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Evolution

Mechanisms of Evolution & History of Life

Students must know...

How Lamark's view of the mechanism of evolution differed from Darwin's.
Several examples of evidence for evolution and how they each support how organisms have changed over time.
The difference between structures that are homologous and those that are analogous, and how this relates to evolution.
The role of adaptations, variation, time, reproductive success, and heritability in evolution.
How mutation and sexual reproduction each produce genetic variation.
The conditions for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
How to use the Hardy-Weinberg equation to calculate allele frequencies to test whether a population is evolving.
What effects genetic drift, migration or selection may have on a population, and how to analyze data to justify predictions.
The biological concept of species.
Prezygotic and postzygotic reproductive barriers that maintain reproductive isolation in natural populations.
A description of similar species that are maintained seperate by each type of isolating barrier.
How allopatric and sympatric speciation are similar and different.
How a change in chromosome number can lead to sympatric speciation.
Why speciation rates are often rapid in situations when adaptive radiation occurs or during times of ecological stress.
The connection between a change in gene frequency, a change in the environment, natural selection or genetic drift and speciation.
How punctuated equilibrium and gradualism describe two different tempos of speciation.
A scientific hypothesis about the origin of life on Earth.
The age of the Earth and when when prokaryotic and eukaryotic life emerged.
Characteristics of the early planet and its atmosphere.
How Miller and Urey tested the Oparin-Haldane hypothesis and what they learned.
Methods used to date fossils and rocks and how fossil evidence contributes to our understanding of changes in life on Earth.
Evidence for endosymbiosis.
How continental drift can explain the current distribution of species (biogeography).
How extinction events open habitats that may result in adaptive radiation.
The taxonomic categories and how the indicate interrelatedness.
How systematics is used to develop phylogenetic trees.
How to construct a phylogenetic tree that represents processes of biological evolution.
The three domains of life, including their similarities and their differences.
The significance of widely conserved processes across the three domains.

Evolution Curriculum Map

Reading Guides

Chapter 24: The Origin of Species

Chapter 23: The Evolution of Populations

Chapter 22: Descent with Modification

Lectures

Lab Materials

Video Assignment

Bozeman Podcasts

Online Resources

Evolution 101

Variation, Selection, and Time

Virtual Lab Links

Population Genetics and Evolution