Theory of Evolution
Theory of Evolution
Evolution is one of the most important concepts in the Science of Biology. In fact
Biology simply does not make sense without Evolution. Evolution is the idea that all
living things arose from a single common ancestor in the distant past and that life
continues to diversify today as new species appear.
The Family Tree of Life
• This first line of evidence has been emerging ever since the days of the
Linnean classification of animals in 1758, a full century before “On the
Origin of Species”. (natural system of classification that God has used).
• But Linnaeus stumbled on the fact of nature that each group of animals &
plants cluster with other groups into larger groups - hierarchial system of
branching tree
• Species-genus-family-order-class etc.
• Humans part of the superfamily Hominoidea (Humans, Chimps, Gorilla
,Orangutan, Gibbon)
• Apes cluster with monkeys, lemurs, tarsiers into a larger group
Primates
• Primates cluster with lions, cows, horses, bats, whales in the class
Mammalia
• Mammalia with fishes, amphibiasns, birds, and reptiles into
Vertebrata
• Molecular evidence shows similar pattern of hierarchial similarity that
external anatomy reveals e.g., humans share 98% of their genome with
Chimpanzee and progressively less shared genome with gorilla, orangutan,
and gibbon.
The Tree of Life
•All living things share a
common ancestor.
• We can draw a Tree of
Life to show how every
species is related.
• Evolution is the
process by which one
species gives rise to
another and the Tree of
Life grows
Causes for Diversity of Life
1. All populations have the potential to increase in size
2. Many populations retain a constant size
• Many individuals die young
3. Individuals in a population differ in their abilities
• Some of these abilities affect survival
4. Best adapted individuals are most likely to survive and
produce offspring (Natural Selection)
• “Abilities” are passed on to offspring (Genetics)
5. Over time the “abilities” of the population shift to include
advantageous traits (Evolution)
Evolution as Theory and Fact
•Confusion sometimes arises as to whether
Evolution is a theory or a fact.
Actually it is both!
• The theory of Evolution deals with how
Evolution happens. Our understanding of this
process is always changing.
• Evolution is also a fact as there is a huge
amount of indisputable evidence for its
occurrence.
Before Darwin
• 5th Century B.C. Greek philosopher Empedocles - promoted the idea
that life is constantly transforming.
• 50 B.C. Roman Philosopher Lucretius wrote the poem De rerum
naturae (=on the nature of things) - which postulated the existence
of atoms and everything in nature is in flux.
• Fall of Roman Empire - this line of thinking was suppressed by
Church Orthodoxy - Genesis account of earth and life history ruled
for almost 1300 years.
• By early 1700 - most people in Europe & North America still believed
in biblical interpretation of 6000 years for the earth’s formation.
• By early 1800s, the discovery of faunal succession made impossible
to treat all fossils as if they had been victims of a single Noah’s
Flood.
• James Hutton & Charles Lyell - Earth was immensely old and
constantly changing.
How was Evolution discovered?
Beginning in Classical times and persisting until long after the Renaissance,
scientists thought species were fixed and unchangeable (or ‘immutable’ to use
the language of the era). Their reasoning ran something like this: if God’s
creation was perfect from the start, why would He bother to tinker with it at a
later date?
…..How was Evolution discovered?
•Around 1800, scientists began
to wonder whether species
could change or transmute.
• Lamarck thought that if an
animal acquired a characteristic
during its lifetime, it could pass
it onto its offspring.
• Hence giraffes got their long
necks through generations of
straining to reach high Jean Baptiste de Lamarck
branches.
Discovery: Fossils and Strata
William Smith, his geology map & some of his fossil specimens
At about the same time, geologists like William Smith were
mapping the rocks and fossils of Britain. He and others showed
that different species existed in the past compared with today.
Ideas that shaped Darwin’s Thinking
• James Hutton:
• 1795 Theory of
Geological change
– Forces change
earth’s surface shape
– Changes are slow
– Earth much older
than thousands of
years
Ideas that Shaped Darwin’s Thinking
• Charles Lyell
• Book: Principles of
Geology
• Geological features
can be built up or torn
down
• Darwin thought if
earth changed over
time, what about life?
Before Darwin
• Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de
Buffon (1707-1788) - 34 volume
work “Histoire naturelle” -
Earth may be 75, 000 years
• Jean-Baptiste de Monet,
Chevalier de Lamarck (1744-1829)
- published Philosophie
Zoologique in 1809
• Scala naturae (scale of nature or
Lamarck
ladder of nature)
• Use and Disuse (bird’s using
forearms)
• Lamarck’s “Inheritance of
Acquired Characters”.
Before Darwin
Cuvier based on anatomic
relationship concluded that
species and other taxa were so
complex they could only be
fixed and unchangeable.
Different groups of organisms
were viewed as being separate
branches in a tree-like
arrangement
Series of Extinctions occurred -
populations repopulated Earth
from refuges after extinction
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
• Born in 1809
• Grandfather - Erasmus Darwin, who was the King’s Physician
• Father - Robert Darwin, a distinguished Physician.
• Wife - Emma Wedgwood
• Dropped out of medical school, went to Cambridge University
to study Theology
• Got influenced by
- Robert Grant, who proved sponges are animals and himself
influenced by French evolutionists
- Adam Sedgwick (first Professor of Geology anywhere in the
world)
- John Stevens Henslow, who taught mineralogy and botany
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
• Evolution, or change over time, is the process by
which modern organisms have descended from
ancient organisms.
• A scientific theory is a well-supported testable
explanation of phenomena that have occurred in the
natural world.
How did Darwin came up with his Theory
of Evolution?
Voyage of Beagle
• Dates: February 12th, 1831
• Naturalist: Charles Darwin
• Ship: H.M.S. Beagle
• Destination: Voyage around the world.
• Findings: evidence to propose a revolutionary
hypothesis about how life changes over time
Patterns of Diversity
❖ Darwin visited Argentina and Australia which had similar
grassland ecosystems.
• those grasslands were inhabited by very different
animals.
• neither Argentina nor Australia was home to the sorts of
animals that lived in European grasslands.
Darwin posed challenging questions.
• Why were there no rabbits in Australia, despite the
presence of habitats that seemed perfect for them?
• Why were there no kangaroos in England?
Living Organisms and Fossils
• Darwin collected fossils
• Some of those fossils resembled organisms that were still alive
today.
• Others looked completely unlike any creature he had ever
seen.
• As Darwin studied fossils, new questions arose.
– Why had so many of these species disappeared?
– How were they related to living species?
Fossils
Ground Sloth Ammonites
The Galapagos Island
• The smallest, lowest islands were hot, dry, and nearly barren-
Hood Island-sparse vegetation
• The higher islands had greater rainfall and a different
assortment of plants and animals-Isabela- Island had rich
vegetation.
• Darwin was fascinated in particular by the land tortoises and
marine iguanas in the Galápagos.
• Giant tortoises varied in predictable ways from one island to
another.
• The shape of a tortoise's shell could be used to identify which
island a particular tortoise inhabited.
Animals Found in Galapagos
Land Tortoises Finches
Blue-Footed Booby Marine Iguanas
The Journey Home
• Darwin Observed that characteristics of many plants and animals
vary greatly among the islands
• Hypothesis: Separate species may have arose from an original
ancestor
• The night of September 28, 1838 was important for Darwin - he
understood the missing piece of evolutionary puzzle - natural
selection. He wrote in his autobiography (1859) that
“I happened to read for amusement Malthus on population,
and being well prepared to appreciate the struggle for
existence which everywhere goes from long-continued
observation of the habits of animals and plants, it at once
struck me that under these circumstances favorable variations
would tend to be preserved and unfavorable ones destroyed”.
Population Growth
• Reverend Thomas Malthus-19th century English economist
• If population grew (more Babies born than die)
– Insufficient living space
– Food runs out
– Darwin applied this theory to animals
Alfred Russell Wallace and the book
• British Naturalist , worked in Amazon basin
and collecting specimens in Indonesia
• His idea - individuals less resistant to
disease, predation, and environmental
change would be eliminated from natural
populations
• In 1858, sent an abstract on his ideas to
Darwin to read at a meeting of Linnean
Society, London
• Darwin consulted his friends Charles Lyell
and Joseph Hooker (Botanist) and presented
his 1842 abstract and Wallace’s 1858 letter.
• Immediately Darwin wrote a short 155,000
words summary of his work “On the Origin of
Species by means of Natural Selection”
In 1889, Wallace published a 400 pages book entitled “Darwinism”
Publication of Orgin of Species
• Russel Wallace essay
gave Darwin the drive to
publish his findings.
• All 1250 copies sold on
the day of publication
and eventually went
through six editions
while Darwin was alive
Unifying Principles of Evolution
• Perpetual Change: All species are in a continuous state of
change
• Nature- The combined influences of physical and biological
limiting factors acting upon an organism.
• Limiting Factor- Any factor (physical or biological) which
regulates the welfare of an organism
–Disease, competition, predation, environmental change,
etc.
Darwinian Natural Selection
• Three conditions necessary for evolution
by natural selection to occur:
– Natural variability for a trait in a population
– Trait must be heritable
– Trait must lead to differential reproduction
• A heritable trait that enables organisms
to survive AND reproduce is called an
adaptation
Steps of Evolution by Natural Selection
• Genetic variation is added to genotype by mutation
• Mutations lead to changes in the phenotype
• Phenotype is acted upon by naural selection
• Individuals more suited to environment produce more
offspring (contribute more to total gene pool of
population)
• Population’s gene pool changes over time
• Speciation may occur if geographic and reproductive
isolating mechanisms exist…
Why won’t our lungs evolve to deal
with air pollution?
• Limits to adaptation:
– A change in the environment can only lead to adaptation for
traits already present in the gene pool
– Reproductive capacity may limit a population’s ability to adapt
• If you reproduce quickly (insects, bacteria) then your population can
adapt to changes in a short time
• If you reproduce slowly (elephants, tigers, corals) then it takes
thousands or millions of years to adapt through natural selection
– Most individuals without trait would have to die in order for the
trait to predominate and be passed on
Natural Selection & Artificial Selection
• Natural variation--differences among
individuals of a species
• Artificial selection- nature provides the
variation among different organisms, and
humans select those variations they find useful.
Evolution by Natural Selection
• The Struggle for Existence-members of
each species have to compete for food,
shelter, other life necessities
• Survival of the Fittest-Some individuals
better suited for the environment
Natural Selection : Survival of the Fittest
•In his Origin of Species, Natural Selection
published in 1859, Darwin explains Adaption
proposed how one species
might give rise to another.
• Where food was limited,
competition meant that only
the fittest would survive.
• This would lead to the natural selection
of the best adapted individuals and
eventually the evolution of a new
species.
Darwin in 1860
Example: Microbe Apply Antibiotic
Resistance
Survivor’s with Resistance Reproduce
Natural selection: details
• genetic changes
– favorable: more likely to be passed on to
offspring
– neutral: likely to be passed on to
offspring
– unfavorable: less likely to be passed on to
offspring
• natural selection is not random
Descent
• Descent with Modification-Each living organism has
descended, with changes from other species over time
• Common Descent- were derived from common ancestors
Evolution
“Natural selection is daily and hourly scrutinizing
throughout the world every variation, even the slightest;
rejecting all that which is bad, preserving and adding up all
that is good; silently and insensibly working… We see
nothing of these slow changes in progress until the hand of
time has marked the long lapse of ages”.
Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species, 1859
“How exceedingly stupid of me not to have thought of
that”.
Thomas Henry Huxley, 1859 after reading On the Origin of Species
“Nothing in Biology makes sense except in the light of
evolution”.
Theodosius Dobzhansky, 1973
Strength of Darwin’s Book
• In 1844, Robert Chambers, a Scottish Publisher
wrote an anonymous piece called “Vestiges of
the Natural History of Creation” - this caused a
national furore because of its evolutionary
thinking.
• But Darwin put a huge amount of evidence in
support of his theory that life had evolved
thereby establishing the fact of evolution.
• Secondly it proposed a mechanism for how it
had occurred (the theory of evolution) i.e.,
natural selection
• In 1865 - the solution was found by
Gregor Mendel, a Czech Monk Genetics
•From 1856-63, a monk called Gregor
Mendel cultivated 29,000 pea plants
to investigate how evolution worked
i.e., how characteristics were passed
down the generations.
• He figured out the basic principles of
genetics. He showed that offspring
received characteristics from both
parents, but only the dominant
characteristic trait was expressed.
Mendel’s work only came to light in
1900, long after his death
- Genes from one parent can seem to vanish Mendel and his
for a generation but then reappear fully peas
functional in the next generation if the
gene are crossed in a certain way
Mechanism for Change
“No biologist today would think of submitting a paper entitled ‘New
evidence for evolution;’ it simply has not been an issue for a
century” (Futuyma, 1986).
• Precisely how and at what rates descent with modification occurs are
areas of intense research.
• For example, much work is under way testing the significance of natural
selection as the main driving force of evolution.
• Non-Darwinian explanations such as genetic drift have been explored as
additional mechanisms that explain some evolutionary changes.
• Darwin proposed that change occurs slowly over long periods of geologic
time.
• In contrast, a more recent hypothesis called punctuated equilibrium
proposes that much change occurs rapidly in small isolated populations
over relatively short periods of geologic time.
30 years after - it was discovered that
• Genes can be altered
• Genes are chemical structures that
undergo changes (mutations)
• Mutations provide much of the variability
• Natural selection operates on this
genetic variability
All in the Genes
•The genetic make-up of
an organism is known as
its genotype.
• An organism’s genotype
and the environment in
which it lives determines
its total characteristic
traits i.e. its phenotype.
DNA
• The double-helix
structure of DNA
was discovered
in 1953.
• This showed how
genetic information
is transferred from
one cell to another
almost without
error. Watson and Crick and their model
DNA replication
of DNA
Mutation
Types of mutation
• However, occasional
mutations or copying errors
can and do occur when
DNA is replicated.
• Mutations may be caused
by radiation, viruses, or Mutant fruitfly
carcinogens.
• Mutations are rare and often have
damaging effects. Consequently organisms
have special enzymes whose job it is to
repair faulty DNA.
Why is there Genetic Variation?
How does it Work?
Variation is a result of (1) Mutations and
(2) Sex
Errors occur in DNA Replication -
On average 1:10,000-100,000 genes per
individual per generation
Errors increased by exposure to radiation,
etc.
Most Mutations are bad or at least neutral
What is “good” depends on environmental conditions
Variation
•Nevertheless, some
mutations will persist
and increase genetic
variation within a
population.
• Variants of a particular
gene are known as
alleles.
For example, one
of the genes for hair Changes in the number and order of genes (A-D
) create genetic diversity within and between
colour comprises populations
brown/blonde alleles.
Evidence of Evolution
• The Family Tree of Life
• The Fossil Record
• Geographic Distribution of Living Things
• Homologous & Analogous Body Structures
• Similarities in Early Development (Embryology)
Organic evolution: observations
• fossil record
– oldest rocks have only simple fossils
– younger rocks have more organisms
similar to those living today (at levels
from species to kingdom)
– fossils record includes appearances and
extinctions of many species
Fossil Record
The fossil record shows a
sequence from simple
bacteria to more
complicated organisms
through time and provides
the most compelling
evidence for evolution.
FOSSIL RECORD
• Successive rock layers contain different groups or assemblages of
fossil species.
• oldest rocks have only simple fossils
• Ordovician trilobites differ from Devonian trilobites;
• Silurian and Devonian fish differ from Jurassic and Cretaceous fish;
• Mesozoic mammals differ from Cenozoic mammals, and so forth.
• In addition to changes occurring in many different species found in
different geological time intervals, whole groups of organisms that
were once abundant and diverse, such as trilobites, can become
extinct.
• The boundaries between the great blocks of geologic
time called Eras are defined by major changes in the
types of fossils found in the rocks deposited in those
Eras:
• Trilobites and shelled animals called brachiopods are
common and typical Paleozoic fossils.
• Dinosaurs, certain large marine reptiles, such as
ichthyosaurs and mosasaurs, and the flying reptiles
called pterosaurs are found only in Mesozoic rocks.
• Fossils of mammals, clams, snails, and bony fishes are
typical of Cenozoic fossil assemblages.
Evidence for Evolution
• The Fossil Record
Evolution of Horse
Evolution of whales
Indohyus, lived about
48 million years agin
Kalakot, J &K.
Even toed ungulate
(Artiodactyla)
Indohyus
Pakicetus
Oldest fossil whale,
52m.y., terrestrial
animal
Ambulocetus, 49 Pakicetus
m.y.
“the walking whale
that swims”
Ambulocetus
Transitional fossils
•Many fossils show a clear
transition from one species,
or group, to another.
• Archaeopteryx was found
in Germany in 1861. It
share many characteristics
with both dinosaurs and
birds.
• It provides good evidence
that birds arose from
Archaeopteryx dinosaur ancestors
Geographic Distribution
• geographic distribution of organisms
– many organisms are similar but unique
– they are confined to specific areas (islands,
continents, water bodies)
– includes modern and fossil organisms
– distribution has changed through time
• Geographical Distribution does not support the
dispersal from Mount Ararat (Turkey) after the
landing of Noah’s Ark at this site.
Geography
Marsupials
•Geographic spread of
organisms also tells of
their past evolution.
• Marsupials occur in
two populations today
in the Americas and
Australia.
• This shows the group
evolved before the
continents drifted
apart
Evidences of Evolution
• Geographic Distribution
of Living Things-similar
environments have similar
types of organisms
Owing to geographical isolation,
organisms adapted to that isolated
habitat and become different.
(adaptive radiation)
Marsupials in Australia
Ratite birds in southern continents
- Ostrich in Africa, Rhea in South
America,Cassowary & Emu in
Australia, and Kiwi in New
Zealand
Evidence
from
biogeography
-Evolutionary
Convergence
Evidences of evolution
Geographic Distribution of Living Things
Migration between continents
Comparative Anatomy
Similar comparisons can be made
based on anatomical evidence.
The skeleton of humans and
gorillas are very similar suggesting
they shared a recent common
ancestor, but very different from the
more distantly related
woodlouse…
yet all have a common
shared characteristic:
bilateral symmetry
Human and Gorilla
Woodlouse
Homologous Structures
• Homologous Structures-structures that have different
mature forms in different organisms, but develop from
the same embryonic tissue
Vestigial Structures
•As evolution progresses, some
structures get side-lined as they
are not longer of use. These
are known as vestigia
structures.
• The coccyx is a much reduced
version of an ancestral tail,
which was formerly adapted
to aid balance and climbing.
• Another vestigial structure in
The coccyx is a vestigial tail humans is the appendix.
Embryology
Although adult structure is different,
structure in embryonic stage is similar.
Biogenetic
Law:
Ontogeny
recapitulates
Phylogeny
(Ernst
Haeckel)
Evidence for Evolution
• Vestigial organs-organs that serve no useful
function in an organism
• i.e.) appendix, tail bones of humans, flint bones of
horses, pelvic bones of whales, snakes
Vestigial
Organs
Biochemistry
•The basic similarity of all living things
suggests that they evolved from a single
common ancestor.
• As we have already seen, all living things
pass on information from generation to
generation using the DNA molecule.
• All living things also use a molecule called
ATP to carry energy around the organism.
DNA for
Information
Transfer
ATP for Energy Transfer
Natural selection: observations
• artificial selection
– domesticated plants and animals can be bred to
favor certain characteristics
– ONLY individuals with desired characteristics
are allowed to breed
– descendant populations of plants and animals
are dominated by characteristics that are
desired by breeders…
…and thus favored their survival
Evidence for Evolution:
Artificial Selection
Dogs are a good example of how
selective breeding works. Over the past
12,000 years, dogs have been
selectively bred to produce more than
150 different breeds
Evidence for Evolution:
Artificial Selection
Evidence for Evolution:
Modern Examples
Changing color patterns of moth during
industrial revolution in England
Evolution
happens
even
today!
Finch Beak
Speciation of
Kaibab & Abert Squirrels
Evolution & Psuedoextinction
Through time Species A evolves into Species B
In effect, Species A goes extinct
Species A Species B
Extinction Sometimes a species
cannot adapt fast enough
to environmental change
Species A
or competition
Mechanism of Evolution
Lamarck’s Theory Darwin’s Theory
• Change in environment • Change in environment
• Organism modify itself • Population has inborn
different
• More used organ enlarge
• Some good feature fit the
• Less used degenerate environment survive
• The acquired character is (natural selection)
inheritable • These reproduce and
become new species
Neo-Darwinism
1. Variation : Mutation and sexual reproduction
2. Natural Selection: The fittest has better chance to survive
and reproduce
3. Speciation: New species formation is caused by isolation
•Geographic isolation: physical barrier
•Ecologic isolation: different season or zone in habitat
•Reproductive isolation: different reproductive behavior
•Genetic isolation: genetic different due to isolation
Neo-Darwinism of 1940s & 1950s (Synthesis of
Darwinian Evolution and Mendelian Genetics)
• Most variation is due to recombination of genes from both parents, but
the additional variation is the result of slight mutations.
• These random variants are then weeded out by natural selection, and
stronger the selection, the more rapid the genetic change.
• This defines all evolution as Microevolution, the gradual and tiny changes
- from this Neo-Darwinism extrapolates all larger evolutionary changes
(Macroevolution) as Microevolution writ large.
• Central tenets of Ne-Darwinism - Reductionism, Panselectionism,
Extrapolationism, and Gradualism
The Central Dogma of Genetics
• The flow of information is one-way flow, from genotype to phenotype, but
not the reverse
i.e., DNA to RNA to proteins to the Phenotype (But this simplistic
“Central Dogma” no longer applies to microorganisms which can swap DNA
around.
• Lewontin & Hubby (1966) through Electrophoresis technique found that
organisms had far more genes than they actually use or that can be
expressed in the phenotype.
• Soon geneticists discovered that as much as 85-97% of the DNA in some
organisms is not critical for the expression of a phenotypic feature - either
silent or junk DNA - Therefore, not detected by natural selection and is
neutral with respect to selective advantages or disadvantages.
• These discoveries have demonstrated that many mutations are adaptively
neutral and continue to occur without interference from natural
selection.
Structural & Regulatory Genes
• Since 80-97% of the DNA in most organisms codes for nothing, evolution and
selection must work entirely on the remaining few percent of DNA.
• These remaining genes are known as:
Regulatory Genes: They are the master switches that control
the rest of the DNA.
Structural Genes: which are used to make the basic structures of life,
therefore do not differ between organisms.
• So from the assertion in the 1950s that every gene codes for one protein, now
it is understood that most genes do not code for anything and only a few
regulatory genes exert complete control over every other gene in the DNA,
• By tiny changes in those switches or regulatory genes, the organism can make
big evolutionary leaps.
When something goes wrong with these regulatory genes an evolutionary throw
back occurs - e.g., humans with the genes of long tail of monkey ancestor; horse
with three toes
Evo-Devo
• Richard Goldschmidt, a
German geneticist argued
that some sort of a large-
scale genetic change was
needed (‘systemic mutation’)
to jar species out of their
normal range of variation
and into new body plans
• These changes were due to
slight changes in “controlling
genes” (regulatory genes)
• According to Goldscmidt
speciation was a
discontinuous, rapid process
that was caused by changes
in “controlling genes”, not
by accumulation of small
microevolutionary changes
Heterochrony/Neoteny
Homeotic genes (Hox genes)
Antennipedia
mutation
In fruit flies
Dragonfly
Summary of Darwin’s Theory
• Individuals in nature differ from one another
• Organisms in nature produce more offspring than
can survive, and many of those who do not survive
do not reproduce.
• Because more organisms are produced than can
survive, each species must struggle for resources
• Each organism is unique, each has advantages and
disadvantages in the struggle for existence
Summary (cont.)
• Individuals best suited for the environment survive
and reproduce most successful
• Species change over time
• Species alive today descended with modification
from species that lived in the past
• All organisms on earth are united into a single
family tree of life by common descent
To conclude
• Evolution occurred throughout earth’s history and continues to occur
• Causes of evolution include mutation, genetic drift (random or
accidental evolutionary change not caused by natural selection), and
natural selection
• Genes contain information describing every feature of an organism -
passed from parent to offspring through reproduction
• Variation in organisms are caused by unique combination of parental
genes & by small genetic mutations - organisms inheriting them have
slightly different physical form
• Only certain genes determine an individual’s appearance; other genes
are not expressed but are passed on generation to generation
