...Madelyn Lashinis Term Paper Article Summary Sexual Selection: Pipefish In this research, they looked at many observations that took place with sexual selection in pipefish. They looked into how and where breeding took place, how long the cycle of sexual selection took, and how fast the pipefish grew. The researchers used different waters (Portugal and Ireland) and the different temperatures of waters. That way it gave them more information to learn and choose from. Their hypothesis stated that the southern pipefish population would sense warm water and a longer breeding time, across a milder pressure of selection, with fewer females. The researches had predicted that the fish living farther north are where the males will be necessary, that...
Words: 339 - Pages: 2
...response. (Think about Darwin's observations which led him to Natural Selection.) -The first sentence of this question refers to our human population reaching to about 7 billion people. To my knowledge the earth can hold that many people, but on the other hand, if our human population keeps growing, I think that then nature will select (according to Darwin’s observations) due to over-reproduction and our resources being limited. When natural selection comes along there will be a lot of competition, suffering and death so that there can be room for our upcoming population. Climate change can impact the evolution in many ways because of weather intensity such as; droughts, flooding, harsh snow, heat waves and emerging disease that can occur throughout the change which can decrease our human population (death). 3. Explain which parts of evolution are random and which are not random. -According to my notes, evolution is a process, but not a random process. It’s certain things that makes it random. Natural selection is one of those things to make parts of it random. Evolution is determined by ancestors, traits inherited and also what genes are passed. 4. Explain why pseudo genes accumulate mutations more regularly than functional genes. (Include natural selection in your response.) -Pseudogenes accumulating mutations is basically like your guessing what biological traits or genes you’re going to get. Natural Selection is a non-random process of giving biological traits, it has no goal...
Words: 743 - Pages: 3
...When I started the Evolution class, I was a little skeptic about whether or not I would believe in the theory of evolution were to be true. I was raised in a Baptist home where we were taught the God created the Heavens and the Earth in the book of Genesis. In Genesis 1 states that in the beginning the earth was without form and was dark. God divided the light from the darkness and created night from day. Throughout all that I was taught, I always wonder if there was something there before the earth became in darkness. The scientist through the studies of fossils have proven that there were in fact dinosaurs that roamed the face of the earth and that something suddenly happen to cause them to all die. Through the fossil, scientist are able to show us that there are many animals that evolved into other animals to change with the changing earth in order to survive. This at first was very hard for me to get. I was taught that God created everything. In the book of Genesis 1: 10 – 12, 20 – 22, 24-25, God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters he called the Seas. And God said, let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so and it was done. God said, “Let the waters bring forth abundantly of moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living...
Words: 3058 - Pages: 13
...partly or exclusively predatory. However, in ornithology, the term "bird of prey" applies only to birds of the families listed below. Taken literally, the term "bird of prey" has a wide meaning that includes many birds that hunt and feed on animals and also birds that eat very small insects. In ornithology, the definition for "bird of prey" has a narrower meaning: birds that have very good eyesight for finding food, strong feet for holding food, and a strong curved beak for tearing flesh. Most birds of prey also have strong curved talons for catching or killing prey. An example of this difference in definition, the narrower definition excludes storks and gulls, which can eat quite large fish, partly because these birds catch and kill prey entirely with their beaks, and similarly bird-eating skuas, fish-eating penguins, and vertebrate-eating kookaburras are excluded. Birds of prey generally prey on vertebrates, which are usually quite large relative to the size of the bird. Most also eat carrion, at least occasionally, and vultures and condors eat carrion as their main food source. Many raptor species are considered apex predators. Bald eagle The order Accipitriformes is inferred to have originated about 44 million years ago when it split from the common ancestor of the secretarybird (Sagittarius serpentarius) and the rest of the accipitrid species. The phylogeny of Accipitriformes is complex and difficult to unravel. Widespread paraphylies were observed in many phylogenetic studies...
Words: 1707 - Pages: 7
...Is Evolution True? Alden Vasquez EVOLUTION – Your Inner Fish Professor Michael Wilder 16 August 2015 Is Evolution True? I’m a raised catholic brought up in the faith that God created all heaven and earth, and on earth he placed us (humans) created perfect as His reflection. To add more skepticism about evolution, I’m pursuing a degree in finance/accounting subjects that have nothing to do with biology, science, or geology. Then why did I take this class you might ask? An easy answer will be that my student advisor recommended it and I didn’t think about it and just enrolled in it; but I look at things differently and always trying to find the positive side, I believe that it was meant for me to take this class, I needed to be exposed out of my comfort zone to a subject that if it wouldn’t have been this way I would have probably remained ignorant all my life. With that being said, I will venture on this essay to explain what I’ve learned about evolution, talk about evidence that we have found on the rocks including documented changes through the evolution of species like vestiges, embryos and bad designs. I will talk about the engine of evolution, given that some variations are heritable and that they can be passed from parents to offspring in the process of reproduction, including evolution by natural selection. While talking about reproduction, I’ll explain how sex drives evolution going back to the origin of species and ending in the present time with...
Words: 3156 - Pages: 13
... Guppies The guppy is a freshwater fish that was originally found in certain South American and Caribbean locations, though it has since been introduced to areas all around the world. Its scientific name is Poecilia reticulata, while another name they are commonly known by is the millionfish. In my own words natural selection is when an animal or anything can go through process over and over again and become stronger. i also believe that if something tragic keeps happining to something or someone they would eventually change and adapt. What happened to the guppies is when we increased the predator; there were less colorful guppies, and more dull ones. The reason i mentioned the increased in pradator rate is because the predator has a lot to do with how the guppies adapt and evolve over time. Sexual selection is the process by which certain organisms produce more offspring by mating more frequently than other organisms of the same sex and thereby ensure the survival of more of their genetic traits. Sexual selection is a form of natural selection in which organisms are competing not for food or other resources in the environment but for mates. The development of size difference between males and females in mammals and birds, in which the greater strength (and often aggressiveness) of larger males allows them to have greater success mating, is seen as a consequence of sexual selection. The development of secondary sex characteristics...
Words: 837 - Pages: 4
...relationships there is been a vast increase in the relevance of evolutionary biology to human society. Reconstructing Phylogenies • 1859-1950- No coherent empirical methods • 1950-1966- Emergence of Phylogenetic Systematics • Phylogeny by discovery of the order of evolutionary innovation Ribotyping • Fingerprinting or sequencing RNA • Many diseases have unknown causes • However, diseased tissues can be ribotyped. (Wiley Death Fish) • This process involves extracting DNA from diseased tissues and then sequencing the DNA that codes for rRNA. • If a disease agent such as a bacteria is present, then we will get ribosomal DNA sequences from the host (you) and the bacteria (the infection agent). Ribotyping: Phylogeny matching • Once we have the rDNA sequences, we can plug them into a sequence matrix of all life and see where our unknowns appear on the tree of life. Our Food Chain • Some products are easy to identify, but others are not. • A slab of fish fillet from a sea bass looks like a slab of sih fillet from a farmed Asian catfish. • But the sea bass costs $10/pound while the Asian catfish costs $4/pound. • Yet, a simple phylogenetic analysis can sort out the sea bass from the catfish, giving regulatory agencies a new weapon to protect consumers from fraud. Directed Synthetic Evolution • Enzymes for industry. Example, using evolutionary principles to increased enzyme activity of cellulose so...
Words: 6776 - Pages: 28
...Hitler. Nor need it promote atheism, for enlightened religion has always found a way to accommodate the advances of science. In fact, understanding evolution should surely deepen and enrich our appreciation of the living world and our place in it. (Coyne, 2009, p. xx) With this introduction to the text and Mr. Coyne’s calming of my fears that I would not burn in hell or be betraying my religion by opening my mind and heart to the information that is being provided. Why not open my mind to the possibility that the Theory of Evolution has some truth that is proven by scientific facts, I believe in medicine and that is based on scientific facts and research. The journey through each of the chapters covered in, Is Evolution True? Your Inner Fish; has been one of revelations, confusion and understanding. Come with me on my journey through, Is Evolution True. Chapter 1 – What is Evolution? This chapter begins with Mr. Coyne breaking down the meaning of evolution. He states that evolution is the idea that a species goes through varies changes in its genetic makeup through many generations which evolves it into...
Words: 3122 - Pages: 13
...Evolution Of Skin Colour | Adv Bio 11 | Maggie Gagnon Courtney Sibley | What are the causes of skin cancer? Some causes of skin cancer are over explosion to UV light, moles, as well it can be passed on hereditarily. Why are Caucasians more at risk of skin cancer than other populations? Caucasians have the lowest amount of melanin in their skin cells when being compared to other cultures. Melanin is crucial to protecting our skin from UV rays, and so someone with a darker skin tone is better protected. At what age does skin cancer typically occur? Is the incidence of skin cancer greater in youth or old age? Generally skin cancer is more predominant to youth aged 20-30. Does the amount of UV light reaching the Earth vary in a predictable manner? If so, describe the pattern you observe. By looking at the map, you can tell that areas where the earth is closer to the sun had a higher UV index, where as the places that are farther away (ie Antarctica) have a lower UV index. What latitude receives the greatest amount of UV light? The least? The highest amount of UV could be found across the equator (0 longitude) the least could be found from 60-90 and -70-(-90) longitude. Based on these data, where might you expect to find the most lightly pigmented and most darkly pigmented people on the planet? Be as specific as you can. The more naturally light people would be found in the far north or far south, the more naturally dark people would be found...
Words: 2450 - Pages: 10
...Is Evolution True? Kelius Hardy SCI 115SC October 21, 2013 Kenneth Skena Is Evolution True? Evolution is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary online as a progression of constant change from a plain to a compound state (2013). It is a perspective that different kinds of animals and plants originated from earlier species and have distinctive features because of their adaptation to new environments (Merriam-Webster, 2013). There are different perspectives concerning the origin of evolution and depending on an individual’s particular belief he may agree or disagree with the various viewpoints in existence today. This paper will cover the various viewpoints concerning evolution to include philosophical, theological, and sociological reflections. It will also cover the scientific process of evolution showing my agreement or disagreement with the process. What is Evolution? Organisms or species go through many hereditary changes over an extended period of time (Coyne, 2009). This means that one generation will be different from the other as they continue to evolve through changes in their genetic composition as they adapt to their environment (Coyne, 2009). Another belief concerning evolution is the concept of gradualism, which believes that a change in a species takes place after many generations have evolved, such as the development of birds from reptiles (Coyne, 2009). Speciation, yet another evolutionary concept, has the belief that although species share common traits...
Words: 3111 - Pages: 13
...1970s to study wild guppies. The guppies live in small streams that flow down the mountains from pool to pool. The experiment will take part on an online simulation of Endler's work. The group of members is responsible for collecting data, formulating a hypothesis, and running a series of experiments. They will find out about the interplay between natural selection and sexual selection in this wild population of guppies. They will ultimately find out the effects on the guppy population and their color distribution depending on the predator that lives in their environment. Endler wondered how the trade-off between attracting mates and affecting predators affects the coloration in male guppies. In pools that had few predator species, male guppies tended to be brightly colored, whereas predators are causing guppy populations to become drabber. This occurs because the predators are preying on the most brightly colored individuals and eliminating them from the gene pool. Therefore, guppy populations are evolving to more closely match, or stand out from their environment. Endler hypothesized that intense predation caused natural selection in male guppies, favoring the trait of drab coloration. He further tested his hypothesis by transferring brightly colors guppies to a pool with many predators. As he predicted, over time the transplanted guppy population became less brightly colored. Females tend to look for the bright colored male guppies in the pool and mate with them. This enables those...
Words: 2402 - Pages: 10
...These shrimp create a complex burrowing system in the middle intertidal zones from about zero feet to about a foot of depth on tidal flats and sandy beaches. They are constantly digging every single day because that is their method of feeding. When digging, they are multitasking by expanding the size of their burrows and ingesting plankton and detritus from the sand. So whenever they are not digging, they are wasting valuable time. Their main predators are this fish called staghorn sculpin, which usually swim around shallow coastal waters where the Bay ghost shrimp live. The good thing about their burrows is that they are usually at 0.75m at depth, which will protect the Bay ghost shrimp from most predators. These burrows have a branching system that usually contains more than one entrance, which allows the underground burrow system to circulate with...
Words: 1017 - Pages: 5
...“Microevolution refers to any evolutionary change below the level of species, and refers to changes in the frequency within a population or a species of its alleles (alternative genes) and their effects on the form, or phenotype, of organisms that make up that populations or species” (Wilkins). That is that minor changes occur within a small species or group of organisms within a short period of time. There are many mechanisms of evolution such as: genetic variation, drift and selection, natural selection, and speciation. Genetic variation has two processes recombination and mutation. Recombination is when the genes from two parents are mixed to produce offspring by sexual reproduction. Mutation happens when DNA is copied wrong during replication which leads to a difference between the parents gene and the offspring’s gene. Sometimes the mutation causes a huge difference but sometimes it does not. Drift and selection are random varieties in gene frequency, only scene at the level of DNA. Natural selection was discovered by Charles Darwin and it is when the same organisms adapt to different environment, making the same organism appear different from each other....
Words: 843 - Pages: 4
...between the two streams of thought continues to this day. While creationists believe in a god who is the absolute creator of heaven and earth less than 10,000 years ago, evolutionists believe that the universe began billions of years ago with life started as just a single cell bacteria evolving slowly into everything we see today. “What’s the difference between creationism and evolution?” Charles Darwin’s work on evolution is the most recognized throughout history and the evidence that he discovered supporting evolution changed how many people viewed the history of our universe. His main research project was on a process called natural selection, the idea that survival of the fittest has been a main determinant is shaping how the earth and all living things appear today. Charles Darwin discuses this idea of Natural Selection in his essay “Natural Selection”, detailing evidence supporting his theory. This paper will discuss Darwin’s essay but will also go into further detail of his discoveries, other evolutionary milestones and finally comparing and contrasting the evolutionary argument to the creationism point of view. The idea of evolution first came about in the 1600’s when European naturalists started to question the current theories about how our universe was created. In 1666 the first evidence of evolution was discovered when a couple of fishermen caught a shark. On inspection they noticed that the shark’s teeth resembled “tongue stones”, thought to be triangular shaped rocks...
Words: 2229 - Pages: 9
...When gene flow between two populations ceases, the potential for _____ exists. Speciation Bird guides once listed the myrtle warbler and Audubon's warbler as distinct species that lived side by side in parts of their ranges. However, recent books show them as eastern and western forms of a single species, the yellow-rumped warbler. Apparently, the myrtle warbler and Audubon's warbler _____. A) Successfully interbreed and produce fertile offspring successfully interbreed and produce fertile offspring Imagine that part of a population of South American finches is blown by a storm onto an island far offshore and manages to survive and reproduce there for a period of 10,000 years. After that period, a climate change results in lower sea levels and the reconnection of the island with the mainland. Members of the formerly isolated island finch population can now interact freely with members of the original mainland population. Which of the following observations would, by itself, lead you to conclude unequivocally that the island finch population had evolved into a distinct species, according to the biological species concept? A) Individuals from the different populations sometimes mate with each other, but all of the resulting eggs are sterile. Which of the following conditions is necessary for speciation to occur? D) Reproductive isolation At which point in the adaptation of a population is it clear that speciation has occurred? B) Gene pool changes establish reproductive...
Words: 3591 - Pages: 15
