Campbell Biology in Focus

Fourth Edition

Chapter 1
Introduction: Evolution and
the Foundations of Biology
Lecture Presentations by
Kathleen Fitzpatrick
Simon Fraser University
Nicole Tunbridge
Kwantlen Polytechnic University

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Figure 1.1
How do these mice illustrate the unifying themes of biology?

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Concept 1.1: The Study of Life
Reveals Unifying Themes
• To organize and make sense of all the information
encountered in biology, focus on a few big ideas
• These unifying themes help to think about biological
information:
– Organization
– Information
– Energy and matter
– Interactions
– Evolution

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Theme: New Properties Emerge at
Successive Levels of Biological
Organization
• Life can be studied at different levels, from molecules to
the entire living planet
• The study of life can be divided into different levels of
biological organization
• In reductionism, complex systems are reduced to simpler
components to make them more manageable to study

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Figure 1.2
Exploring Levels of Biological Organization

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Emergent Properties (1 of 2)
• Emergent properties result from the arrangement and
interaction of parts within a system
• Emergent properties characterize nonbiological entities as
well
– For example, photosynthesis cannot take place if
chlorophyll and other chloroplast molecules are
combined; it requires an intact chloroplast

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Emergent Properties (2 of 2)
• Biologists today complement reductionism with systems
biology, the exploration of a biological system by
analyzing the interactions among its parts
• The systems approach poses questions such as
– How do networks of molecular interactions in our
bodies function to generate our 24-hour cycle of
wakefulness and sleep?
– How does increasing CO2 alter the biosphere?

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Structure and Function
• At each level of biological organization, we find a
correlation between structure and function
• Analyzing a biological structure can give clues about what
it does and how it works

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The Cell: An Organism’s Basic Unit of
Structure and Function (1 of 2)
• The cell is the smallest unit of life that can perform all
activities required for life
• All cells share certain characteristics, such as being
enclosed by a membrane
• The two main forms of cells are prokaryotic and eukaryotic

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The Cell: An Organism’s Basic Unit of
Structure and Function (2 of 2)
• A eukaryotic cell contains membrane-enclosed
organelles, including a DNA-containing nucleus
• Some organelles, such as the chloroplast, are limited only
to certain cell types, that is, those that carry out
photosynthesis
• Prokaryotic cells lack a nucleus or other membrane-
bound organelles and are generally smaller than
eukaryotic cells

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Figure 1.3
Contrasting Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic Cells in Size and
Complexity

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Theme: Life’s Processes Involve the
Expression and Transmission of
Genetic Information
• Chromosomes contain a cell’s genetic material in the form
of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

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Figure 1.4
A Lung Cell from a Newt Divides into Two Smaller Cells That
Will Grow and Divide Again

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DNA, the Genetic Material (1 of 4)
• A DNA molecule holds hundreds or thousands of genes,
each a section of DNA along the chromosome
• Genes are the units of inheritance that transmit
information from parents to offspring
• As cells grow and divide, the genetic information encoded
by DNA directs their development

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Figure 1.5
Inherited DNA Directs the Development of an Organism

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DNA, the Genetic Material (2 of 4)
• A DNA molecule is made of two long chains (strands)
arranged in a double helix
• Each link of a chain is one of four kinds of chemical
building blocks called nucleotides, abbreviated A, T, C,
and G

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Figure 1.6
DNA: The Genetic Material

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DNA, the Genetic Material (3 of 4)
• For many genes, the DNA sequence provides blueprints
for making proteins
• Proteins are the major players in building and maintaining
a cell
• Genes control protein production indirectly, using RNA as
an intermediary
• Gene expression is a process by which the information in
a gene directs production of a cellular product

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DNA, the Genetic Material (4 of 4)
• In carrying out gene expression, all life forms employ
essentially the same genetic code
• The universality of the genetic code is strong evidence
that all life is related
• Molecules of mRNA are translated to produce proteins,
but other RNAs have specific functions in the cell
• These RNAs may function in regulating protein-coding
genes, or form parts of the cellular machinery that
manufactures proteins

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Figure 1.7
Gene Expression: Cells Use Information Encoded in a Gene
to Synthesize a Functional Protein

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Genomics: Large-Scale Analysis of
DNA Sequences (1 of 2)
• An organism’s genome is its entire “library” of genetic
instructions
• Genomics is the study of sets of genes in one or more
species
• Proteomics refers to the study of sets of proteins and
their properties
• The entire set of proteins expressed by a cell, tissue, or
organism is called a proteome

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Genomics: Large-Scale Analysis of
DNA Sequences (2 of 2)
• “High-throughput” technology refers to tools that can
analyze many biological samples very rapidly
• Bioinformatics is the use of computational tools to store,
organize, and analyze the huge volume of data
• Interdisciplinary research teams aim to learn how activities
of all proteins and RNAs encoded in the DNA are
coordinated in cells and whole organisms

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Theme: Life Requires the Transfer
and Transformation of Energy and
Matter (1 of 2)
• Input of energy, mainly from the sun, and transformation
of energy from one form to another make life possible
• Plants and other photosynthetic organisms (producers)
convert the energy of sunlight into the chemical energy of
sugars
• This chemical energy of these producers is then passed to
consumers that feed on other organisms or their remains

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Theme: Life Requires the Transfer
and Transformation of Energy and
Matter (2 of 2)
• Energy flows through an ecosystem, generally entering as
light and exiting as heat
• Matter cycles within an ecosystem, where it is used and
recycled
• Chemical elements are by plants, can be passed to
animals that eat the plants, and are eventually returned to
the environment by decomposers

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Figure 1.8
Energy Flow and Chemical Cycling

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Theme: Organisms Interact with
Other Organisms and the Physical
Environment (1 of 3)
• Every organism interacts with other organisms and with
physical factors in its environment
• Interactions between organisms may benefit one
organism and harm the other
• Interactions may also benefit both organisms or harm both
organisms

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Figure 1.9
A Mutually Beneficial Interaction Between Species

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Theme: Organisms Interact with
Other Organisms and the Physical
Environment (2 of 3)
• Both organisms and their environments are affected by
the interactions between them
– For example, the leaves of a plant take up carbon
dioxide from the air and release oxygen into the air
– A plant takes up water and minerals from the soil
through its roots
– The roots break up rocks, contributing to formation of
soil

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Theme: Organisms Interact with
Other Organisms and the Physical
Environment (3 of 3)
• Scientists calculate that the CO2 that human activities
have added to the atmosphere has increased the average
temperature of the planet by 1°C since 1900
• Climate change is a directional change in global climate
that lasts three decades or more
• Climate change has already affected organisms and their
habitats all over the planet; populations of many species
are shrinking or disappearing

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Figure 1.10
Threatened by Global Warming

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Concept 1.2: The Core Theme:
Evolution Accounts for the Unity and
Diversity of Life
• The remarkably diverse forms of life on this planet arose
by evolutionary processes
• Evolution is a process of biological change in which
species accumulate differences from their ancestors
• Differences between two species indicate that heritable
changes occurred after divergence from a common
ancestor
• Similar traits in two species are explained by descent from
a common ancestor

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Classifying the Diversity of Life (1 of 3)
• Diversity is a hallmark of life
• Humans group diverse items according to their similarities
and relationships to each other
• Careful comparison of form and function has been used to
classify life-forms
• New methods of assessing species relationships,
especially comparisons of DNA sequences, have led to a
reevaluation of larger groupings

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Classifying the Diversity of Life (2 of 3)
• Biologists currently divide the kingdoms of life into three
domains: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya
• Domains Bacteria and Archaea are prokaryotes

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Classifying the Diversity of Life (3 of 3)
• Domain Eukarya includes all eukaryotic organisms
• Domain Eukarya includes three multicellular kingdoms:
Plantae, Fungi, and Animalia
– Plants produce their own food by photosynthesis
– Fungi absorb nutrients from their surroundings
– Animals obtain food by eating and digesting other
organisms

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Figure 1.11
The Three Domains of Life

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Unity in the Diversity of Life
• A remarkable unity underlies the diversity of life
• For example, DNA is the universal genetic language
common to all organisms
• Similarities between organisms are evident at all levels of
the biological hierarchy
• Fossils and other evidence document the evolution of life
on Earth over billions of years

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Figure 1.12
Studying the History of Life

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Charles Darwin and the Theory of
Natural Selection (1 of 4)
• Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species by
Means of Natural Selection in 1859
• Darwin made two main points
– Species showed evidence of “descent with
modification” from common ancestors
– Natural selection is the primary cause of descent with
modification
• Darwin’s theory captured the duality of life’s unity and
diversity

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Figure 1.13
Charles Darwin

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Figure 1.14
Unity and Diversity among Birds

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Charles Darwin and the Theory of
Natural Selection (2 of 4)
• Darwin observed that
– Individuals in a population vary in their traits, many of
which are heritable
– More offspring are produced than those survive, and
competition is inevitable
– Species generally are suited to their environment

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Charles Darwin and the Theory of
Natural Selection (3 of 4)
• Darwin reasoned that
– Individuals that are best suited to their environment
are more likely to survive and reproduce
– Over many generations, more individuals in a
population will have the advantageous traits

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Charles Darwin and the Theory of
Natural Selection (4 of 4)
• Darwin called this mechanism of evolutionary adaptation
natural selection, because the natural environment
“selects” for advantageous traits in the population

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Figure 1.15
Natural Selection

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The Tree of Life (1 of 2)
• The arm of a human, foreleg of a horse, flipper of a whale,
and wing of a bat all share a common skeletal architecture
• The shared anatomy of mammalian limbs reflects
inheritance of a limb structure from a common ancestor
• The diversity of mammalian limbs results from
modification by natural selection over millions of years

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The Tree of Life (2 of 2)
• Darwin proposed that natural selection could cause an
ancestral species to give rise to two or more descendent
species (radiation)
– For example, the finch species of the Galápagos
Islands are descended from a common ancestor
• Evolutionary relationships are often illustrated with treelike
diagrams that show ancestors and their descendants

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Figure 1.16
Descent with Modification: Finches on the Galápagos Islands

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Concept 1.3: In Studying Nature,
Scientists Form and Test Hypotheses
• Science is an approach to understanding the natural
world
• Inquiry is the search for information and explanation of
natural phenomena
• Science includes challenge, adventure, and luck, along
with careful planning, reasoning, creativity, patience, and
persistence
• The scientific process includes making observations,
forming logical hypotheses, and testing them

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Exploration and Discovery
• Biology begins with careful observations
• Observations can reveal valuable information about the
natural world
• Biologists also rely on the scientific literature, the
published contributions of fellow scientists
• By reading about and understanding past studies,
scientists can build on the foundations of existing
knowledge

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Gathering and Analyzing Data (1 of 2)
• Recorded observations are called data
• Data fall into two categories
– Qualitative data, descriptions rather than
measurements
▪ For example, Jane Goodall’s observations of
chimpanzee behavior
– Quantitative data, numerical measurements, which are
often organized into tables and graphs

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Figure 1.17
Jane Goodall Collecting Qualitative Data on Chimpanzee
Behavior

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Gathering and Analyzing Data (2 of 2)
• Inductive reasoning draws conclusions through the
logical process called induction
• Through induction, generalizations are drawn from a large
number of observations
– For example, “all organisms are made of cells” was
based on two centuries of microscopic observations

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Forming and Testing Hypotheses (1 of 2)
• In science, a hypothesis is an explanation based on
observations and assumptions that leads to a testable
prediction
• It is an explanation on trial
• A scientific hypothesis must lead to predictions that can
be tested with additional observations or an experiment
• An experiment is a scientific test, often carried out under
controlled conditions

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Forming and Testing Hypotheses (2 of 2)
• The initial observations may lead to multiple hypotheses
to be tested
• For example
– Observation: Your desk lamp doesn’t work
– Question: Why doesn’t your lamp work?
– Hypothesis 1: The bulb is burnt out
– Hypothesis 2: The lamp is broken
• Both these hypotheses are testable

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Deductive Reasoning (1 of 2)
• Deductive reasoning extrapolates from general premises
to specific predictions
• The hypothesis is then tested experimentally
• Deductive testing takes the form of “if … then” logic

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Deductive Reasoning (2 of 2)
• A hypothesis can never be conclusively proven to be true
because we can never test all the alternatives
• Testing a hypothesis in various ways can increase our
confidence in its validity
• Scientific consensus is the shared conclusion among
scientists that a particular hypothesis explains the known
data well and stands up to experimental testing

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Questions That Can and Cannot Be
Addressed by Science
• A hypothesis must be testable and falsifiable
– For example, hypotheses involving supernatural
explanations cannot be tested
• Such explanations are outside the bounds of science

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The Flexibility of the Scientific
Process
• Very few scientific studies adhere rigidly to the sequence
of steps typically used to describe the scientific method

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Figure 1.18
The Process of Science: A Realistic Model

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A Case Study in Scientific Inquiry:
Investigating Coat Coloration in
Mouse Populations (1 of 3)
• Color patterns in animals vary widely in nature, even
among members of the same species
• Two mouse populations that reside in different habitats
have different coat colors
– Mice in the beach environment have light, dappled fur
– Mice in the nearby inland areas have darker fur

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Figure 1.19
Different Coloration in Beach and Inland Populations of
Peromyscus polionotus

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A Case Study in Scientific Inquiry:
Investigating Coat Coloration in
Mouse Populations (2 of 3)
• The natural predators of the mice are all visual hunters
• Francis B. Sumner hypothesized that the color patterns in
the mice had evolved as adaptations that camouflage the
mice to protect them from predation
• Recently Hopi Hoekstra and a group of her students
tested the predictions of this hypothesis

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A Case Study in Scientific Inquiry:
Investigating Coat Coloration in
Mouse Populations (3 of 3)
• Prediction: Mice with coloration that does not match the
habitat should suffer heavier predation than the native,
well-matched mice
• The group built many models of mice that resembled
either beach or inland mice and placed equal numbers of
models randomly in both habitats
• The results showed that the camouflaged models suffered
much lower rates of predation than the mismatched ones

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Figure 1.20
Inquiry: Does Camouflage Affect Predation Rates on Two
Populations of Mice?

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Experimental Variables and Controls
(1 of 2)
• A controlled experiment compares an experimental
group (the non-camouflaged mice) with a control group
(the camouflaged mice)
• The factor that is manipulated and the factor that is
subsequently measures are both variables
• The factor manipulated by the researchers—color—is
called the independent variable
• The effect of the manipulated factor—amount of
predation—is called the dependent variable

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Experimental Variables and Controls
(2 of 2)
• The term controlled experiment does not mean that
researchers control every possible variable
• Researchers usually control unwanted variables not by
eliminating them but by canceling them out using control
groups

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Theories in Science
• In the context of science, a theory is
– Broader in scope than a hypothesis
– General enough to spin off many new testable
hypotheses
– Supported by a large body of evidence in comparison
to a hypothesis
• If there is “truth” in science, it is conditional, based on the
weight of available evidence

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Science as a Social Process (1 of 2)
• Anyone who becomes a scientist benefits from the rich
storehouse of discoveries by others who have come
before
• Most scientists work in teams, which include graduate and
undergraduate students
• Scientists working in the same research field often check
one another’s claims by attempting to confirm
observations or repeat experiments

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Science as a Social Process (2 of 2)
• The relationship between science and society is clearer
when technology is considered
• The goal of technology is to apply scientific knowledge
for some specific purpose
• Science and technology are interdependent

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