The Origin Of Diversity Within Species

“The main lesson of biogeography is that only evolution can explain the diversity of life on continents and islands.” (Coyne 109).In convergent evolution 3 of the six components discussed in chapter 1 are working together. These 3 components are common ancestry, speciation, and natural selection. If evolution did exist, ancestors of species today that lived in the same place, when dug up, should be fossils that resemble organisms today.

Evolution is a change in genes of a population over time. Speciation is a process of gene changes which causes one population to become two unique populations. Speciation can be illustrated using the Lemurs of Madagascar as an example. Evidence suggests that Lemurs originated in Africa before separating to Madagascar where they then underwent speciation and became a now minimum of 50 species of lemur (Berkeley, 2015). This occurred as previous to the continental drift Madagascar was attached to Africa and therefore did not move a far distance away. Whilst there is no evidence which suggests that lemurs were on Madagascar before the separation there is some which represents that a lemur travelled to the island after

Biodiversity is life’s variety. It is the varying genetics that each species carries that makes it different and “unique”. Biodiversity is important, not only in evolution, but in survival; when sometimes those terms can mean the very same thing. Interestingly, biodiversity can mean a variance in the life itself – or within the genetics of a species. In keeping breeding habits within the same lineage, some animals risk lower biodiversity and sometimes even deformities and disease, as they are able to more easily pass on unfavorable hereditary traits. In increasing the overall biodiversity, the only risk is a

In the case of ring species, natural selection and sexual selection each play a role in the divergence of ring species. Selective pressures allowed one phenotype to survive better than others in a certain area; sexual selection could cause divergence because organisms choose mates based on phenotypes. In the case of salamanders, natural selection affected divergence because organisms with certain coloration survived better in coastal or inland environments. In warblers, sexual selection and natural selection seem to play a part in the divergence of the ring species, as forest density and migration distance is variable and affects survival of the species. Molecular and morphological evidence can be used to support multiple species by showing

In the first chapter, Coyne discusses the basic concept outline of evolution, and brings clarity to the common misconceptions thought and said about how the science works, and the large misuse of the word theory. The first chapter of this book also defines very carefully each of the main hypothesis of evolutionary theory. Which stands in dissimilarity to many other treatments of evolution, which all have a propensity to confuse some readers by integrating different meanings of the word. Coyne also divides Darwinism into six components. They are: evolution which means change over time, gradualism which is a policy of slower change rather than sudden change or a revolution, speciation which is the evolutionary process where a new biological species

The biological findings of Charles Darwin contributed to revolutionizing modern understanding of evolution and genetics through the comparison of biodiversity and the trending similarities and differences among members of shared lineage. Darwin's observation of how the environment impacted the evolution of species as they adapted to their surroundings led to the understanding of how new environments may influence new divergent characteristics between members of shared ancestry. This scientific study on heredity contributed to a universal understanding of genes, alleles, chromosomes, and the recombination they incur during reproduction. But what

One advantage of sexual reproduction is that these organisms generally have greater genetic diversity. Organisms who reproduce asexually, on the other hand, are essentially clones of each other. This means that their predators can adapt to hunt them easily. The diversity of sexually reproducing organisms allows them to stay a step ahead of their predators because of their genetic variations and their ability to adapt via natural selection (Brockmyre 2015).

His theory of evolution brought out the idea of natural selection and biology diversity. In “The Origin of Life,” Darwin pointed out the evolution process follow by natural selection, only the fittest mutation organism can survive. Organisms do not evolve on purpose, but they evolve to fit the environment. Phylogeny and Classification: In the last section, the author mentioned there are two approaches for scientific research, phylogeny and

The reason for this is because a lot of organism that are around today were closely related a one point ("Comparative Anatomy."Pg.1). Sometimes these similarities are conscious. A good example of anatomy that are humans and primates and also crocodiles and alligators ("Comparative Anatomy."Pg.1). Even species that are far off even humming birds and whales. When looking at these different species you see the natural selection happening in each of these by how their anatomy gets better suited for their environment ("Comparative

Diversity increases in similar habitats across the globe by the process of convergent evolution (Withgott & Brennan, 2011). This occurs when similar environmental conditions existing in different regions of the globe cause organisms to develop very similar characteristics. Examples include the many

Gentetic variation is why we are all different from one another. Variations come from two main sources. One is mutations, which are random changes in the DNA. This is very common but normally it doesn't have any affect on the organism. Mutations can help or they can also give you illnesses. Mutations for example can change your eye color into a blue even if your parents have brown eyes. However,they can aslo lead to cancer because cells reproduce more than needed. Another is recombination. Recombination has to do with sexual reproduction,random fertilization,and meiosis. With sexual reproduction you need two partners to get together in order to reproduce and create an offspring. Random fertilization is a sperm and egg fuse togehter to create

Many scientists believe variations are caused by environmental factors, such as food availability, weather and more; and that species evolve when environmental conditions change to increase the species survival. Darwin censures this idea; he believed that the main cause of variation is due to reproduction (Chapter I). Darwin suggested that parents pass down specific characteristics to their offspring, and those variations are continued on in the following generations. The problem with Darwin’s theory of reproduction is that Darwin did not comprehend how or why some characteristics are perennial and how others are not. Darwin’s inferences on variations also conflict with the idea that God created species independently, which was widely understood by many people in a time where religion was prominent (Chapter II).

The foundation for the theory of evolution was laid by Charles Darwin (Rose, n.d.). He developed hypotheses about natural selection which helped scientists develop the theory. Evolution is a theory and not a hypothesis because evolution has been proven by vast amounts of scientific data, research, and testing. The definition of a hypothesis is an educated explanation that needs to be researched and tested but has not yet been proven (Earman, 1984). There has been no scientific evidence to disprove the theory of evolution.

Franck and Brownstone define biological diversity as 'the variety and variability of living organisms and the biological communities in which they live' (36). Decades of progress in both the scientific and political arenas have advanced environmental legislation to protect biodiversity at not only the ecosystem level, but for specific species and genetic material as well. Research has shown the importance of every organism and their role in the global ecosystem, and legislation has gradually matured to protect not only species which may become endangered, but the habitats they need to survive as well. Growing consciousness surrounding environmental issues has enabled these protections to be

Biological evolution is the name for the changes in gene frequency in a population of a species from generation to generation. Evolution offers explanation to why species genetically change over years and the diversity of life on Earth. Although it is generally accepted by the scientific community, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution has been studied and debated for several decades. In 1859, Darwin published On The Origin of Species, which introduced the idea of evolutionary thought which he supported with evidence of one type of evolutionary mechanism, natural selection. Some of the main mechanisms of evolution are natural selection, mutation, and genetic drift. The idea that all life on Earth shares a common ancestor has been around for