation happens when a population is separated by a geographical feature such as a river, ocean, or mountain?
Allopatric speciation
If two organisms have a similar DNA sequence and produce similar amino acids, it can be concluded that they share a __________ ___________
Common Ancestor
A bird population becomes infected and loses most of its feathers, which prevents them from retaining heat. What adaptations (physically or behaviorally) can help these birds survive in future generations?
Growing thicker feathers, building nests that protect from the elements, storing extra body fat, huddling together, hunting for food in warmer parts of the day
How can a geographical barrier lead to the formation of new populations?
The separated groups may face different environments, so different traits become helpful. Over time, natural selection can cause the groups to become different.
Shark sequence: A-G-V-E-I-S-P-P-A-E
Whale sequence: A-X-O-L-I-S-P-O-Y-R
Fish Sequence: A-G-X-Y-Q-W-C-Z-M-A
Dolphin Sequence: A-X-V-L-I-S-P-O-R-R
Which two species are closely related?
The Whale and Dolphin are closely related. Their amino acid sequences are similar, which suggests they are related via a common ancestor.
Explain how Natural selection leads to evolution, which leads to speciation
Traits best suited to the environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. Over many generations, species with this trait will become dominant, and the species is said to have evolved. Once species have evolved, they can experience isolation such as geographical, reproductive, temporal, or behavioral isolations that lead to speciation.
Sympatric Speciation leads to what three types of isolation?
Reproductive: Physical anatomy prevents species from mating/ reproducing
Temporal: Species mate at different times of the year, preventing them from interacting
Behavioral: Species do not acknowledge behaviors such as "songs" when finding a potential mate.