Evidence for Evolution

Transcription

1 Evidence for Evolution Theodosius Dobzhansky, a geneticist whose work influenced 20th century research on evolutionary theory, said, "Nothing in biology makes sense, except in light of evolution." This quote emphasizes the role of evolution as the most important unifying principle in biology. Living things might, at first, seem very diverse, but closer inspection reveals a surprising unity. This unity, or common ancestry, can be explained by evolutionary theory. With such an important theory at stake, it is essential to understand the evidence upon which it is based. The Task In this Evolution activity you will investigate a variety of types of evidence for evolution. Your team will be responsible for learning about fossil evidence, structural evidence, and genetic evidence for evolution and sharing this information to the class. The Process 1. In your lab group, assign each member a number from 1-4. Group 1: Paleontology (the fossil record) Group 2: Comparative anatomy/physiology (the structure and function of organisms) Group 3: Comparative embryology (the structure and function of fetuses) Group 4: Molecular biology (genetics, sometimes this is called biochemical evidence and involves both gene sequencing and protein/amino acid sequencing) 2. All specialists in each group (1-4) meet together to research online, read in their book/notes, discuss, and take notes on their specific topic. 3. Specialists are to explain their topic/define vocabulary (listed on next page) and find multiple examples for the evidence of evolution in their area of study. Each specialist will fill out the Teaching/Learning Notes page attached to help them prepare to teach their home group about their topic later on. 4. All students will then go back to their lab groups. Specialists will teach their lab group about their topic. As a group, use butcher paper to make a chart of your collective information similar to the one shown below or you can create your own way to display this information.

2 Paleontologists Superposition (in geology): Fossil record: Transitional fossils: Radiometric dating: Answer the following questions: How old is the Earth? How was its age determined? Why is the age of the Earth an important consideration when considering the plausibility that all living things share a common ancestor? How do fossils change as we look at fossils from progressively ancient rock? How is this evidence for evolution? What are transitional fossils? How are they evidence for evolution? Educational Youtube Videos Searching for reliable sources online Example Internet Sources: -Evidence Supporting Biological Evolution (Should be the first link that shows up on google, URL should be from nap.edu. See the section Fossil Record Common Structures and The Distribution of Species. -Evidence Supporting Biological Evolution (Should be the first link that shows up on google, URL should be from nap.edu. See the section Fossil Record and Common Structures. - (Click the headings for Fossil Dating and Transitional Fossils )

3 NAME Homologous structures: Comparative Anatomists Analogous structures: Vestigial structures: Common descent: Answer the following questions: Why do Human arms, bird wings, and bat wings have the same types of bones when the rest of the limb is so different? How would you address the claim that Horses don t have four legs, they have two arms and two legs. Their front hooves are actually thick fingers. How would you address the claim that Whales have mammalian characteristics Educational Youtube Videos Searching for reliable sources online Example Internet Sources: -Evidence Supporting Biological Evolution (Should be the first link that shows up on google, URL should be from nap.edu. See Common Structures and Similarities During Development) --Evolution Makes Sense of Homologies See Universal Genetic Code Section (See Pentadactyl Limb and Vestiges - (Click the headings for Fossil Dating and Transitional Fossils )

4 Comparative Embryologists Embryology: Deep homology: Evolutionary developmental biology: Cladistics: Answer the following questions: What features of mammalian embryos suggest that they share an ancestor with other groups of animals, such as fish? Name a specific gene that is shared by many organisms The process of evolution isn t able to start over from scratch and create a brand new design, there are only modifications made to preexisting designs. What evidence from comparative embryology would best support this statement? Wikipedia

5 Molecular Biologists molecular biology: DNA sequence: Amino acid sequence: Pseudogene: Endogenous retrovirus: How are similarities in DNA and amino acid sequences in different species evidence for common ancestry? What is the universal genetic code and how is it evidence for common ancestry? What are pseudogenes? How are they explained by evolutionary theory? Educational Youtube Videos (Such as stated clearly videos) Searching for reliable sources online Potential Internet Sources: --Evidence Supporting Biological Evolution (Should be the first link that shows up on google, URL should be from nap.edu. See the section New Evidence from Molecular Biology. -Evolution Makes Sense of Homologies res/lecture5/overheads.html See Universal Genetic Code Section - (Click the heading for DNA Evidence )

6 Name Summary of Evidence (compile all this at the end when you rejoin your original group) Paleontology (Fossil Record) Define terms Evidence Comparative Anatomy/Physiology

7 Define terms Comparative Embryology Evidence Molecular Biology