BIOLOGY 121
Evolution
Dr Thomson Sanudi, PhD
@ Basic Sciences Department
[email protected] Taxonomic naming system
• By the 17th Century, the idea that traits are passed down from parents to
offspring had been accepted.
• In the mid 18th Century, Carolus Linnaeus came up with taxonomic naming
system which grouped similar species together and implied that there was an
evolutionary connection between species within the same group.eg.
Staphylococcus aureus
• However, later a number of people urged that species change over time .
Do species change over time?
• Scientists like Comte de Buffon, Charles Darwin’s grandfather Erasmus Darwin proposed
that species changed over time but could not explain how and why.
• John Baptiste Lamarck, a student of Comte was the first to publicly state that species
changed over time.
• George Cuvier was able to prove that part of Lamarck’s theory was not correct but added
that there were some living species that had evolved and gone extinct.
Do species change over time?
• Cuvier believed in Catastrophism meaning that the
changes and extinctions in nature happened suddenly and
violently.
• James Hutton and Charles Lyell counteracted Cuvier’s
argument with the idea of uniformitarianism which stated
that the changes happened slowly and accumulate over
time.
The theory of evolution
• The theory of evolution states that species change over time.
• There are many different ways by which species change but
most of them can be described by the idea of natural selection.
• The theory of evolution through natural selection was the first
scientific theory that put together evidence of change through
time as well as mechanisms for how it happens.
Micro and Macroevolution
• Macroevolution involve major changes
especially with regards to the evolution
of the whole taxonomic groups over
long periods of time
• Microevolution on the other hand is
the change in gene frequency within a
population
Natural selection
• Also known as “Survival of the fittest” was explained by Charles Darwin in his
book “On the origin of species”
• Darwin proposed that individuals with most favorable traits lived long enough to
reproduce and passed down those traits to their offspring.
• Individual with less favorable traits die and do not pass on those traits hence
over time, only the fittest traits of the species survived creating new species.
• Alfred Russel Wallace also had evidence and came to the same conclusions as
Darwin’s around the same time.
Natural selection
• One important part of the theory of evolution through natural
selection is that individuals do not just change, they adapt to their
environment.
• These adaptations add up over time and eventually, the entire
species change leading to extinction or formation of new species
Evidence of macroevolution
Linnaean Taxonomy/ Paleontology –
The branching organization of life
suggests a family tree or lineage
between organisms.
Recent evidence from DNA supports
this concept
Evidence of macroevolution
Homologous structures-
Structures in organisms that have different functions but that are built from
the same body parts.
• Example: The flipper of a dolphin and the forelimbs of a human are built
from the same bones and muscles.
Evidence of macroevolution
Vestigal structures-
Structures that are tiny remnants of feature the organism no longer uses
for example the coccyx (tail bones).
Evidence of macroevolution
Embryonic development of organisms
illustrates ancestry.
The early life stages of an organism may
produce structures which are later lost
but which show evolutionary history.
Example: all vertebrate embryos
develop gill slits.
Evidence of macroevolution
Biogeography- The diversity and
uniqueness of species from different
parts of the world suggest that
evolution proceeded in different
directions on different continents
(ecological convergence)
Microevolution
• The change in gene frequency within a population
• Evolution at this scale can be observed over a short period of time
e.g. frequency of pesticide resistance gene between parents and F1
generation.
• This type of changes occurs due to recombining of genetic material
within a group of organisms.
CAUSES OF MICROEVOLUTION
Mutation
The changes in the DNA sequence of a genome of the cell. This type of changes can
have an effect on the phenotype when the change happens in protein coding
sequence/gene creating new genes.
Natural selection
It occurs when favorable mutations pass through generations; here, the unfavorable
phenotypes of the population diminish with time. Reproductive success of mutated
traits keeps them in the population. Natural selection is the primary process of
evolution.
Migration /Gene flow
Gene flow is the exchange genes between populations, between same species.
Migration into and out of the population change the allele frequencies and induce
variations.
Genetic Drift
Genetic drift is the variation in the relative frequency of different genotypes in a
small population owing to chance disappearance of particular genes as individuals
die or do not reproduce
MICRO EVOLUTION MACRO EVOLUTION
Definition Microevolution the change in Major changes with regards to the
gene frequency within a evolution of the whole taxonomic
population groups over long periods of time
Level of The change occurs at an The change occurs at an
Evolution intraspecific level interspecific level
Time It takes relatively shorter time as It takes longer period of time
compared to macroevolution (millions of years)
Cause occurs due to mutation, occurs due to extended
selection, gene flow, genetic drift. microevolution.
Detection Observable through experimental Observable through fossil evidence
molecular studies
Examples Evolution of antibiotic resistance Evolution of birds from dinosaurs
bacteria
Similarities Between Microevolution and Macroevolution?
•Microevolution and macroevolution rely on the same mechanisms;
mutation and natural selection.
•Both involve the same principles as well.
•Ultimately, microevolution leads to speciation and causes
macroevolution.
