What changes populations? Evolutionary Forces What changes populations? (Ch. 23)

Forces of evolutionary change Natural selection traits that improve survival or reproduction accumulate in the population ADAPTIVE change Genetic drift frequency of traits changes in a population due to chance events RANDOM change

Natural Selection Selection acts on any trait that affects survival or reproduction predation selection physiological selection sexual selection

Predation Selection Predation selection act on both predator & prey behaviors camouflage & mimicry speed defenses (physical & chemical)

Physiological Selection Acting on body functions disease resistance physiology efficiency (using oxygen, food, water) biochemical versatility protection from injury HOT STUFF! Some fish had the variation of producing anti-freeze protein 5.5 mya The Antarctic Ocean freezes over

Physiological selection Dogs pee on trees…Why don’t trees pee on dogs? NH3 plant nutrient animal waste One critter’s trash is another critter’s treasure!

Okay, but how to explain this?!?!?

Survival doesn’t matter if you don’t reproduce! Sexual Selection Acting on reproductive success attractiveness to potential mate fertility of gametes successful rearing of offspring Survival doesn’t matter if you don’t reproduce!

It’s FEMALE CHOICE, baby! Sexual selection It’s FEMALE CHOICE, baby!

The lion’s mane… Females are attracted to males with larger, dark manes Correlation with higher testosterone levels Better health more muscle Better fertility longer life But imposes a cost to male HOT! Is it worth it?? Even though it’s very hot to have a large mane the benefit of attracting mates and successfully producing & rearing young since you have that large mane outweighs the costs. Females who chose these males were more “successful” (more, healthier young) and therefore had a greater opportunity to pass on the trait of being attracted to longer darker manes to their daughters and the trait of having longer, darker manes to their sons.

Sexual dimorphism and sexual selection

Say About Fiddlers With You Know What They Say About Fiddlers With Big Claws... They Need Big Gloves!

Sexy = fitness markers

Is there a testable hypothesis in there? Sexual selection Acts in all sexually reproducing species the traits that get you mates influences both morphology & behavior Can seem maladaptive Jacanas Is there a testable hypothesis in there?

Coevolution Two or more species reciprocally affect each other’s evolution predator-prey competitive species mutualism

DIRECTIONAL SELECTION STABILIZING SELECTION Effects of Selection Changes in the average trait of a population DIRECTIONAL SELECTION STABILIZING SELECTION DISRUPTIVE SELECTION giraffe neck horse size human birth weight rock pocket mice

Genetic Drift Chance events changing frequency of traits in a population not adaptation to environmental conditions founder effect Bottleneck

Genetic drift Generation 1 Generation 2 Generation 3 CRCR CRCW CWCW Only 5 of 10 plants leave offspring Only 2 of Generation 2 p = 0.5 q = 0.5 Generation 3 p = 1.0 q = 0.0 Generation 1 p (frequency of CR) = 0.7 q (frequency of CW) = 0.3

albino deer Seneca Army Depot Founder effect A new population is started by a small group of individuals just by chance some rare traits may be at high frequency; others may be missing skews the gene pool of new population example: colonization of New World ISLANDS!!! Small founder group, less genetic diversity than Africans All white people around the world are descended from a small group of ancestors 100,000 years ago (Chinese are white people!) albino deer Seneca Army Depot

Distribution of blood types Distribution of the O type blood allele in native populations of the world reflects original settlement South & Central American Indians were nearly 100% type O for the ABO blood system. Since nothing in nature seems to strongly select for or against this trait, it is likely that most of these people are descendants of a small band of closely related "founders" who also shared this blood type

Distribution of blood types Distribution of the B type blood allele in native populations of the world reflects original migration The global frequency patterns of the type B blood allele: Note that it is highest in central Asia and lowest in the Americas and Australia. However, there are relatively high frequency pockets in Africa as well. Overall in the world, B is the rarest ABO blood allele.

Out of Africa Likely migration paths of humans out of Africa According to the "Out of Africa" theory, modern humans appeared as a single African species nearly 100,000 years ago, then spread throughout the world (K.Wong, Is Out of Africa Going Out the Door?, Scientific American 281(2), August 1999). Many patterns of human traits reflect this migration

Bottleneck effect When large population is drastically reduced by a disaster famine, natural disaster, loss of habitat… loss of variation by chance event narrows the gene pool

Cheetahs All cheetahs share a small number of alleles 2 bottlenecks less than 1% diversity as if all cheetahs are identical twins 2 bottlenecks 10,000 years ago Ice Age last 100 years poaching & loss of habitat

Any Questions??

Review Questions

The following question refers to this information: In the year 2500, five male space colonists and five female space colonists from Earth settle on an uninhabited Earthlike planet in the Andromeda galaxy. The colonists and their offspring randomly mate for generations

1. After many generations, the population on this planet has an unusually high frequency for the incidence of retinitis pigmentosa, relative to Earth's population. This is most likely due to the founder effect. sexual selection. the inheritance of acquired characteristics. mutations. the bottleneck effect. Answer: 1 Source: Barstow - Test Bank for Biology, Seventh Edition, Question #16

2. A balanced polymorphism exists through diversifying selection in seedcracker finches from Cameroon in which small- and large-billed birds specialize in cracking soft and hard seeds, respectively. If long-term climatic change resulted in all seeds becoming hard, what type of selection would then operate on the finch population? diversifying selection. directional selection stabilizing selection sexual selection No selection would operate because the population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Answer: 2 Source: Barstow - Test Bank for Biology, Seventh Edition, Question #58

In a very large population, a quantitative trait has the following distribution pattern:

3. What is true of the trait whose frequency distribution in a large population appears above? It is undergoing * directional selection. stabilizing selection. diversifying selection. sexual selection. It is not possible to say, solely from the information above. Answer: 5 Source: Barstow - Test Bank for Biology, Seventh Edition, Question #60 Discussion Notes for the Instructor This would be a good question to begin the discussion of types of selection. Once the question has been answered the follow-up questions might include: What information would the students need to be able to answer the question? Would this information be different for the different answer choices? Remind the students that evolution involves a change and without some reference point it is impossible to say.

The bottleneck effect Eliminates traits whether they are beneficial or not. Increases the overall variability in the population. Amplifies the presence of traits that will eventually lead to extinction Increases the adaptability of a population Decreases the number weak organisms in the population.

Which of the following statements accurately describes genetic drift? It occurs when individuals in a population drift out due to emmigration It occurs when individuals drift in to a population due to immigration It refers to random changes in the gene frequencies in a population due to a drop in population size Mutations are the cause of genetic drift Natural selection is the cause of genetic drift.