• Choose an adaptive trait common to more than one species
• Describe what makes this trait an adaptation.
• Briefly describe how the trait evolved; e.g., mutation, genetic drift, migration and/or natural selection. Be sure to support your answer with evidence.
• What is the difference between homologous and analogous traits? How does your trait of choice fit either of these descriptions?
• What is convergent and divergent evolution? Describe whether the trait is a result of convergent or divergent evolution.
Adaptation in evolution is an essential and unavoidable process in order for evolution to be successful l, because organisms have to contend and compete with many chemical, biological and predatorial forces within the environment. There
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Adaptations can take many forms such as behaviour that allows better evasion of predators, an anatomical feature that allows the organism to access a valuable new resource ora protein that functions better at body temperature, to mention a few. Irrespective of the form it takes, adaptations are functional adjustment that organisms undergo, relative to their need for existence and survival. Biology-online.org, defines adaptation form an ecological perspective, and renders it as “the adjustment or changes in behaviour, physiology, and structure of an organism to become more suited to an environment” (2008). I believe that this definition encapsulates the scope embraced by the practice of …show more content…
Cephalopods have erect retina and photoreceptors facing the incoming light. In contrast, in vertebrates the retina is inverted and the photoreceptors are separated from the incoming light by the connecting neurons. Therefore, the vertebrates have a blind spot and the cephalopods do not have a blind spot.
There are two types of macroevolution which are essential to the understanding of evolutionary theory. Convergent evolution is indicated and supported by the presence of analogous structures. According to Lisa Roundy (2017), “Divergent evolution occurs when two different species share a common ancestor but have different characteristics from one another” (2017). Convergent evolution occurs when two different species do not share a common ancestor but have developed similar characteristics through adaption to similar environmental conditions (Lisa Roundy, 2017).
As is indicated by the definitions of the two arms of evolution, the adaptability of dogs to domestication is a convergent evolutionary trait. Dogs are able to adapt to human relationships due to their adaptation to environmental conditions, even though they do not share a common ancestor with humans. The theory of evolution is strongly supported by the principles of adaptation and natural selection. Natural selection provides the mechanism through which these changes are
The Diary of Anne Frank depicts Anne as a very immature character in the beginning of the play. How she develops into a more mature character throughout the story is where the complexity lies. Anne Frank forced many emotional strifes, as well as being a fugitive. Which took a huge toll on her relationships with her family. Anne’s stagnant environment and her transitioning from young girl to young woman did not help her. Overall, the obstacles Anne had to face through out her short life increased her already complex nature.
In Mivart’s Genesis of Species, the author highlights the inconsistencies of Darwin’s natural selection theory. He supports his assertion by emphasizing how species placed in similar environments acquire different traits, questioning the long-term advantages of these evolved traits, and noting the logical inconsistencies of how traits can span in all directions.
Evolution is described, as being the change that occurs on a genetic level when a new generation spouts from an ancestral population. Change is destined to happen. That is why in the science of biology, the word evolution means descent with modification. Through various factors such as the temperature of the environment, humidity, and altitude a species will adapt to survive and will eventually pass on genetic traits that help the species next generation survive. In 1859, Charles Darwin, a geologist, published ‘The Origin of Species.’
Long standing arguments against the theory of natural selection stem from the occurrence of incipient structures and complex traits in organisms despite the seemingly stochastic nature of mutations. Many complex adaptations observed in nature today are thought to have arisen from less complex ones with simpler functions, therefore these characters are thought to have been “pre-adapted.” In order to go from a simple to a complex structures there must have been a transitional phase, where the two structures function simultaneously or where the new function is assumed without interfering with the old function. These structures are termed incipient or incomplete, and given what we know to be true of natural selection and the theory of evolution it becomes hard to reconcile the idea that natural selection continued to favor these structures despite the lack of selective value. Incipient structures are thought to be neither sufficiently large enough not elaborate enough to perform an adaptive function and thus it also becomes difficult to understand how larger complex characters arise. A discussion of morphological and developmental genetics explains that these structures have been performing useful functions since their simple origins, therefore being selectively favored while at the same time evolving to become large enough to accumulate new more complex functions. Modification of pre-existing genes and regulatory circuits in early development has been extensively studied in metazoans, Hox genes and the development of complex structures such as eyes, limbs and appendages. Phenotypic variation is therefore generated via the modification of existing genes, regulatory processes and developmental processes and this variation is acted o...
Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection explains the general laws by which any given species transforms into other varieties and species. Darwin extends the application of his theory to the entire hierarchy of classification and states that all forms of life have descended from one incredibly remote ancestor. The process of natural selection entails the divergence of character of specific varieties and the subsequent classification of once-related living forms as distinct entities on one or many levels of classification. The process occurs as a species varies slightly over the course of numerous generations. Through inheritance, natural selection preserves each variation that proves advantageous to that species in its present circumstances of living, which include its interaction with closely related species in the “struggle for existence” (Darwin 62).
... is important in the evolutionary process because it helps us adapt and gives us unique features on one another. It is what makes us special, and each every trait plays a role and we need it for our existence. Everything happens for a reason.
Evolution in general, is a hard concept to grasp. There are multiple factors that effect the outcome a species, for example: genetics, nurture, nature, and the environment all play an important role. It was once said that species do not survive due to the fact that they are the strongest or the most intelligent, but because that species is the most responsive to change.
According to Darwin and his theory on evolution, organisms are presented with nature’s challenge of environmental change. Those that possess the characteristics of adapting to such challenges are successful in leaving their genes behind and ensuring that their lineage will continue. It is natural selection, where nature can perform tiny to mass sporadic experiments on its organisms, and the results can be interesting from extinction to significant changes within a species.
environments. Evolution is the idea that while organisms exhibit certain traits, they are not fixed and are able to be altered through progressive adaptation. Adaptation occurs through the passing of traits from an organism pa...
It is important to notice that the opening chapter acts essentially as an introduction to a wider discussion throughout his book. In an effort to give his exploration some order and consistency, Bluestone organizes his discussion under five sections. He identifies five main points, which composes the process of adaptation. Despite these efforts to contain each discussion under such headings, Bluestone’s discussion goes off track during his analysis, which only makes the laws that govern adaptation harder to underst...
One could argue that our species does everything it can do secure a future for ourselves and our future generations. We have traveled to the stars and back, we explore every inch of our land and travel to the deepest depths of our oceans, and we probe the earth for any resources we can find, all in order to find the best possible option for the human species to survive. But are we really doing the right thing for our species to survive?
Darwin writes on how a species will adapt to its environment given enough time. When an animal gains a genetic edge over its competitors, be they of the same species or of another genus altogether, the animal has increased its chance of either procreation or adaptation. When this animal has this beneficial variance, the advantage becomes his and because of this, the trait is then passed on to the animals offspring.
When these alterations are helpful, they grow to be fixed in a population and can result in the evolution of new phyla. Evo-devo seeks to figure out how new groups happen by understanding how the method of development has evolved in different lineages. In other word, evo-devo explains the interaction between phenotype and genotype (Hall, 2007). Explanation of morphological novelty of evolutionary origins is one of the middle challenges in current evolutionary biology, and is intertwined with energetic discussion regarding how to connect developmental biology to standard perspectives from the theory of evolution (Laubichler, 2010). A large amount of theoretical and experiential effort is being devoted to novelties that have challenged biologists for more than one hundred years, for instance, the basis of fins in fish, the fin-to-limb change and the evolution of feathers.
Evolution occurs through natural selection. Natural selection is a process that an individual of a species that is better adapted to their environment to survive and be able to reproduce passing their traits down to their offspring. The traits that are “chosen” by natural selection are specific to that environment. This is what allows species to evolve differently when placed in different environments. For instance, species are able to evolve to have
more than half the variation was found to be due to heredity. Among these traits were