Evidence for Evolution-Group 4 by Heather Murray

Selective Breeding - The process by which humans breed animals and plants to obtain particular traits

2024-02-13 15:20:46 UTC

Where it's done:

Herding dogs
Racing dogs
Racing horses
Cows for milk yield vs meat
Crops to have greater disease resistance

How it works:

Individuals showing the ideal traits are bred together - increases chances of next generation showing the same traits
Individuals without particular traits are not bred

More stuff about it

Often referred to as artificial selection (vs natural selection)
Most dogs today are products of selective breeding
Wolves were docile only after growing up, humans began to breed for docile traits so they could be tamed--the domestic dog evolved
Selective breeding leads to variation from wild ancestors (but can still identify wild ancestors --like dogs and wolf example)
Selective breeding accelerates evolutionary process (changes become quicker than if done by natural selection) --- strong evidence for microevolution (changes in small scales within a species)

homologous structures as evidence for evolution

2024-02-13 15:36:25 UTC

Scientists examine evidence of evolution and the connections between organisms by analyzing their anatomy. The more similarities exist between two organisms, the closer their relationship. However, certain species, despite not being closely related, may still share common characteristics. For example, even tho they have completely different appearances and purposes, the human arm and the dolphin flipper have a similar arrangement, including identical bones in each structure. Both have five digits, or phalanges. This similarity suggests a shared ancestry, from which the species diverged over time to better suit their respective environments.

The pentadactyl limb, found in humans, dolphins, as well as other mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles, is a prime example of divergent evolution. This process shows the accumulation of differences among groups, leading to the emergence of new species.

Fossils, a clear way to date and establish a history of the change and evolution over time.

2024-02-13 15:45:33 UTC

The usefulness of fossils:

Show the passage of time for evolution
The deeper the fossil in the ground and the layers of earth, the older it generally is

How this proved evolution:

The fossils showed exactly how animals evolved in a clear pattern
These fossils matched what we expected that organisms evolved and helped prove the theory
Showed that species did in fact change for the respective environment for that period.

Examples of fossils proving this:

Recency of fossils shows that plants were the first organisms and that they were then followed by other animals
Also shows that plants were first on land and then animals came to land as an adaptation
The archaeopteryx (fossil pictured above) shows one of the first dinosaurs evolving to have feathers, showing that is one of the first ancestors of birds.