Fossils and Evolutionary Tree This is the fossil records and results of the human fossils and the monkey fossils. You can compare them. This is the evolutionary tree showing what we supposedly were and how we evolved into what we are now. Natural Selection Natural selection is the gradual, non-random process by which biological traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution.
Summary of “Why Evolution is true” By: Jerry A. Coyne What is evolution; chapter I explains Darwin’s theory of evolution, which applies to all species, new species are descended from earlier forms. This means that organisms with similar characteristics are likely to have shared a common ancestor sometime in the past. The more traits shared by organisms, the closer their evolutionary relationship. This principle of “common descent” explains why anthropologists are interested in studying nonhuman animals, particularly primates (the mammalian order that includes monkeys, apes, and humans), with whom humans share the closest common ancestor. Some of our important human characteristics, such as a spinal cord encased in a bony vertebral column, and the concentration of nerve cells in a brain, are part of our vertebrate heritage, established in a common ancestor over 600 million years ago.
Ethologist Niko Tinbergen, observed animals in their natural conditions and manipulated those conditions to learn how they respond. He proposed a theoretical framework for explaining the behavior of animals which consist of four causes. The first cause, proximal cause refers to the internal change in the animal that elicits a particular behavior. Proximal causes such as genetics, hormonal mechanism, neural mechanism and environmental conditions work to produce variation in primate behavior. Behavior is a product of the interaction between both genes and environment.
Edmund Beecher Wilson There have been a huge amount of scientists who have made extremely important contributions that help us better understand science today. More specifically, many have made contributions to the field of genetics. Now we better understand genetics and can learn from the experiments and findings of great scientists from the past. Edmund Beecher Wilson was one of those great scientists, having been a pioneering American zoologist and geneticist. He was the son of a circuit judge, but instead of going into the field of law, he chose to study biology at Yale University.
Answer-Traditional classification grouped organisms according to overall similarities and differences. Evolutionary classification groups species into larger categories that reflect hypotheses about lines of evolutionary descent. 1b.To an evolutionary taxonomist, what determines whether two species are in the same genus? Answer-whether the two species share a more recent common ancestor with one another than they share with members of any other group. 2a.What is a derived character?
Behaving Brain 1. Explain the major concepts of evolutionary theory, such as natural selection and variation. Charles Darwin created the theory of evolution and helped us to understand the roots of behavior and mental process. Natural selection states: variations increasing that odds of reproducing and surviving are most likely to be passed on to future generations, this has shaped our traits and behavior tendencies. Nature has selected advantageous variations from the mutations and new gene combo's produced at each human understanding.
The morphological characters shows that cat and dog are related, while, deer and horse are more closely than other. However, based on molecular data, dog and deer ended up with the same clade, cat derived before the dog and deer assembled, and horse derived alone. This experiment helps to be aware of the evolutionary history and how organisms related to each other. Cladogram might be useful for the conservations plans of species that at risk of extinxtion. Introduction Cladogram is a tree diagram that is designed to determine the relatedness and evolution of species.
Examine one evolutionary explanation of behavior Before we had the technology to look at genes specifically, a theory was used to explain how we’ve adapted the traits we have today. Darwin’s theory was that those who adapt best to an environment will have a greater chance of surviving, having offspring, and passing their genes to their offspring. As our environment is always changing, we need to adapt our characteristics to survive in that specific environment. It is the whole aspect of adaptation. It is said that those who are better suited for a certain environment will be more like to breed and pass on these genes also known as natural selection.
The evolutionary perspective believes that natural forces select adaptive traits in organisms that help them adjust to and survive in their environment and that are likely to be passed on to their offspring (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). This perspective uses scientific research methods to look into genetics as a cause for some
Essay # 2 There is only a two percent difference in DNA between humans and chimpanzee's. Chimps also known as Haplorhines and are one of the best known primates today. There are striking similarities between humans and chimps in the anatomy and wiring of the brain and nervous system. (Diamond 2008 a: 46) One of the most distinct similarities are the prehensility which is our grasping ability. Both the chimpanzees and human have opposable thumbs, which of course started out as a mutation but ended up being very positive for anyone who has it.