Change Throughout Time Which Came First? Change Throughout Time
Scientists (500B.C.E.-1859C.E.) Geologic evidence: Earth is old Fossil evidence: Life is old & 99% species are extinct Fossil evidence: Life today resembles life of the past Conclusion: Life on Earth has changed over time HOW?
Charles Darwin Mechanism: Natural Selection
Environment changes species Natural Selection Organisms better suited to the environment are more likely to survive & reproduce than organisms less suited to the environment.
Unity of Life on Earth All life shares a universal common ancestor Natural selection is the mechanism to describe unity
Humans change species Artificial Selection: humans modify species over generations by selecting & breeding individuals with desired traits
Mustard Many Vegetables
Wolves Many Dog Breeds http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/evolution/dog_breeding.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDmzzREXI_g
Populations Evolve Individuals are born with variable DNA from parents Environment pressures the fitness of individual Fit individuals pass on successful DNA to offspring Over time, mutations build within a population Evolution is a result of changes at the population level
Semantics trickery answer Amniotic egg: ~300,000,000 years ago Chickens: ~6,000 years ago
Most Appropriate Answer At no point in history can you specifically point to the first chicken or egg, evolutionary change was at the population level not the individual level of life!