1. Megan Fifer Justin Cavanaugh Sam Denison Madison Oliver Katelyn Cox
Ecology and Evolution
Megan Fifer
Justin Cavanaugh
Sam Denison
Madison Oliver
Katelyn Cox

2. Charles Darwin Studied finches and tortoises
Darwin’s theory of natural selection states that inheritable variations occur in individuals in a population.
Artificial selection- the process by which a breeder chooses the traits they want
An adaptation is a genetic variation that is favored by selection and is manifested as a trait that provides an advantage to an organism in a particular environment.
Hardy-Weinberg can be used to calculate changes in frequencies.

12. Evidence of evolution Fossils are the remains and traces of past life
Transitional fossils- a common ancestor of two different groups of organisms
Biochemical evidence- similarity in DNA sequences and proteins in cellular respiration
Analogous structures- same function but constructed differently
Homologous structures- inherited from common ancestor
Vestigial organs- anatomical features that are fully developed but are reduced and may no longer have a function
Developmental similarities
Example: Pax6 gene is involved in eye formation in all animals

13. Origin of life on earth
Primitive Earth provided inorganic precursors from which organic molecules could have been synthesized due to the presence of available free energy and the absence of a significant quantity of oxygen.
Building blocks for more complex molecules (amino acids and nucleotides)
The RNA World hypothesis proposes that RNA could have been the earliest genetic material.
Chemical experiments have shown that it is possible to form complex organic molecules from inorganic molecules in the absence of life.
Molecular and genetic evidence from extant and extinct organisms indicates that all organisms on Earth share a common ancestral origin of life.

14. Ecology Introduction
Video
song

15. Communication Fight or flight response Bee dances Predator warnings
Protection of young
Plant-plant interactions due to herbivory
Avoidance responses
Herbivory responses
Territorial marking in mammals
Coloration in flowers
Bee dances
Birds songs
Territorial marking in mammals
Pack behavior in animals
Herd, flock, and schooling behavior in animals
Predator warning
Colony and swarming behavior in insects
Coloration

16. Responses to communication
Parent and offspring interactions
Migration patterns
Courtship and mating behaviors
Foraging in bees and other animals
Avoidance behavior to electric fences, poisons, or traps
Pack behavior in animals
Herd, flock and schooling behavior in animals
Predator warning
Colony and swarming behavior in insects
Cooperative behavior tends to increase the fitness of the individual and the
survival of the population.

17. Learning for organisms
Instinct
Imprinting- any kind of phase-sensitive learning that is rapid and apparently independent of the consequences of behavior.
Social interactions
Associative learning- association made between two events
Classical conditioning- paired presentation of two different types of stimuli
Operant conditioning- stimulus response connection is strengthened
Insight learning- an animal suddenly solves a problem

18. Behavior ecology
Animals become territorial because they have found a good food source or a good area to reproduce.
Optimal foraging model- it is adaptive for foraging behavior to be as energetically efficient as possible.

19. Symbiotic relationships
Parasitism-parasite gains and host looses
Commensalism- one species gains and the other is not affected
Mutualism- both species gain

20. Speciation
Speciation results in diversity of life forms. Species can be physically separated by a geographic barrier such as an ocean or a mountain range, or various mechanisms can maintain reproductive isolation and prevent gene flow.
New species arise from reproductive isolation over time, which can involve scales of hundreds of thousands or even millions of years, or speciation can occur rapidly
Isolation:
Allopatric- geographic separation
Sympatric- still live in the same area

21. Pre-reproductive barriers

22. Post reproductive barriers

23. Cycles

24. cycles

25. Cycles

26. Essays!
AP 2004
AP 2011
2011 answers
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