EVOLUTION AND BIODIVERSITY

 Theory of evolution
- offers an explanation for the existence of all living organisms on the Earth today and in the past.
 Evolution
- species change over time.
Over a period of about 3000 million years, many new species have been produced and many have become
extinct.
 Paleontologist - is a person who studies fossils.
 Sedimentary rocks – most fossils are found in this rocks
 Archaeopteryx - half-bird, half-reptile

SOURCES OF EVIDENCE FOR EVOLUTION

1) EVIDENCE FROM FOSSIL RECORDS

 Fossils are the remains or impression left by an animal or by plants preserved in the earth crust.
They were from the hard parts of the organism like woody stem, bones, or teeth.

Types of Fossil:

1) Imprints are shallow external molds left by animal or plant tissues with little or no organic materials
present.
2) Compression is the other side with more organic material.

Determining the Age of Fossils

1) Relative dating is a method used to determine the age of the rocks by comparing them with the rocks in
the other layer.
2) Carbon-14 - Radiometric dating is a method used to determine the age of rocks using the decay of
radioactive isotopes present in rocks.

Geologic Time Scale

 Era is the largest division of Geologic Time Scale. (Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic)
 Each Era is further divided into Period.

2.) EVIDENCE FROM COMPARATIVE ANATOMY

 Homologous Structures
- Similar structures in different species irrespective of their functions.
 Analogous Structures
- are structures, which are different in appearance but have the same function

3.) EVIDENCE FROM EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT

 Embryo - is an early stage of development in organisms.

4.) DNA Evidence
* sequence DNA analysis

THEORIES OF EVOLUTION

 Jean Baptiste de Lamarck

- was the first evolutionist to believe that organisms change overtime.

Lamarck Three Theories:

1.) The Theory of Need - which states that organisms change in response to their environment.
2.) The Theory of Use and Disuse - organs not in use will disappear while organs in use will develop.
3.) The Theory of Acquired Characteristics- inherited by their offsprings and propagated by the next
generation.

 Charles Darwin - proposed the Darwinian Theory which is based on Natural Selection.
Natural selection - refers to the differential survival and reproduction of organisms.
Adaptation is a set of genetically acquired traits that make the organism better suited to its environment.

ECOSYSTEM
 The ecosystem is the set of species in a given area that interact among themselves, through processes
such as predation, parasitism, competition and symbiosis, and with their abiotic environment to
disintegrate and become part of cycles of energy and nutrients. T
 he species of the ecosystem, including bacteria, fungi, plants and animals, are dependent on each other.
The relationships between species and their environment facilitate the flow of matter and energy within
the ecosystem.

Levels of Biological Organization

 Organism
- Lowest level of biological
organization in ecology.
- It is an individual that possesses all
the taxonomically important
characters of the species that it
represents.
- Organism exhibits a characteristic
pattern of growth, development,
storage, and reproduction.
- Organism may be unicellular or
multicellular.

 Population
- Organisms rarely live alone.
Individuals of the same species
tend to interact with one another
and live together in groups called
population.
- Organisms from populations increase their chances of survival.
- Population is defined as a group of interbreeding individuals living in a particular place and at a
given time.
- Interbreeding means individuals can mate, produce viable offspring that can likewise reproduce
themselves.

 Biocenoses
- an association of different organisms forming a closely integrated community.
- A set of populations of organisms in a given territory.
  Ecosystem
- Interaction of nonliving environment (abiotic) to living environment (biotic).
- Environment determines what organisms can live and how many of them can live.
- Type of environment in which an organism lives is known as its habitat.
- Each habitat has its own set of environmental factors which make its different from other habitats.

 Biosphere
- Formed by the emerging of all ecosystems all over the earth’s surface.
- Compared to the three regions, the biosphere is like very thin envelope surrounding Earth, at the
bottom of the atmosphere.
GENETIC DIVERSITY
When two individuals with different genotypes interbreed, they pass on their gene to their offspring. The
offspring are never exactly like either one of two parents. They express a combination of the different traits of
both parents/ thus, genetic diversity gives the offspring a greater chance of surviving or adapting to changes in
their environment.

SPECIES DIVERSITY
There are approximately two million documented species on Earth, which include plants, animals, fungi,
protists, bacteria, and archaea. 10 million of species have yet to be discovered, named describe and documented.
Diversity of species also contributes to the survival of other species, by (1) serving important food sources, (2)
acting as decomposers to return nutrient to cycling pool, (3) providing habitats, protection or breeding grounds
for other species, among others.
ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY
Ecosystem diversity describes the many kinds ecosystem, natural and manmade. The ecosystem diversity is
important because it provides not only a rich selection of habitats for different biotic communities but also
valuable ecological services that are vital to species survival.
BIODIVERSITY AND STABILITY
What is ecological balance?
State of dynamic equilibrium within a community of organisms in which genetic, species and ecosystem
diversity remain relatively stable, subject to gradual changes through natural selection and community
succession.
The world is in constant change. Thus, the natural balance in an ecosystem requires continuous maintenance.
Ecological processes and population interactions help keep ecosystems in a stable equilibrium even in the midst
of environmental change.
Ecological processes maintain the stable balance in Earth’s ecosystem, such as fairly constant concentrations of
gases in the atmosphere, or the salinity of ocean waters.

FLOW OF ENERGY IN AN ECOSYSTEM

Energy Pyramid
An energy pyramid shows the flow of energy through the organic matter in an ecosystem.

Primary producers like plants are capable of making their own energy from the sun.
Producers make up the bottom of an energy pyramid. There are many
other organisms that feed on these producers and use their energy to then use in their
own biological processes, and these organisms are higher in the pyramid.

So why are these pyramids shaped the way they are? The reason is that as you get
further and further away from primary consumers, less energy is
transferred. Digesting and converting consumed food into usable energy is a
pretty inefficient process. This means that as you get further from those organisms that make their own food in-house,
less energy is available. This is why there is a cap to predators: eating an apex predator like a shark or a wolf would be
really energetically inefficient. Only so much energy is available for use by the time you get to the top of the pyramid.

HOW DO HUMAN ACTIVITIES AFFECT THE STABILITY OF ECOSYSTEMS?

Human can disrupt the natural balance that exists in the living world.
- The principal causes of of deforestation in the Philippines are: indiscriminate logging, extensive kaingin
farming, conversion to agricultural land, human settlements, etc.
- The major cause of wildfire depletion is habitat loss.
The greatest harm done to coastal ecosystems comes from the following: For coral reefs, siltation and
destructive fishing methods such as dynamite fishing and muroami. For mangroves, overharvesting and
conversion of mangrove areas to fishponds and other uses.

THE VALUE OF SPECIES CAN BE DIVIDED INTO VARIOUS CATEGORIES:

1.) Direct Economic Value - sources of food, medicine, clothing, shelter, and energy.
2. ) Indirect economic value -certain species maintain the chemical quality of natural bodies of water, prevent
soil erosion and floods, cycle materials in the soil, and absorb pollutants.
3.) Aesthetic value

THE UPS AND DOWNS OF POPULATION GROWTH:

 Population - is a group of organisms of the same species that live in a certain area.
 Birth Rate (Natality) - the number of births in a population
 Death Rate (Mortality) - the number of organisms that are dying in a population
 Population Carrying Capacity - maximum number of organisms that can be supported
 Density-Dependent Limiting Factor - A factor that regulates a population’s growth and is
influenced by population density (Natural disasters, temperature, sunlight, activities of humans
in the environment)
 Density-Independent Limiting Factor - the population’s density does not directly influence
changes in population’s growth.

LIMITING FACTORS THAT DEPEND ON POPULATION DENSITY:

1.) Diseases and Parasites
2. ) Competition for Resources
3.) Predation
4.) Emigration

ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AND ISSUES:

 Farmlands are converted into housing projects.
 River ecosystem dumped with garbage from illegal settlers and toxic wastes from industries.
 Coral Reef Destruction
 Deforestation
 Air Pollution
 Water Pollution

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
As defined by the World Commission of Environment and Development, is “development that needs of the
present witout compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
- A country’s economic growth and environmental integrity.
- Its environmental policy must work towards:
a. Proper management of natural resources
b. Preservation and enhancement of environmental quality.
Prepared by:
SIR JEMUEL B. LAGARTO, LPT