GENERAL BIOLOGY 2:

Q4: LESSON 1:
RELEVANCE, MECHANISMS,
EVIDENCE/BASES
AND THEORIES OF EVOLUTION
LEARNING COMPETENCIES
• Describe the general features of the history of life
on Earth, including generally accepted dates and
sequence of the geologic time scale and
characteristics of major groups of organisms
present during these time periods.

• Explain the Mechanisms that produce change in

populations from generation to generation (e.g.
artificial selection, natural selection, genetic drift,
mutation, recombination)”
OBJECTIVES:
1.Describe the conditions on early Earth that
made the origin of life possible;

2.Explain how fossil records serve as evidences

of evolution of life in each distinct Earth time
periods;

3.Identify the key events in Life’s History;

OBJECTIVES:
4. Create an infographic of the geologic time
scale with illustrations of representative
organisms/events in each geologic time.

5. Define Evolution and Population Genetics

6. Explain the Hardy-Weinberg Principle

OBJECTIVES:
8. Demonstrate how the operation of
evolutionary processes can be detected

9. Predict Allele Frequency of a given

population.
Reading Activity:

1.Conditions of the Early Earth

2.The Record of Life
3.A trip through Geologic time
CHARLES DARWIN AND THE ORIGIN
OF SPECIES
• Darwin’s experiences during the
voyage of the Beagle gave rise to
his idea that new species originate
from ancestral forms through the
accumulation of adaptations. He
refined his theory for many years
and finally published it in 1859
after learning that Wallace had
come to the same idea.
Darwin’s Theory.
In his book On the Origin of
Species by Means of Natural
Selection, Darwin made two
proposals: (1) Existing species
descended from ancestral
species and (2) natural
selection is the mechanism of
evolution.

https://kbimages1-a.akamaihd.net/33fc04fd-6e03-41be-
a76e-0c3373161c69/1200/1200/False/on-the-origin-of-
species-by-means-of-natural-selection-2.jpg
Natural Selection as the Mechanism
for Evolution
Darwin proposed natural selection as the
mechanism that produces adaptive evolutionary
change. In a population that varies, individuals
best suited for a particular environment are more
likely to survive and reproduce than those that are
less suited to that environment.
Key Points about Natural Selection
Individuals do not evolve. Only heritable traits, not
those acquired during an individual’s lifetime, can be
amplified or diminished by natural selection. Natural
selection only works on existing variation—new
variation does not arise in response to an
environmental change. Natural selection does not
produce perfect organisms.
 Types Of Natural Selection
1. Stabilizing selection is natural
selection that favors average
individuals in a population. Consider a
population of spiders in which average
size is a survival advantage. Predators
in the area might easily see and
capture spiders that are larger than
average. However, small spiders may
find it difficult to find food. Therefore,
in this environment, average-sized
spiders are more likely to survive—
they have a selective advantage or are
“selected for.”
 Types Of Natural Selection
2. Directional selection
occurs when natural
selection favors one of the
extreme variations of a trait.
For example, imagine a population of
woodpeckers pecking holes in trees to
feed on the insects living under the bark.
Suppose that a species of insect that lives
deep in tree tissues invades the trees in a
woodpecker population’s territory. Only
woodpeckers with long beaks could feed
on that insect. Therefore, the long-beaked
woodpeckers in the population would
have a selective advantage over
woodpeckers with very short or average-
sized beaks.
 Types Of Natural Selection
3. Disruptive selection, individuals with
either extreme of a trait’s variation are
selected for. Consider, for example, a
population of marine organisms called
limpets.
The shell color of limpets ranges from
white, to tan, to dark brown. As adults,
limpets live attached to rocks. On light-
colored rocks, white-shelled limpets have
an advantage because their bird predators
cannot easily see them. On dark-colored
rocks, dark colored limpets have the
advantage because they are camouflaged.
On the other hand, birds easily see tan
colored limpets on either the light or dark
backgrounds. Disruptive selection tends to
eliminate the intermediate phenotypes.
https://o.quizlet.com/xZHfGcc44lgk44wnnrkfgw_b.jpg
 EVOLUTION AND SCIENTIFIC
EVIDENCE
1. Galapagos finches exhibit variation related to
food gathering. The correspondence between beak
shape and its use in obtaining food suggested to
Darwin that finch species had diversified and
adapted to eat different foods.

https://dr282zn36sxxg.cloudfront.net/datastreams/fd%3A02aecbf65cc1bc02be30f21b1c99ef92dcb6d59c684093509
5b4b0fe%2BIMAGE_THUMB_POSTCARD%2BIMAGE_THUMB_POSTCARD.1
 EVOLUTION AND SCIENTIFIC
EVIDENCE
2. Modern research has
verified Darwin’s selection
hypothesis.
Natural selection acts on
variation in beak morphology,
favoring larger beaked birds
during extended droughts
and smaller-beaked birds
during long periods of heavy
rains. Because this variation
is heritable, evolutionary
change occurs in the
frequencies of beak sizes in
subsequent generations.
https://eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/web/223276_web.jpg
 EVOLUTION AND SCIENTIFIC
EVIDENCE
3. Peppered moths and industrial
melanism. In polluted areas where
soot built up on tree trunks, the dark-
colored form of the peppered moth
became more common.

In unpolluted areas, light-colored

forms remained predominant.
Experiments suggested that predation
by birds was the cause; light colored
moths stand out on dark trunks, and
vice versa. In the last 50 years,
pollution has decreased in many areas
and the frequency of light-colored http://image3.slideserve.com/6406912/the-peppered-moths-industrial-
melanism-n.jpg
moths has rebounded.
 EVOLUTION AND SCIENTIFIC
EVIDENCE
4. Artificial Selection: Human-Initiated Change.
Laboratory experiments in directional selection have
shown that substantial evolutionary change can occur in
these controlled populations. Agricultural selection has
led to extensive modification of crops and livestock. Crop
plants and domesticated animal breeds are often
substantially different from their wild ancestors. If
artificial selection can rapidly create substantial change
over short periods of time, then it is reasonable to assume
that natural selection could have created the Earth’s
diversity of life over millions of years.
EVOLUTION AND SCIENTIFIC
EVIDENCE
Genetic Variation and Evolution
• Many processes can lead to evolutionary change. Darwin proposed that
evolution of species occurs by the process of natural selection. Other
processes can also lead to evolutionary change. For a population to be able to
evolve, it must contain genetic variation. DNA testing shows that natural
populations generally have substantial variation.

• Genetic variation refers to genetic differences among individuals within a

population. The nucleotide differences that provide the basis of genetic
variation originate when mutation and gene duplication produce new alleles
and new genes. New genetic variants are produced rapidly in organisms,
most of the genetic differences among individuals result from crossing over,
the independent assortment of chromosomes and fertilization.
https://image1.slideserve.com/1819901/other-factors-can-affect-genetic-variation-in-a-population-l.jpg
https://images.slideplayer.com/35/10459099/slides/slide_9.jpg
Changes in Allele Frequency
The Hardy-Weinberg principle allows prediction of
genotypic frequencies. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
exists when observed genotype frequencies math the
prediction from calculated frequencies. It occurs only
when evolutionary processes are not acting to shift
the distribution of alleles or genotypes in the
population.
For a population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the allele
and genotype frequencies will remain constant if the
population is large, mating is random, mutation is negligible,
there is no gene flow and there is no natural selection. For
such a population, if p and q represent the frequencies of the
only two possible alleles at a particular locus, then p2 is the
frequency of one kind of homozygote, q2 is the frequency of
the other kind of homozygote, and 2pq is the frequency of
the heterozygous genotype. If genotype frequencies are not in
Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, then evolutionary processes
must be at work.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRIu2hY4j1vcSzfgyEVLRRfcdf2Y2hVFcskYw&usqp=CAU
 THE FIVE AGENTS OF EVOLUTIONARY
CHANGE

1. Mutation changes alleles.

Mutations are the ultimate
source of genetic variation.
Because mutation rates are low,
mutation usually is not
responsible for deviations from
Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/3104/2656/articles/Types_of_Mutations_650x.png?v=1
532946715
 THE FIVE AGENTS OF EVOLUTIONARY
CHANGE

2. Gene flow occurs when

alleles move between
populations. Gene flow is
the migration of new alleles
into a population. It can
introduce genetic variation
and can homogenize allele
frequencies between
populations.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/14/42/02/144202ab0602ff8d411a29a81f2000
b2.jpg
 THE FIVE AGENTS OF EVOLUTIONARY
CHANGE
3. Nonrandom mating
shifts genotype
frequencies. Assortative
mating, in which similar
individuals tend to mate,
increases homozygosity;
disassortative mating
increases the frequency of
heterozygotes.
https://slideplayer.com/slide/14448644/90/images/11/3.+Nonrandom+Mating+a
.+Random+mating+is+pairing+by+chance+b.jpg
 THE FIVE AGENTS OF EVOLUTIONARY
CHANGE
4. Genetic drift may alter
allele frequencies in small
populations. Genetic drift
refers to random shifts in
allele frequency. Its effects
may be severe in small
populations.

https://slidetodoc.com/presentation_image/03b9d242e4826c8a2519945a
b8e74b0d/image-2.jpg
 THE FIVE AGENTS OF EVOLUTIONARY
CHANGE
5. Selection favors some
genotypes over others. For
evolution by natural
selection to occur, genetic
variation must exist, it
must result in differential
reproductive success, and
it must be inheritable.
https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/images/interviews/naturalselection1.
gif
 SUMMARY:
1. Key Points about Natural Selection
• Individuals do not evolve. Only heritable traits, not those acquired
during an individual’s lifetime, can be amplified or diminished by
natural selection.
• Natural selection only works on existing variation—new variation
does not arise in response to an environmental change. Natural
selection does not produce perfect organisms.

2. Types Of Natural Selection

Stabilizing selection
Directional selection
Disruptive selection
 SUMMARY:
3. Evolution and scientific evidence

• Galapagos finches exhibit variation related to food gathering.

• Modern research has verified Darwin’s selection hypothesis.
• Peppered moths and industrial melanism.
• Artificial Selection: Human-Initiated Change.

4. Genetic Variation and Evolution

Genetic variation refers to genetic differences among individuals within a population.

5. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium exists when observed genotype frequencies math the

prediction from calculated frequencies. It occurs only when evolutionary processes are not
acting to shift the distribution of alleles or genotypes in the population.
 SUMMARY:

The five agents of Evolutionary Change

• Mutation
• Gene flow
• Nonrandom mating
• Genetic drift
• Selection
Q4 ASSIGNMENT 1:
The mechanisms of evolutionary change in population

Fill in the information needed to complete the table below and answer the following
questions.

Nonrandom Mating Natural Selection Mutation Gene Flow Genetic Drift

Definition/
Description
Effect on Genetic
Variation

Effect on Average
Fitness
1. What is relative fitness?
2. Differentiate directional, disruptive and stabilizing
selections.
3. What are the different types of mutation?
4. What are the conditions needed to be met for
Natural selection to occur?
5. Expound the following phrases:

a. Mutation is the ultimate source of variation.

b. If mutation did not occur, evolution would
eventually stop.
Q4-PERFORMANCE TASK 1:
Formulating Models

Camouflage Provides an Adaptive Advantage. Camouflage is a structural adaptation

that allows organisms to blend with their surroundings. In this activity, you’ll discover
how natural selection can result in camouflage adaptations in
organisms.

Materials:

1. White paper
2. Black paper
3. Paper hole punch
Procedure:

1. Punch 100 dots from a sheet of white paper with a paper hole
punch. Repeat with a sheet of black paper. These dots will represent
black and white insects.
2. Scatter both white and black dots on a sheet of black paper.
3. Act as a bird.
4. The “bird” looks away from the paper, then turns back, and
immediately picks up the first dot you see.
5. Repeat step 4 for one minute.
Answer in ½ cross wise copy and answer the
questions.

Guide Questions
1.Observe. What color dots were most often collected?
2.Infer. How does color affect the survival rate of
insects?
3.Hypothesize. What might happen over many
generations to a similar population in nature?