1) Ask students to read Chapters 12.1 and 12.

2 and to try the questions on the Hardy-

Weinberg Principle.
2) If you have a chance, photocopy notes and pass them on to students

Last word on evidence

- there are progressively more fossils found which provide more links.
Whales – with their vestigial hip bones and flippers
50 million years ago - fossils have been found demonstrating organisms with
fully functioning hind limbs, and 38 – million years – fossils with non-
functional hind limbs

- evidence for natural selection –

industrial revolution in England – light and dark coloured pepper moths
- this has been used as a model since the 1800s –
- light coloured lichen – light coloured moths blend
- pollution – coated soot – population numbers shifted so that dark coloured moths
dominated.

Evolutionary Mechanisms
1) Artificial selection
- selection of features made by humans – breeding

2) Natural selection, 529-531 (11.6) [12.5]

- the selection of which organisms will survive based on niches that exist in nature.
Organisms which best fill that role and are able to reproduce will survive.

3) sexual selection, 560-61 [12.4]

Note worthy that sexual strategies have specific demands
- asexual – generally reproduce rapidly – depends on numbers

- sexual – few, but maximizes on diversity of offspring – therefore allows

- bacteria share plasmids
- combining genetic information – creates some with multiple weak
variations, others with combined superior variations. These will survive...
therefore sexual reproduction provides a rich advantage – allows generations
to “collect” successful variations

Features which are sexually selected are unique to MALE or FEMALE, not
both. Anything resulting from NATURAL selection should appear in both
sexes.
There is one species of fish where there is one female, but two different forms
of male – big, aggressive, nest protector, other small, quick cuckold.

Plants – selection results from their ability to attract pollinators. The more
unique the feature of the plant, the more likely they will attract a more
SPECIFIC pollinator who will therefore also be more likely to visit other
 SIMILAR plants. Thus the hummingbird pollinates flowers with a long, deep
flower, other plants have specific patterns which attract specific insects.

Sexual characteristics must not prevent organism from successfully

reproducing and likely arise from random neutral mutations. The
characteristics selected for promote mating only with matching species.

Direction of Selections
4) Stabilizing selection: (same state)
Natural selection removes extreme changes
Variations selected against in a trait which deviates from the current population.
eg 1 (technically a sexual selection) women are less attracted to short men, men less
attracted to tall women. Go too far outside the range, and you may not find a mate

eg. 2 (eg. text – hummingbird and flower – have to maintain average length otherwise
– flower doesn’t get pollinated; bird doesn’t get food.

eg. 3 babies born of average weight have greatest chance of surviving.

Directional Selection (moves it forward where exaggeration of feature continues)

Disruptive Selection (splits population – resulting in two variations which survive)

- eg. fish with two male types.

Hardy-Weinberg Principle
Frequency of dominant vs. recessive traits, and how their quantities changed over
time were of interest to Reginald Punnett (1900s). Godfrey Hardy and Wilhelm
Weinburg independently came up with the same solution.

Frequencies of alleles should remain the same as long as

- the population is large
(maintains statistical chances of equity... a concern for endangered species)
- mating opportunities are equal
(i.e. no sexual selection occurs)
- no mutations occur (i.e. the allele doesn’t become a NEW allele
- no migration occurs (i.e. choices for mating remain stable)
- no natural selection occurs (i.e. the alleles have equal opportunity to surive)

For two alleles

p+q=1
p2 + 2pq + q2 = 1

If 60% of the population is A

36% will be dominant homozygous
48% will be heterozygous
16% will be recessive homozygous

Sample Problem:
What would be the frequency of heterozygous individuals if 4% of the population was
homozygous recessive?

Try questions page 546 (Chapter 12.2)

genetic variation, 544-46 (12.1)

Genes are located on specific loci
The existence of homologous pairs allows for different alleles (variant forms of a
single gene). These genes can be dominant or recessive. Recessive genes can
lay “hidden” and remain within a population. Dominant alleles are always expressed
and therefore must be strong enough to resist against natural selection. If it is
selected against, the gene will be wiped out. Over successive generations, if a
dominant gene is selected against, a recessive gene may be all that survives. Over
time, other traits may build up which are recessive to THE previously recessive trait.

The more DNA the more potential for variations in general

But
The greater the number of genes, the greater the potential for genetic diversity
The greater the number of alleles, the greater the genetic variability.

Humans – 7% of our genes are heterozygous

Plant species – 20% of their genes are heterozygous
*the branches of trees are exposed to radiation continuously, and one branch
compared to another will have different mutations and variations. Note that
not all seeds will give rise to a new plant!

Because of the number of genes and variations which exist, in general, the number of
possible combinations for most organisms is so diverse that it outnumbers the
estimated number of atoms in the universe.

the existence of dominant and recessive traits allows sexual organisms to

genetic drift 550-52 (12.3)

When random events lead to a change in the allele frequency
- statistically, a small population is at GREAT risk of losing variations within its
population. The variations which allowed the organism to be successful and tolerant
to random events are lost as random events may drive the allele to extinction.

- can lead to FIXATION OF ALLELES – removal of an entire allele from a

population.

Bottleneck effect: when a temporary event reduces the population to a size resulting
in significant genetic drift. Drives many alleles to become fixed.

Founder effect: genetic drift of a population when a small population is separated

and establishes a new population. (when you FOUND/form) a new colony.
Gene flow: when movement of alleles shifts from one population to another

and their effects on biodiversity and extinction (e.g., describe examples that illustrate
current theories of evolution, such as the darkening over time, in polluted areas, of
the pigment of the peppered moth, an example of industrial melanism);
(Chapter 13.2 – page 591-601)
Speciation: How do you become a species?

species: members of interbreeding groups or populations that are reproductively isolated

from other groups and evolve independently.

mechanisms
reproductive isolation: any behavioral, structural or biochemical traits that prevent
individuals of different species from reproducing successfully together

How to Isolate Organisms

Prezygotic (before forming zygote) – Preventing Sperm and Egg from Forming a Zygote
1) Mating
- ecological isolation – different habitats
therefore can’t exchange gametes

- temporal isolation – when flowers bloom (plants actually will form male and
female flowers at different times to prevent self-fertilization

- behavioral isolation – dance/mating rituals that differ

2) Fertilization BLOCK
- mechanical isolation – not being compatible physically to share gametes
eg) - flowers not same structure

- gametic isolation – gametes free to find each other but have molecular markers
to identify themselves to others of the same species or cannot survive if it
does make it in

Postzygotic -
3)
zygotic mortality - lack of compatibility in zygote

hybrid inviability – dies shortly after birth

hybrid infertility (eg. mules) – lives but not able to form viable sperm or egg

Gradualism vs. Punctuated Equilibrium

gradualism – the idea that evolution of species is constant

punctuated equilibrium – variation collects, then a severe event occurs causing natural
selection to split/wipe out certain alleles in the population.

Which one is it? Probably both. – larger events would have a big impact, but day to day
gradualism probably occurs. Perhaps stabilizing selection