Chapter 14 : Variation

Edited by : NJ.NS.MMAP.WSWO January 2016

OVERVIEW OF THE TOPIC

stabilising
continuous
Types of variation
natural directional
discontinuous

disruptive

VARIATION Selection
inbreeding
artificial
Formation of outbreeding
new species

Influenced by Speciation Allopatric

speciation
Isolation /reproductive isolation
Genetic drift
Hybridisation
Adaptive radiation
Sympatric speciation

14.1 (a) Explain variation and its importance (PSPM 2008/2009)

The differences in the morphology, physiology and behaviour of individuals of the same species.

The importance:
• As a source of evolution
• Variation increases the ability of a species to survive in a changing environment
• Different phenotypes may be able to inhabit a wider range of habitats
• Natural selection will increase the frequency of advantageous genes over successive
generations
• Accumulated genetic differences may lead to new species
• A natural population with little variation may reduced it capacity to adapt to the
changes in environmental conditions and this may lead extinction of the population or
the whole species

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14.1 b) Describe types of variation: Continuous (quantitative) & discontinuous

(qualitative) variation.

Continuous Variation Discontinuous Variation

Shows normal distribution curve (bell- Shows discrete distribution curve.

shaped).
For example: texture of seed, eye colour,
For example: height, weight, foot length, blood group.
skin colour.

14.1.1 Compare continuous and discontinuous variations, including examples of each

variation (PSPM 2006/2007)

CONTINUOUS DISCONTINUOUS

i. Both are controlled by genetic factors

ii. May occur during meiosis

iii. Shows continuous variation Shows discontinuous / discrete variation

iv. Have intermediates characteristic / No intermediate characteristics /

phenotype phenotype

v. Quantitative / can be measured (across a Qualitative / cannot be measured (across a

complete range) complete range)

vi. Controlled by many genes / polygenes Controlled by single gene

vii. Affected by the environmental factors No or little effect by environment

viii. Normal or bell-shaped graph / curve Discrete distribution graph / curve

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14.1.2 Sources of variation

Genetic Variation Environmental variation
• Due to crossing over, gene mutation • Involves environmental factors that act
and chromosomal mutation to produce phenotypic differences
• Causes continuous and discontinuous between individuals.
variations • Food supply (which affects growth)
• Inheritable • Climate - temperature, light intensity
• Includes: gene mutation, chromosomal (animals which live in cold climates
mutation and crossing over has thicker fur) causes continuous
variation. Cannot be inherited to the
next generation but can affect
phenotype

** Variation also may be due to interaction between genetics and environmental influences

14.2 Selection

(a) Explain natural selection (PSPM 2009/2010)

(b) Explain types of natural selection : (PSPM 2009/2010 & PSPSM 2010/2011)
I. Stabilizing selection
II. Directional selection
III. Disruptive selection

Selection
 Selection is the choosing of individual by man or nature, permitting it to live.
 Those selected able to live longer and able to reproduce
 Their genes are passed to the next generation
 The importance is to change certain characteristics of the future generation
 Variation can caused by selection.

a) NATURAL SELECTION
• A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and
reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits.
• Results in favoured traits being represented more and un-favoured ones less in ensuing
generations.
• Selection is part of the mechanism by which a species adapts to its environment

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Types of natural selection

i. Stabilizing selection
• Favours intermediate phenotypic groups
• Intermediate phenotypes have greater
survival and reproduce successfully
• Selection/Act against extreme phenotypes
• Extremes phenotypes of the population
have lesser chance to survive
• Reduces variation.
• Mean variation is reduced / reduced genetic
variability
• Maintains a particular phenotypic character
 Example :
The birth weights of most human babies lie
in the range of 3-4 kg; babies who are either
much smaller or much larger suffer higher
rates of mortality

ii. Directional selection

•Favours one phenotypic extreme.
•Genes promoting this extreme phenotype
become more frequent.
• Act/Selection against the other extreme.
• Acts against the relatively rare individuals at
one end of a phenotypic range.
• The selection shifts the frequency curve
towards the favoured phenotype.
• Common when a population’s environment
changes or when members of a population
migrates to a new habitat
• Example :
 An increase in the relative abundance of
large seed over small seed lead to an increase
in beak depth in a population of Galapagos
finches
 Peppered moth in Industrial Evolution in
England

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iii. Disruptive selection

• Favours two extreme phenotypics group, act
against intermediate phenotypic groups.
• Both extreme phenotype have greater
survival and reproductive success.
• Two extreme distinctive phenotypes separated //
two new species will be formed // two
subpopulation will be formed
• Increases the chances of the advantageous
allele to be passed on to the next generation.
• The intermediate phenotype is gradually
decrease in number and may become extinct.
• Example:
 If the temperature difference between
summer and winter increases, long
hair for animals being active during
the winter or short hair for animals
being active during the summer is
advantageous. Intermediate fur length
is disadvantageous. Therefore, two
subpopulations are formed over time.
 In Galapagos Archipelago, plants
produce big and hard seed. There are
also plants produce fine and soft seed.
Big-size beak birds can feed on the
big and hard seeds while small-size
beak birds feed on fine and soft seeds.
Medium-size beak birds have
difficulty eating big and hard seeds
and also have difficulty finding soft
and fine seeds.

b) ARTIFICIAL SELECTION
• A process of altering the genotype to produce a new strain of organism / organism with
desired phenotype for a specific purpose by involving human intervention.
• Example :
Cow- Hereford and Aberdeen Angus for quality and quantity of their meat, Jersey and
Guernsey for their milk

Inbreeding Outbreeding
• Mating between closely related • Mating between unrelated or distantly
individuals. related individuals of a species.
• When the desired traits has been • When two individuals of a species have a
found in one individual, it is bred different desired trait each they are mated
with its close relatives in the hope in the hope of each trait coming together
of keeping the trait in future in the offspring.

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generations. • This often produces stronger individuals

• Shows less variation. with a better chance of survival – this is
• Example : Marriage between called hybrid vigour.
relatives (cousin). • Hybrids often have superior (high
quality) characteristics compared to
parents.
• Hybrid vigour @ heterosis : Production
of hybrids that possess good qualities e.g:
early matured, increase fruit size and
number, increase resistance to disease
from the crossing between individuals of
different varieties
• Example : Mixed marriage

Differences between Natural Selection & Artificial Selection

Natural selection Artificial selection

Selection agent is environment

Selection agent is human

Random event// by chance// on any wild organisms Planned event// selected organisms

Selected varieties are robust/ strong/ tough// fittest Selected varieties are defective because of
variety inbreeding (depression)

14.3 SPECIATION (Formation of a new species)

a) Define biological species concept

• A species as a population or group of population whose members has the potential to
- interbreed under natural conditions,
- produce viable, fertile offspring and
- reproductively isolated from other such population.

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b) Modes of speciation

Sympatric Speciation
• A new species formed in the populations that
are occupying the same geographical area.
• Does not involved geographical separation
of populations at the time at which genetic
isolation occurs.
• This may be structural, physiological,
behavioral or genetic (chromosome changes)
reduce gene flow.
• Example : Polyploidy takes place in some
plant species by a mistake during cell
division.
• Instead of separating the newly doubled
chromosomes during the division stage,
some cells in these plants retain both sets of
chromosomes, giving them four sets of
homologous chromosomes instead of two.
Allopatric Speciation
 A new species formed in the populations
that are separated by a geographic barrier.
 Geographical barrier may produce a barrier
to gene flow because of spatial separation.
 This inability of organisms or their gametes
to meet leads to reproductive isolation
 Adaptations to new conditions or random
genetic drift in small populations lead to
changes in allele and genotype frequencies
 Prolonged separation of populations may
result in them becoming genetically isolated
even if brought together.
 In this way new species may arise

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(c) The factors involved in the formation of new species.

Pre-zygotic Habitat

Behavioral
Reproductive
Isolation Temporal/Seasonal
Post-zygotic Mechanical

Gametic
Founder
effect
Genetic
Reduced hybrid
Factors involved drift
Bottleneck viability
in the formation effect
of new species Reduced hybrid fertility

Hybridization Hybrid breakdown

Allopolyploid

Adaptive
radiation

1) Isolation/Reproductive Isolation

• Any physical or behavioural characteristic that prevents successful exchange of

genes between members of different species or population. The reproductive
characteristics which prevent species from fusing.
• Isolation mechanism :A factor that prevents the crossing of two different species
• Reproductive barriers can occur before mating, between mating and fertilization,
or after fertilization.
• There are two types of isolation : prezygotic & post-zygotic
(a) Pre-zygotic isolation
 Isolation that occurs before an egg is fertilized.
 Prevent mating /zygote formation.
 Habitat / spatial isolation
• Populations live in different habitat and do not meet / breed
-E.g : Two species of snakes live in the water and terrestrial
 Behavioral isolation
• Little or no sex attraction between males and females of different

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species // different in courtship pattern / behavior

• Many species use elaborate behaviors unique to a species to attract mates.
– For example, female fireflies only flash back and attract males who
first signaled to them with a species-specific rhythm of light signals.
– In many species, elaborate courtship displays identify potential mates
of the correct species and synchronize gonadal maturation.
– E.g : Blue-footed boobies mate after a courtship display.
 Temporal isolation
• Mating / flowering occurs at different times / seasons.
-E.g : Western spotted skunk mates differently : one during late summer
another one during late winter.
 Mechanical isolation
• Structural differences in genitalia / flower prevent copulation / pollen
transfer
– To illustrate, mechanical barriers contribute to the reproductive
isolation of flowering plants that are pollinated by insects or other
animals.
– With many insects the male and female copulatory organs of closely
related species do not fit together, preventing sperm transfer.
– E.g : Snail genitals opening
 Gametic isolation
• Female and male gametes fail to fuse to form a zygote / inviable.
– In species with internal fertilization, the environment of the female
reproductive tract may not be conducive to the survival of sperm from
other species.
– For species with external fertilization, gamete recognition may rely
on the presence of specific molecules on the egg’s coat, which adhere
only to specific molecules on sperm cells of the same species.
– A similar molecular recognition mechanism enables a flower to
discriminate between pollen of the same species and pollen of a
different species.
– E.g : Sperms and eggs of sea urchins have different proteins which
bind poorly to each other

(b) Post-zygotic isolation

 Isolation that occurs after an egg has been fertilized.

(i) Hybrid inviability/Reduced hybrid viability

• (Hybrid) zygotes fail to develop // fail to reach sexual maturity
• Genetic incompatibility between the two species may abort the development of
the hybrid at some embryonic stage or produce frail offspring.
– This is true for the occasional hybrids between frogs in the genus Rana,
which do not complete development and those that do are frail.
– Even if the hybrid offspring are vigorous, the hybrids may be infertile

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and the hybrid cannot backbreed with either parental species.

– This infertility may be due to problems in meiosis because of
differences in chromosome number or structure.
(ii) Hybrid infertility/Reduced hybrid fertility
• Hybrid/F1 fail to produce functional gametes (sterile)
• cause by the failure of meiosis due to chromosomes of the parents differ in
number or structure
• e.g. crossing between horse (2n=60) and donkey (2n=66) will produce sterile
m
(a) A mule results from the mating of a horse (b) Why mules are sterile u
and a donkey.
Mule cell
l
e

x
(
h
Horse Donkey
y
Horse cells: Donkey cells:
64 chromosomes 62 chromosomes
chromosome chromosome b
r
Metaphase I of meiosis
i
Meiosis
d
Horse egg has Donkey spermhas )
32 chromosomes. 31 chromosomes.

The chromosomes are

fromdifferent species,
so they are unable to
pair during the first part
of meiosis.

Mule: 63 chromosomes

(iii) Hybrid breakdown

• Offspring of hybrids / F2 have reduced viability / fertility
– To illustrate this, we know that different cotton species can produce
fertile hybrids, but breakdown occurs in the next generation when
offspring of hybrids die as seeds or grow into weak and defective plants.
– F1 hybrids are fertile but the F2 generation and backcrosses between F1
hybrids and parental stocks are infertile
– Eg: hybrids formed between sp. of cotton

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2) Genetic Drift
• A change in allele frequency within a population
• Due to chance (e.g. fertility and premature death).
• Tend to occur in small populations.

Bottleneck Effect Founder Effect

Occur when there is a sudden decrease in Occur when a small population is isolated
the original population size due to natural or migrated from a larger population.
disasters (e.g. earthquakes, floods,
droughts, fire). The new, smaller population becomes
pioneer individuals which may have a
The small surviving population will have different gene pool from the original
different gene pool / allele frequency from population.
the original population because certain
alleles may be over represented, other Few individual colonize a new habitat
alleles may be under represented and some
alleles may be eliminated. After a few generations, the gene
pool/allele frequencies of the new
Usually reduce/change genetic variability population will differ from the original
because some alleles are eliminated . population.

Genetic variability of the small, new

population is low compared to the large,
original population.

Eventually the small population becomes

a new species.

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3) Hybridisation (Allopolyploidy)

• Fertile hybrids usually appear only in cases of interspecific hybridisation as a

result of a form of chromosome mutation.
• Production of hybrid (new species) through interbreeding between two
different species (closely related).
• e.g. allopolyploidy in plants.
• Allopolyploidy can overcome sterility by doubling the number of chromosome
producing fertile organism.

4) Adaptive Radiation
• Gradual process of change from an ancestral species to form different new species
with each one occupying a different environment (ecological habitat and niche).
• It is important in evolution as it enables the animals to occupy a specific niche
even though they are all living together.
• Adaptive radiation refers to evolution from one species of animals or plant to a
number of different forms.
• E.g: the Galapagos Finches (their beaks are adapted for specific diet)
• Their beaks are adapted for specific diet.
• So they do not fight for the same food/ to reduce competition within one species
• Enables the organism to be isolated physically then reproductively
• Results in the formation of new species/ allow evolution to occur/speciation
• Adaptive radiation leads to speciation e.g. finches on Galapagos Island (large
ground finch as the ancestor and 6 types of finches are formed)

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