7.+Evolution

media type="custom" key="25431740" Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to conduct research on one of the topics below and create/present a clear/coherent/thoughtful/organized/neat/colorful document that can be viewed under the doc camera. Requirements: Title, Research Info, Examples, Picture, Color, Neatness (1) Descent with modification a. When does evolution occur? Define gene frequency. b. Summarize the beetle examples. Which one is an example of evolution? Why? (2) Mechanisms of Change a. List and describe the __four__ mechanisms of evolutionary change. b. How does each mechanism provide genetic variation? (3) Mutations a. Define mutation. b. Discuss the randomness of mutations. Do organisms "try" and mutate based on "need"? c. Which mutations matter to evolution? Give an example. d. Define germ line mutation. Discuss the __three__ effects a germ line mutation might have on an organism's phenotype. e. What are the causes of genetic mutations? (4) Gene Flow a. Define genes. b. Define gene flow? What is another way to describe gene flow? c. Discuss gene flow in terms of providing a population genetic variation. d. What is genetic "shuffling"? How is it important to evolution? (5) Development a. What is meant by //development?// b. How is the study of development important in evolutionary biology? Define morphology. (6) Genetic Drift a. What is genetic drift? How does it provide genetic variation? b. Which organisms experience genetic drift? (7) Natural Selection   a. Natural selection is one of the basic _ of evolution. b. What must be present in a population in order for natural selection to occur? What is "differential reproduction"? c. Explain the beetle example. d. Give an example of natural selection at work (8) What About Fitness?  a. Define fitness. Use the beetle coloration as an example. b. What role does the environment play in determining one's fitness? c. Are the "fittest" individuals the strongest, fastest, biggest? Explain. d. How does producing many offspring or caring for the young increase an organism's fitness? (9) Sexual Selection  a. Sexual selection is a special case of. b. Sexual selection acts on the ability of an organism to do what? Give __three__ examples. c. Discuss the fitness of someone who nevers gets to mate. d. Why is it said that sexual selection is a "two-way" street. Give examples. (10) Adaptation  a. What is an adaptation? Give examples. b. What is mimicry? c. What is a vestigial structure? Are these adaptations? Explain. d. What role do adaptations play in evolution? (11) Misconceptions  a. Is natural selection all powerful? b. Is there a guiding hand to natural selection? (12) Coevolution a. What is coevolution? b. Discuss __three__ close ecological relationships. c. Give example of coevolution using plants and insects. d. Summarize the case study of the squirrels, birds, and pinecones. (13) Microevolution a. Define microevolution b. Define a population. What do all populations share? c. Evolution at the micro level can be described as the change in _. d. What is meant by gene frequency? Use the beetle example. e. How does microevolutionary change happen? Discuss the four basic mechanisms. (14) Speciation a. Define species. Use the happy face spiders as an example b. Define gene pool c. Why are bacteria difficult to classify? d. Discuss the blurred boundaries of defining species. Give example. e. Define speciation. Summarize the Drosophila (fruit fly) example. (15) Macroevolution a. What is meant by macroevolution? b. What does macroevolution encompass? Give examples. c. How is the history of life reconstructed? d. Discuss time and macroevolution. e. Discuss mutations and their role in macroevolution. (16) The Big Issues a. What is the central conclusion of evolution? b. What are biologists arguing about? c. Discuss the pace of evolution. What would we expect to see if evolution proceeds "Slow and steady"? What about "Quick jumps"? (17) Lines of Evidence a. What do fossils provide? What does fossil evidence clearly show? b. Give two examples of some additional clues that might be gained from analyzing fossils. c. What are transitional fossils or transitional forms? Give an example. d. What are homologies? How do they show evolutionary relationships? Give an example. e. What is a vestigial structure? Give an example. f. Contrast developmental homologies and cellular/molecular homologies.

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