Biological Evolution by Natural Selection

Figure  Lamarck publishes his hypothesis of evolution. Malthus publishes “Essay on the Principle of Population.” Hutton proposes his principle of gradualism. Charles Darwin is born. Darwin travels around the world on HMS Beagle. The Galápagos Islands Darwin writes his essay on descent with modification. On the Origin of Species is published. While studying species in the Malay Archipelago, Wallace (shown in 1848) sends Darwin his hypothesis of natural selection Cuvier publishes his extensive studies of vertebrate fossils. Lyell publishes Principles of Geology.

Figure 22.5a The Galápagos Islands NORTH AMERICA ATLANTIC OCEAN Chile SOUTH AMERICA AFRICA EUROPE Great Britain Equator PACIFIC OCEAN Malay Archipelago AUSTRALIA Tasmania New Zealand Brazil Argentina Cape Horn Andes Mtns. Cape of Good Hope PACIFIC OCEAN

The Origin of Species Darwin explained three broad observations: – The unity of life – The diversity of life – The match between organisms and their environment © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Descent with Modification Darwin never used the word evolution in the first edition of The Origin of Species The phrase descent with modification summarized Darwin’s perception of the unity of life The phrase refers to the view that all organisms are related through descent from an ancestor that lived in the remote past © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Artificial Selection, Natural Selection, and Adaptation Darwin noted that humans have modified other species by selecting and breeding individuals with desired traits, a process called artificial selection Darwin drew two inferences from two observations © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Figure 22.UN02 Observations Individuals in a population vary in their heritable characteristics. Organisms produce more offspring than the environment can support. Individuals that are well suited to their environment tend to leave more offspring than other individuals. Inferences and Over time, favorable traits accumulate in the population.

All species can produce more offspring than the environment can support, and many of these offspring fail to survive and reproduce. Creates a struggle for existence © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Principle #1: Overproduction of offspring

Members of a population often vary in their inherited traits. Some variations are more favorable than other variations The favorable variations lead to adaptations in the population. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Principle # 2: Variation and Adaptations

Individuals whose inherited traits give them a higher probability of surviving and reproducing in a given environment tend to leave more offspring than other individuals “Survival of the fittest” “fitness” of individuals varies © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Principle #3: Survival of the Fittest

Figure (a) A flower mantid in Malaysia (b) A leaf mantid in Borneo

This unequal ability of individuals to survive and reproduce will lead to the accumulation of favorable traits in the population over generations The organisms with the “favorable” adaptations will make up most of the population © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Principle #4: Biological Evolution by Natural Selection

Natural Selection: A Summary Individuals with certain heritable characteristics survive and reproduce at a higher rate than other individuals Natural selection increases the adaptation of organisms to their environment over time If an environment changes over time, natural selection may result in adaptation to these new conditions and may give rise to new species © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Note that individuals do not evolve; populations evolve over time Natural selection can only increase or decrease heritable traits that vary in a population Adaptations vary with different environments © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.