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GENERAL BIOLOGY 2
Third Quarter
Module No. 2 of 3
EVOLUTION AND THE ORIGIN OF LIFE
Writer: Roland R. Agra

HONOR CODE
AS A MEMBER OF THE NAMUAC ACADEMY EAGLES FAMILY, I WILL CONDUCT
MYSELF WITH INTEGRITY & SINCERITY AT ALL TIMES, DEMONSTRATE COMPASSION &
JUSTICE IN ALL MY ACTIONS, UPHOLD THE VALUE OF EXCELLENCE, AND ABIDE BY THE
EXPECTATIONS SET FORTH IN THE STUDENT HANDBOOK.
I MAKE THIS PLEDGE IN THE SPIRIT OF HONOR & TRUST.

PERFORMANCE TASK IN GENERAL BIOLOGY 2

PERFORMANCE Make a research paper/case study/poster on genetic diseases
STANDARDS
GOAL To raise awareness on genetic disorders
ROLE Visual artist/designer, nurse, health advocate/educator
AUDIENCE The general public
SITUATION Research shows that there is increase in the occurrence of genetic
disorders among newly born infants whose mothers did not undergo
regular monthly check-ups or newborn screening. You were tasked by
the Department of Health to conduct an information drive what are the
common genetic diseases and how can they be managed or prevented.
PRODUCT Multimedia presentation
STANDARDS Accuracy, organization of ideas, clarity, use of appropriate illustration

21ST CENTURY SKILLS CORE VALUE TASK

CRITICAL THINKING Excellence How to create a multimedia presentation based on
the standards
CREATIVITY Excellence To present a well-thought MMP
COLLABORATION Justice The students will work together as members of the
team to prepare the MMP.
CROSS CULTURAL
UNDERSTANDING
COMPUTER/ICT Excellence Using ICT in looking for information about genetic
disorders
CAREER/SELF RELIANCE
COMMUNICATION Compassion Communicating the MMP to the intended audience

SCORING RUBRIC FOR THE PERFORMANCE TASK

CRITERIA 4 3 2 1
Accuracy All concepts were All concepts were All concepts were All concepts were
accurate and accurate and accurate and accurate and
showed deep showed considerable showed showed limited
understanding of understanding of the considerable understanding of
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the topic. Causes topic. Causes of understanding of the topic. Causes

of genetic genetic disorders the topic. Causes of genetic
disorders were were extensively of genetic disorders were
extensively discussed and disorders were discussed and
discussed and management discussed and management
management measures were management measures were
measures were presented measures were presented.
presented accurately. presented.
accurately.
Organization of Concepts were Concepts were Concepts were Concepts were
Ideas relevant, accurate relevant and relevant and relevant but not
and effective in accurate but the somewhat accurate. The
conveying the information was not accurate. The information was
information. conveyed effectively. information was not conveyed
not conveyed effectively.
effectively.
Clarity Established a clear Established a clear Established a clear Failed to
purpose that is purpose that is quite purpose that is establish a clear
relevant to the goal relevant to the goal quite relevant to purpose relevant
and demonstrated and demonstrated a the goal but did to the goal but did
a clear clear understanding not demonstrate a not demonstrate
understanding of of the topic. clear a clear
the topic. understanding of understanding of
the topic. the topic.
Use of The illustrations The illustrations The illustrations The illustrations
appropriate used were used were used were used were
illustrations appropriate and appropriate and appropriate and somewhat
visually appealing somewhat visually not visually appropriate and
and to the topics appealing and to appealing and to not visually
discussed. the topics discussed. the topics appealing and to
discussed. the topics
discussed.

EXPECTATION
S
After going through this module, you are expected to:
1. describe general features of the history of life on Earth, including generally accepted dates and
sequence of the geologic time scale and characteristics (STEM_BIO11/12-IIIc-g-8)
2. explain the mechanisms that produce change in populations from generation to generation
(STEM_BIO11/12-IIIc-g-9)
3. show patterns of descent with modification from common ancestors to produce the organismal
diversity observed today (STEM_BIO11/12-IIIc-g-10)
4. trace the development of evolutionary thought (STEM_BIO11/12-IIIc-g11)
5. explain evidences of evolution (e.g. fossil record, biogeography, DNA/ protein sequences,
homology and embryology (STEM_BIO11/12-IIIc- g-12)
6. to infer evolutionary relationships among organisms using the evidences of evolution
(STEM_BIO11/12-IIIc-g-13)

PRE-TEST
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MULTIPLE CHOICE. Read and understand each item and choose the letter of the correct answer.
Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

1. The largest division of the geologic time scale is known as the?

A. Eon B. Era C. Period D. Epoch

2. The Mesozoic Era was the Age of Reptiles while the current Cenozoic Era is the Age of
A. Mammals B. Birds C. Humans D. Viruses

3. The layers in sedimentary rocks are also called what?

A. eras B. epochs C. strata D. gaps

4. The movie “Jurassic Park” got its title from which era?
A. Paleozoic B. Mesozoic C. Cenozoic D. Holozoic

5. During which era were the first land plants formed?

A. Cambrian B. Pre-Cambrian C. Paleozoic D. Mesozoic

OVERVIEW

The Earth was born approximately 4.6 billion years ago, and life first appeared about 4 billion
years ago. With this duration of time, it’s really hard to understand how Earth was formed and life first
appeared on its surface. If we think of Earth’s history as a 24-hour day, humans would have appeared
only during the last minute of that day. If we are such newcomers on planet Earth, how do we know
about the vast period of time that went before us? How have we learned about the distant past?

LESSON PROPER

LESSON 1: HISTORY OF LIFE ON EARTH

To know about
of studying the Earth history and its life is by studying the
fossils. Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of
organisms that lived in the past. How could these fossils
tell us about the past? These remains are dated in two
ways: relative and absolute dating.
Relative dating determines which of two fossils is older
or younger than the other, but not their age in years. This
is based on the positions of fossils in rock layers. Lower
layers were laid down earlier, so they are assumed to
contain older fossils (CK-12 2016).

Absolute dating determines about how long ago a fossil organism lived. This gives the fossil an
approximate age in years. Absolute dating is often based on the amount of carbon-14 or other
radioactive elements that remains in a fossil (CK-12 2016).

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Another tool for understanding the

history of Earth and its life is the geologic time
scale. By studying the Earth’s geological
timeline, we will be able to trace the processes
by which fossils were formed and how living
organisms have evolved since the time that life
started until the present day.

The geologic time scale divides

Earth’s history into divisions (such as eons,
eras, and periods and epochs) that are based
on major changes in geology, climate, and the
evolution of life. It organizes Earth’s history and the evolution of life on the basis of important events
instead of time alone. It also allows more focus to be placed on recent events, about which we know
the most (Basco-Tiamzon, 2016).

The Geological
Time Scale (GTS)

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Scientists develop the time scale by studying rock layers and fossils worldwide. Radioactive
dating is used to determine the absolute divisions in the time scale. The geologic time scale divides
Earth’s geologic history into intervals of time defined by major events or changes on Earth. The largest
unit of geologic time is an eon. The Earth’s 4.6-billion-year history is divided into four eons: The
Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic. These eons together are called Precambrian time.
Precambrian time makes up almost 90 percent of Earth’s history. Eons may be divided into smaller
units of time called eras. The Phanerozoic Eon, the present eon, is divided into three eras: the
Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic. Each era is subdivided into a number of periods. The periods of
the Cenozoic, the present era, are further divided into epochs.

At present, we are at the Phanerozoic eon, Cenozoic era, and Quaternary period.

A. Four eras - Precambrian; Paleozoic; Mesozoic; Cenozoic

B. Periods under the Paleozoic era - Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous,
Permian
C. Periods under the Mesozoic era - Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous
D. Periods under the Cenozoic era - Tertiary and Quaternary

CAMBRIAN EXPLOSION is
the belief that there was a sudden,
apparent explosion of diversity in life
forms about 545 million years ago.
The explosion created the complexity
of multi-celled organisms in a
relatively short time frame of 5 to 10
million years. This explosion also
created most of the major extant
animal groups today.

TYPES OF FOSSILS DESCRIPTION EXAMPLES

Molds Impression made in a substrate = Shells
negative image of
an organism
Casts When a mold is filled in Bones and teeth
Petrified Organic material is converted into Petrified trees;
stone Coal balls (fossilized plants and their
tissues, in round ball shape)
Original Remains Preserved wholly (frozen in ice, Woolly mammoth;
trapped in tar pits, dried/ desiccated Amber from the Baltic Sea region
inside caves in arid regions or
encased in amber/ fossilized resin)

Carbon Film Carbon impression in sedimentary Leaf impression on the rock

rocks
Trace/ Ichnofossils Record the movements and Trackways, toothmarks, gizzard
behaviors of the organism rocks, coprolites (fossilized dungs),
burrows and nests
What were some defining events of Precambrian time?
1. Precambrian time began with the formation of Earth about 4.6 billion years ago.

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2. Massive supercontinents, the first oceans, and the early atmosphere formed during this
time.
3. Toward the end of Precambrian time, much of Earth’s land surfaces were located near the
poles and covered in ice.

What were some defining events of the Paleozoic Era?

1. The Paleozoic Era began about 540 million years ago. The supercontinent Pannotia was
breaking up and the supercontinent Pangaea began forming.
2. Life diversified quickly and dramatically during the Cambrian Explosion, during which most
major groups of organisms first evolved.
3. The era ended about 250 million years ago with a huge mass extinction event.
4. During the Cambrian Explosion, new species evolved rapidly in Earth’s shallow seas.

What were some defining events of the Mesozoic Era?

1. During the Mesozoic Era, which began about 250 million years ago, Pangaea began
breaking up.
2. The Atlantic Ocean began to open up, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge formed, sea levels rose, and
shallow seas covered much of the land.
3. Along the western edge of North America, tectonic activity began to fold Earth’s crust,
forming mountains. The climate was likely warm, as periods of heavy volcanism added
carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
4. Life during the Mesozoic was dominated by dinosaurs. The few mammals were very small.
5. A mass extinction event about 65 million years ago marked the end of the era, and the end
of dinosaurs.

What were some defining events of the Cenozoic Era?

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1. The Cenozoic Era began

about 65 million years ago
with the Cretaceous mass
extinction and continues to
the present.
2. Greenland split apart from
North America and Europe,
and the continents assumed
their current positions.
3. The Indian subcontinent
collided with Eurasia to form
the Himalayas. The collision
of Africa and Europe resulted
in the Alps.
4. The Cenozoic Era is divided into two periods: The Tertiary and the Quaternary. The latter
stretches from about 2.6 million years ago to the present.
5. The Quaternary has been characterized by an ice age, with much of Europe, North
America, and Asia having been covered in thick sheets of ice.
6. The evolution of modern humans occurred during the late Quaternary.

How did life develop through time?

The table below shows the summary of events on how life on earth changed through time.
Millions of years EVENTS
before present
PRECAMBRIAN
4600 Beginning of Earth
3900 Inferred origin of life (first cells)
3800 Oldest age-dated rocks on Earth
3600 Fossil blue-green algae and stromatolites (prokaryotes)
3250 First fossil evidence of bacteria
2100 First fossil evidence of single-celled life with a cell nucleus (eukaryotes)
1500 First multicell organisms (seaweed and algae)
670 Oldest marine worms and jellyfish
600 Vendian period begins: Edicarian fossils
PALEOZOIC ERA
544 Cambrian system begins
515 Burgess Shale organisms (Canada): first animals with a notochord
505 Ordovician system begins, First fish
488 Fungi, plants and animals, colonize land
470 First fossil evidence of land plants
438 Silurian system begins
430 First vascular land plants
414 Oldest lung fish fossils
408 Devonian system begins
Oldest fossil evidence of mosses
385 First insects (beetles), scorpions, and centipedes
380 First lobe-finned fish
375 First land animals (amphibians)
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370 First sharks

365 First seed plants (ferns)
360 Mississippian system begins
330 First possible reptiles
320 Pennsylvanian system begins, Kentucky coal formed
286 Permian, first seed plants appear, origin of reptiles, amphibians dominate
260 Sail-backed reptiles (Dimetrodon)
245 End of Paleozoic: 96% of all life on Earth perishes
MESOZOIC ERA (AGE OF REPTILES)
245 Triassic system begins
240 First crocodiles
228 First dinosaurs (about the size of a cat), such as Eoraptor and Saltoposuchus
221 First mammals (shrew-like)
210 First turtles
208 Jurassic system begins
195 Dilophosaurus, an Early Jurassic dinosaur
155 First bird, Archeopteryx
152 Apatosaurus and Brachiosaurus, Late Jurassic longnecked dinosaurs
150 Allosaurus, a Late Jurassic meat-eating dinosaur
148 Stegosaurus, a Late Jurassic plate-backed dinosaur
144 Cretaceous system begins
115 First flowering plants
80 Protoceratops (first dinosaur eggs ever discovered)
75 Triceratops
70 Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor
65 End of Mesozoic Era, probably meteor or comet impact
CENOZOIC ERA (AGE OF MAMMAL)
65 Tertiary system begins
64 First ancestors of dogs and cats
60 Grasses become widespread
57 First ancestors of pigs and deer
55 First horses (Eohippus)
45 First ancestors of rabbits
39 First monkeys
4 Oldest human-like ancestors (hominids)
2 Quaternary system begins
1 First of four ice ages
Oldest direct human-ancestor fossil, Homo habilis
Oldest direct human-ancestor fossil, Homo habilis
0.05 Approximate age of fossil mammoth and mastodon bones from Big Bone Lick,
Kentucky, USA
Source: Kentucky Geological Survey, www.uky.edu/KGS 2000
The Six Ways of Fossilization
1. Unaltered preservation - Small organism or part trapped in amber, hardened plant sap
2. Permineralization/ Petrification - The organic contents of bone and wood are replaced with
silica, calcite or pyrite, forming a rock-like fossil

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3. Replacement - hard parts are dissolved and replaced by other minerals, like calcite, silica,
pyrite, or iron
4. Carbonization or Coalification - The other elements are removed and only the carbon remained
5. Recrystalization - Hard parts are converted to more stable minerals or small crystals turn into
larger crystals
6. Authigenic preservation - Molds and casts are formed after most of the organism have been
destroyed or dissolved

Dating Fossils. Knowing the age of a fossil can help a scientist establish its position in the geologic time
scale and find its relationship with the other fossils. There are two ways to measure the age of a fossil:
relative dating and absolute dating.

a. Relative Dating
• Based upon the study of layer of rocks
• Does not tell the exact age: only compare fossils as older or younger, depends on their
position in rock layer
• Fossils in the uppermost rock layer/ strata are younger while those in the lowermost
deposition are oldest

How Relative Age is Determined

• Law of Superposition: if a layer of rock is undisturbed, the fossils found on upper layers
are younger than those found in lower layers of rocks, which are the oldest.
• However, because the Earth is active, rocks move and may disturb the layer making this
process not highly accurate Rules of Relative Dating
• Law of Original Horizontality: Deposition of rocks happen horizontally- tilting, folding or
breaking happened recently
• Law of Cross-Cutting Relationships: If an igneous intrusion or a fault cuts through
existing rocks, the intrusion/fault is YOUNGER than the rock it cuts through
• Index Fossils (guide fossils/ indicator fossils/ zone fossils): fossils from short-lived
organisms that lived in many places;
used to define and identify geologic
periods

b. Absolute Dating

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• Determines the actual age of the fossil

• Through radiometric dating, using radioactive isotopes carbon-14 and potassium-40
• Considers the half-life or the time it takes for half of the atoms of the radioactive element
to decay
• The decay products of radioactive isotopes are stable atoms.

LESSON 2: MECHANISMS THAT PRODUCE CHANGE IN POPULATIONS

According to Charles Darwin, heritable variations are needed for evolution to occur. However,
this principle could not be fully understood until such time that Mendel’s laws of genetics were
rediscovered in the early 1900s. We now know that variations of traits are heritable. These variations
are determined by different alleles. The changes in alleles within a population over time is now called
evolution. Does this mean individual do evolve?

Individuals do not evolve. Their genes do not change over time. The unit of evolution is the
population. A population consists of organisms of the same species that live in the same area. In terms
of evolution, the population is assumed to be a relatively closed group. This means that most mating
takes place within the population. The science that focuses on evolution within populations is population
genetics. It is a combination of evolutionary theory and Mendelian genetics. According to the founding
principle of “population genetics” called Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, if a population meets certain
conditions, it will be in equilibrium. These conditions are no mutation, no migration, very large
population size, random mating, and no natural selection. (CK12.ORG 2014) When one of these
conditions is not met, equilibrium is disturbed, and a change may occur.

Indeed, those conditions that cause equilibrium disruption are the driving forces of evolution.
There are four forces or mechanisms of evolution. These are natural selection, mutation, genetic drift
and gene flow (migration). (Maria Elena Z. Basco-Tiamzon 2015)

Natural Selection. According to Charles Robert Darwin, British naturalist whose scientific
theory of evolution by natural selection became the foundation of modern evolutionary studies, nature
(the environment) selects organisms with traits that allow them to survive in that particular environment.
a. There are more individuals that are produced than be sustained by a particular
environment. This leads to competition for limited resources.
b. There is variation within a population. Genetic mutation provides variation of traits.
c. Individuals with favorable traits that provide an advantage for survival will have an edge in
this competition
d. These individuals as a result are more likely to reproduce than those that do not possess
these traits.

For example: birds in different

habitats such as penguins living in extremely
cold conditions or bats that use large ears for
echolocation or hummingbirds with long
tongues to reach the nectar at the base of
blooms and their ability to hover while sipping
the nectar.

Alleles are expressed in a

phenotype. Depending on the environmental
conditions, the phenotype confers an
advantage or disadvantage to the individual
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with the phenotype relative to the other phenotypes in the population. If it is an advantage, then that
individual will likely have more offspring than individuals with the other phenotypes, and this will mean
that the allele behind the phenotype will have greater representation in the next generation. If
conditions remain the same, those offspring, which are carrying the same allele, will also benefit. Over
time, the allele will increase in frequency in the population.

Mutation. Mutation is a source of new alleles

in a population. Mutation is a change in the DNA
sequence of the gene. A mutation can change one
allele into another, but the net effect is a change in
frequency. The change in frequency resulting from
mutation is small, so its effect on evolution is small
unless it interacts with one of the other factors, such
as selection. A mutation may produce an allele that is
selected against, selected for, or selectively neutral.
Harmful mutations are removed from the population
by selection and will generally only be found in very
low frequencies equal to the mutation rate. Beneficial
mutations will spread through the population through
selection, although that initial spread is slow. Whether
or not a mutation is beneficial or harmful is determined by whether it helps an organism survive to
sexual maturity and reproduce. It should be noted that mutation is the ultimate source of genetic
variation in all populations—new alleles, and, therefore, new genetic variations arise through mutation.

Genetic Drift. Another way

a population’s allele frequencies
can change is genetic drift (Figure
1), which is simply the effect of
chance. Genetic drift is most
important in small populations. Drift
would be completely absent in a
population with infinite individuals,
but, of course, no population is this
large. Genetic drift occurs because
the alleles in an offspring
generation are a random sample of
the alleles in the parent generation. Alleles may or may not make it into the next generation due to
chance events including mortality of an individual, events affecting finding a mate, and even the events
affecting which gametes end up in fertilizations. If one individual in a population of ten individuals
happens to die before it leaves any offspring to the next generation, all of its genes—a tenth of the
population’s gene pool—will be suddenly lost. In a population of 100, that 1 individual represents only 1
percent of the overall gene pool; therefore, it has much less impact on the population’s genetic
structure and is unlikely to remove all copies of even a relatively rare allele.

Imagine a population of ten individuals, half with allele A and half with allele a (the individuals
are haploid). In a stable population, the next generation will also have ten individuals. Choose that
generation randomly by flipping a coin ten times and let heads be A and tails be a. It is unlikely that the
next generation will have exactly half of each allele. There might be six of one and four of the other, or
some different set of frequencies. Thus, the allele frequencies have changed and evolution has
occurred. A coin will no longer work to choose the next generation (because the odds are no longer one
half for each allele). The frequency in each generation will drift up and down on what is known as a
random walk until at one point either all A or all a are chosen and that allele is fixed from that point on.
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This could take a very long time for a large population. This simplification is not very biological, but it
can be shown that real populations behave this way. The effect of drift on frequencies is greater the
smaller a population is. Its effect is also greater on an allele with a frequency far from one half. Drift will
influence every allele, even those that are being naturally selected.

Figure 1: Genetic drift in a population can lead to the elimination of an allele from a population by chance. In each
generation, a random set of individuals reproduces to produce the next generation. The frequency of alleles in the
next generation is equal to the frequency of alleles among the individuals reproducing.

Genetic drift can also be magnified by natural or human-caused events, such as a disaster
that randomly kills a large portion of the population, which is known as the bottleneck effect that
results in a large portion of the genome suddenly being wiped out (Figure 2). In one fell swoop, the
genetic structure of the survivors becomes the genetic structure of the entire population, which may be
very different from the pre-disaster population. The
disaster must be one that kills for reasons unrelated
to the organism’s traits, such as a hurricane or lava
flow. A mass killing caused by unusually cold
temperatures at night, is likely to affect individuals
differently depending on the alleles they possess
that confer cold hardiness.

Figure 2. A chance event or catastrophe can reduce the genetic variability within a population.

Another scenario in which populations might experience a strong influence of genetic drift is if
some portion of the population leaves to start a new population in a new location, or if a population
gets divided by a physical barrier of some kind. In this situation, those individuals are unlikely to be
representative of the entire population which results in the founder effect. The founder effect occurs
when the genetic structure matches that of the new population’s founding fathers and mothers.

Gene Flow. Another important evolutionary force is gene flow, or the flow of alleles in and out
of a population resulting from the migration of individuals or gametes (Figure 11.2.3). While some
populations are fairly stable, others experience more flux. Many plants, for example, send their seeds
far and wide, by wind or in the guts of animals; these seeds may introduce alleles common in the
source population to a new population in which they are rare.

Figure 3: Gene flow can occur when individuals travel from

one geographic location to another and joins a different
population of the species.

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LESSON 3: PATTERNS OF DESCENT WITH MODIFICATION

SPECIATION. It is the process of formation of a new genetically independent group of

organisms, called species, through the course of evolution. Simply, the process of splitting of
genetically homogenous population into two or more populations that undergo genetic differentiation
and eventual reproductive.

The entire course of evolution depends upon the origin of new populations (species) that have
greater adaptive efficiency than their ancestors.

Speciation occurs in two ways.

➢ Transformation of old species into new species over time.
➢ Splitting of a single species into several, that is the multiplication of species.

According to Ernst Mayer’s definition, “Species are groups of interbreeding natural populations
that are reproductively isolated from other such groups.” Given the extraordinary diversity of life on the
planet there must be mechanism for speciation: the formation of two species from one original species.
Darwin envisioned this process as a branching event and diagrammed the process in the only
illustration found in the Origin of Species.

The only illustration in Darwin’s On the Origin of Species is a diagram showing speciation
events leading to biological diversity.

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Linear Evolution of Modern Man

Modern Elephants evolved from the Palaeomastodon, a species that lived in Egypt 35-50 million

There are different reproductive isolating mechanisms:

1. Pre-zygotic isolation mechanisms prevent fertilization and zygote formation

a. Geographic or ecological or habitat isolation – potential mates occupy different areas or
habitats thus, they never come in contact
b. Temporal or seasonal isolation – different groups may not be reproductively mature at the
same season, or month or year
c. Behavioral isolation – patterns of courtship are different
d. Mechanical isolation – differences in reproductive organs prevent successful interbreeding
e. Gametic isolation – incompatibilities between egg and sperm prevent fertilization

2. Post-zygotic isolation mechanisms allow fertilization but nonviable or weak or sterile hybrids
are formed.
a. Hybrid inviability – fertilized egg fails to develop past the early embryonic stages II
b. Hybrid sterility – hybrids are sterile because gonads develop abnormally or there is
abnormal segregation of chromosomes during meiosis
c. Hybrid breakdown - F1 hybrids are normal, vigorous and viable, but F2 contains many weak
or sterile individuals

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Causes of Speciation

Speciation occurs as a result of several factors which are:

1. Natural selection. As explained by Charles Darwin, different individuals in a species might

develop specific distinct characteristics which are advantageous and affect the genetic
makeup of the individual. Under such conditions, these characteristics will be conserved,
and over time, new species might be formed. However, in this case, the essential aspect of
this factor is that speciation occurs only when a single species splits into several species
resulting in the multiplication of species.
2. Genetic drift. Genetic drift is the change in the allele frequencies in a population as a result
of “sampling error” while selecting the alleles for the next generation from the gene pool of
the current population. It has been, however, argued that genetic drift doesn’t result in
speciation and just results in evolution, that is, change from one species to another, which
cannot be considered speciation.
3. Migration. When a certain number of species from a population migrate from one
geographical region to another, the species might accumulate characteristics which are
different from that of the original population. Migration usually results in geographical
isolation and ultimately leads to speciation.
4. Chromosomal Mutations. Chromosomal mutations have the potential to serve as (or
contribute to) isolating mechanisms, and the locking up and protection of a particularly
favorable gene complement through a chromosomal mutation. These mutations, when
preserved from one generation to another, might result in the formation of new species.
5. Natural causes. Sometimes, natural events imposed by the environment like a river or a
mountain range might cause the separation of what once a continuous population is
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divided into two or smaller populations. These events result in geographical isolation of the
incipient species followed by reproductive isolation leading to speciation.
6. Reduction of gene flow. Speciation might also occur in the absence of some extrinsic
physical barriers. There might be a reduced gene flow over a broad geographical range
where individuals in the Far East would have zero chance of mating with individuals in the
far western end of the range. In addition, if there are some selective mechanisms like
genetic drift at the opposite ends of the range, the gene frequencies would be altered, and
speciation would be ensured.

Types of Speciation/Modes of Speciation

The classification of the modes or types of speciation is based on how much the geographical
separation of the original population contributes to the reduced gene flow and ultimately, the formation
of new species.

Allopatric Speciation
• It is the mode of speciation in which the original
population is divided into two by a barrier
resulting in reproductive isolation.
• The model for allopatric speciation was
presented by Mayr.
• It is based on the concept that new species arise
when some physical geographic barrier divides
the large population of a species into two or
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more small populations. The individuals of these isolated populations cannot interbreed
because of their physical isolation.
• Physical isolation might occur either due to physical barriers like vast expanses of ocean, high
mountains, glaciers, deep river valleys, wide rivers or deserts, or a considerable distance due
to a larger geographical range.
• Each isolated population starts to adapt to their separated environments while accumulating
differences and evolving independently into new species.
• Allopatric speciation can occur even in cases in which the barrier allows some individuals to
cross the barrier to mate with the members of the other groups.
• For speciation even to be considered “allopatric,” gene flow between the soon-to-be species
must be significantly reduced—but it doesn’t have to be entirely reduced to zero.

Examples of Allopatric Speciation

• The classic example of allopatric speciation is that of Darwin’s finches. The divergent
populations of finches inhabiting the Galapagos Islands were observed to have differences in
features such as body size, color, and beak length or shape. The differences resulted because
of the different types of food available in various Islands.
• Another example is of Grand Canyon Squirrels which were separated during the formation of the
Grand Canyon and resulted in two different species of squirrels.

Peripatric Speciation
• It is a special
condition of
allopatric
speciation which
occurs when the
size of the
isolated
subpopulation is
small.

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• In this case, in addition to geographic separation, genetic drift also plays an important as
genetic drift acts more quickly in small populations. The small, isolated subpopulation might
carry some rare genes which upon reaching the new geographical region become fixed over
the course of a few generations as a result of genetic drift.
• As a result, the entire population of the new region ends up having these rare genes.
• Over time, new genetic characters, as well as natural selection, cause the survival of
individuals which are better suited to the climate and food of the new region.
• Finally, under the influence of all these factors, new species are formed.
• However, it is very difficult to explain what role genetic drift played in the divergence of the two
populations, which makes gathering evidence to support or refute this mode very challenging.

Examples of Peripatric speciation

• The Australian bird Petroica multicolour and London Underground mosquito, a variant of the
mosquito Culex pipiens, which entered in the London Underground in the 19th century

Parapatric Speciation
• It is a mode of speciation in
which there is no extrinsic
barrier between the population
but, the large geographic
range of the population
causes the individuals to mate
with the neighboring
individuals than with the
individuals in a different part
of the geographical range.
• In this case, the population is
continuous, but the population doesn’t mate randomly.
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• Here, the genetic variation occurs as a result of reduced gene flow within the population and
varying selection pressures across the population’s range.
• This occurs in population which is distributed over a large geographical range. Thus, the
individuals in the far west region cannot mate with the individuals in the far east region.
• Through a few generations, new species might be formed within the existing population.

Examples of Parapatric speciation

• The grass species
Anthoxanthum odoratum
where some species living
near the mine have
become tolerant to heavy
metals; however, other
plants that don’t live
around the mines are not
tolerant.
• But because the plants
are close together, they could fertilize each other and result in a new species.

Sympatric Speciation
• It is the process of the
formation of new species from
an original population that are
not geographically isolated.
• It is based on the establishment
of new populations of a species
in different ecological niches
and the reproductive isolation of
founders of the new population
from the individuals of the
source population.
• Gene flow between daughter and parental population during sympatric speciation is
postulated to be inhibited by intrinsic factors, such as chromosomal changes and non-random
mating.
• Exploiting a new niche might automatically reduce gene flow with individuals exploiting a
different niche.
• This mode of speciation is common in herbivore insects when they begin feeding and mating
on a new plant or when a new plant is introduced within the geographical range of the
species.
• The gene flow is then reduced between the species that specialize in a particular plant which
might ultimately lead to the formation of new species.
• The selection resulting in specialization needs to be really strong for the population to diverge.
• Thus, sympatric speciation is a sporadic event in multicellular organisms or randomly mating
populations.

Examples of Sympatric speciation

• Sympatric speciation is observed in apple maggot flies which 200 years ago laid eggs and bred
only on hawthorns but now lays eggs on both hawthorns and domestic apples.

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• As a result, gene flow between parts of the population that mate on different types of fruit is
reduced, and in fewer than 200 years, some genetic differences between these two groups of
flies have evolved.

LESSON 4: DEVELOPMENT OF EVOLUTIONARY THOUGHT

The Ukrainian-born
American geneticist Theodosius
Dobzhansky famously wrote that
“nothing makes sense in biology
except in the light of evolution.” He
meant that the tenet that all life has
evolved and diversified from a
common ancestor is the foundation
from which we approach all
questions in biology. When we try to
understand how the Earth has
changed, we also try to understand
how biological processes that take
place have caused disruptions in the
organismal equilibrium.
Evolution Before Darwin

1. Plato’s Idealism
 He saw variations in plant and animal populations as
imperfect representations of ideas forms.
 Only the perfect forms of organisms were real.

2. Aristotle’s Scala Naturae (Scale of Nature)

 Special creation of each species
 Organisms were created in their current form.

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 The earth was only a

few thousand years’
old.

3. Carolus von Linnaeus (Carl

Von Linne)
 Swedish botanist
known as the Father of
Modern Taxonomy
 Worked on the
classification of plants.
 Published Species
Plantarum (~7,300
plants)
 Ordered classification
of plants based on their
similarities (showed the natural relationships of
plants)

4. Rev. Thomas Malthus

 Economist and clergyman
 Published “An Essay on the Principle of
Population”
 Populations had an inherent tendency to increase
geometrically, while the resources needed to
support this growth increase slowly or not at all. o
Because of the continued growth of a species
would outstrip needed resources, growth would be
limited.

5. Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck
 French biologist who is best
known for his Theory of
Inheritance of Acquired
Characteristics, first presented
in 1801.
 Proposed that modern species
descended from other species.
 LAMARCKISM is the first to
present a unified theory that
attempted to explain the
changes in organisms from
one generation to the next.

 Lamarckism based on two theories:

i. Inheritance of
Acquired
Characteristics- traits
acquired by an
individual during its
life are passed to its
offspring.
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ii. Use and Disuse- organs of the body that were used extensively to cope with
the environment became larger and stronger, while organs that were not used
deteriorated.
iii. EXAMPLE: The Evolution of the Giraffe. Giraffes obtained their long necks
from previous giraffes who stretched to eat the leaves of high tree branches.
Stretching increased the length of length of their necks and this acquired
characteristics was passed to the next generation.

Evolution During Darwin’s Time (1800s)

1. Georges Cuvier
 French anatomist and naturalist and writer,
paleontologist
 He strongly opposed the concept of
evolution.
 He proposed the theory of
CATASTROPHISM.
a. History of living organisms recorded in
layers of rock containing a succession
of fossil species in chronological order.
b. Fossils were organisms that had died in
a series of catastrophes, after which
extinct plants and animals were
replaced by the immigration of distant
species to the devastated region. GEORGES CUVIER

2. James Hutton
 Scottish geologist
 He took up law, medicine and agriculture.
 He published Theory of the Earth.
 Geological change occurred slowly but
continuously by the process of GRADUALISM.
 Sedimentary rock that encased fossils formed by
the gradual accumulation of sediments in bodies
of water.

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3. Sir Charles Lyell

 Scottish lawyer turned geologist.
 He published the Principles of Geology.
JAMES HUTTON
 UNIFORMITARIANISM- the processes that alter
the Earth are uniform through time.
 He believed that Hutton’s evidence for
gradualism indicated that the earth was millions
of years’ old.
 He believed that even the slow and subtle
processes could cause substantial change over
time.

4. Fr. Gregor Johann Mendel

 Austrian biologist
 He discovered the basic principles of heredity.
 Father of Classical Genetics
 Individual characteristics determined by inherited
factors transmitted from parent to offspring

5. Charles Darwin SIR CHARLES LYELL

 Published On the Origin of Species 1859 to
explain his theories of evolution.
 The first person who proposed a
mechanistic approach to evolutionary
thought.
 Father of Evolution
 He proposed a mechanism for evolution:
NATURAL SELECTION
 A population of organisms can change
overtime as a result of individuals with
certain heritable characteristics leaving
more offspring than other individuals.
 He discovered that the various Galapagos
Islands had different species of animals. o
He noticed 13 species of finches. Each finch
had a different beak, specialized to find food
on its island.

6. Alfred Russel Wallace

 English naturalist o Studied the Malay
Archipelago and Amazon
 Proposed a theory of evolution similar to FR. GREGOR MENDEL
Darwin’s.

Neo- Darwinian/ Contemporary Times

1. Hugo De Vries
2. Carl Correns
3. Erich Von Tschermak
 Rediscovered Mendel’s laws of heredity
 The start of rediscovering evolution in terms of
Mendel’s ideas
4. James Watson and Francis Crick
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 Elucidated the structure of DNA (genetic material)

 DNA contains coded information which acts as a blueprint for the transfer of hereditary
information from generation to generation.
 Mutation as the raw material for evolution

Evolution of Darwin’s Theory

 It took Darwin years to form his theory of evolution by natural
selection.
 Like Lamarck, Darwin assumed that species can change over
time. The fossils he found helped convince him of that.
 From Lyell, Darwin saw that Earth and its life were very old.
Thus, there had been enough time for evolution to produce the
great diversity of life Darwin had observed.
 From Malthus, Darwin knew that populations could grow faster
than their resources. This “overproduction of offspring” led to a
“struggle for existence,” in Darwin’s words.
 From artificial selection, Darwin knew that some offspring
have variations that occur by chance, and that can be
inherited. In nature, offspring with certain variations might be ALFRED RUSSELL WALLACE

more likely to survive the “struggle for existence” and

reproduce. If so, they would pass their favorable variations to their offspring.
 Darwin coined the term fitness to refer to an organism’s relative ability to survive and produce
fertile offspring. Nature selects the variations that are most useful. Therefore, he called this
natural selection.
 Darwin knew artificial selection could change domestic species over time. He inferred that
natural selection could also change species over time. In fact, he thought that if a species
changed enough, it might evolve into a new species.

LESSON 5: EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION

In a population of organisms, there may be a

dominant trait(s); that is, the trait(s) of the majority. If it
happens that a trait of an individual in that population
becomes the trait of the majority, three things can be
said: (a) the individual has increased its number to
become the majority in the population, (2) its trait(s) is
well suited to the environment, hence making it
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adaptable and (3) organic evolution has taken place. In this sense, organic evolution can be said as a
change in the genetic makeup of the population that takes place over time. This change leaves
observable marks which serve as evidence for it. The five lines of evidence that support evolution
include: fossil record, biogeography, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology and molecular
biology (N.A. Campbell 2007).

Fossil Record. Fossils are

the petrified remains or traces of
animals, plants, and other
organisms. They vary in age
(spanning from 10, 000 to billions of
years ago) and size (from
microscopic to gigantic organisms)
(N. Society 2013). All fossils, both
discovered and undiscovered, and
the layer (strata) of rock where they
are located is known as fossil record
(Boundless 2018). This record is
important for: (1) it showed the
relationship between fossils and their
placement, (2) it became the basis
for knowing the history of the earth
(geologic timescale) and (3) it served
as a source of data for proving the
truthfulness of evolution (Society
2013, Boundless 2018 and
Britannica 2021). The fossil record,
which has been substantiated by
paleontology after Charles Darwin, provides consistent evidence that organisms in the past are not the
same as those of today. Their body parts are not the same but bears striking similarities. This means
three things: (1) organisms changed or have modified their form or structure through time, (2) their
similarities point to a common origin, lineage, or ancestry and (3) change is progressive and does not
undergo reversals. For instance, “amphibians will not appear before fishes, nor mammals before
reptiles, and no complex life will occur in the geological record before the oldest eucaryotic cells.”
These concepts embody what Darwin proposed as descent with modification (Boundless 2018) and (N.
(US) 1999).

Biogeography. The study of the geographic distribution of organisms is known as biogeography

(Grewal 2021). It explains how the organisms that have scattered over the world have undergone
changes (historical biogeography) or have stayed only in a specific location but have diversified into
different species (ecological biogeography) (SparkNotes 2021). In both cases, biogeography explains
that organic evolution (change in the physical traits of organisms) took place as a way of organism’s
adaptation to their environment (McKay n.d.). For example, the split of Pangea into two supercontinents
(Laurasia in the north, Gondwana in the south) have produced corresponding unique flora and fauna on
these continents (Khan Academy 2021). Similarly, the different camels in Africa, Asia and South
America are results of adaptation due to animal migration (Grewal 2021).

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Comparative Anatomy. The study of the similarities and differences of the structure or parts of
animals is called comparative
anatomy (CK-12 Foundation
2016). It is used to explain organic
evolution by (1) establishing
relationship between/among
animals being compared on the
bases of their shared features
(Khan Academy 2021) and (2)
tracing their common ancestry
(SparkNotes 2021) despite the
changes they have undergone
through adaptation because of
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their varied environments and lifestyle (National Academy of Sciences 1999). Comparative anatomy
has led to the classification of structures into (1) homologous, (2) analogous and vestigial—all proofs of
organic evolution.

Homologous structures are body parts that may seem different on the outside but can be
proved the same by: similarity of anatomical construction, similar topographical relations to the animal
body, similar embryonic development and similar physiological functions (Hyman1965).

The picture shows two things about the mouth parts of the given insects: (1) they vary in sizes
—some are enlarged, reduced or absent and (2) they have been modified in appearance. The New
World Encyclopedia (2020) accounts this modification as a necessary way for insects to exploit a
variety of food. These differences among organisms of common ancestry is called radiative evolution. In
other words, they have comparable parts because they share a common ancestry but have been
modified in appearance because of their adaptation to differences in environmental conditions. Other
than the form, it is also noticeable that the functions of these parts have become varied. Unique to the
function of a grasshopper’s mouth parts is chewing, whereas honeybees have developed them for
ticking.

Both insects, however, utilize their mouth for biting. In likelihood, mosquitoes have evolved to
use their mouth for piercing but share, with butterflies, the same function of using their mouth for
sucking. Indeed, homologous structures are comparable in form but may or may not have the same

function.

The opposite can be said of analogous

structures—parts with seemingly comparable form
(on the outside) because they evolved to perform
the same function and not because they were
inherited from a common ancestor (CK-12
Foundation 2016). The picture shows the apparent
likeness in the wings of birds and bats.

These organisms which have no common

lineage have developed seemingly comparable
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wings because they have responded to similar environmental conditions. Such process of forming
analogous parts is called convergent evolution (Slizewska 2021).

Vestigial structures are hereditary

parts that no longer seem to be useful in the
current structure of an organism but may
have served some important function to the
organism in the past (Scoville 2020). There
are two main reasons why structures
become unnecessary: (1) mutation in the
genome responsible for the formation of the
part and (2) the structure is not needed in
adapting to the environment (BD Editors
2017). When structures become less and
less useful, they become degenerate,
atrophied or imperfect in form (Miller 2005).
Even while they are no longer essential, they
are important in establishing tracing the
organism’s possible ancestor (Slizewska
2021). Our wisdom teeth are concrete
example of human vestigial structures. In the present time, we cannot use them because they are
beyond the limits of our jaw. They are now just reminders of our ancestors whose jaws were bigger
and resorted in using them because they are the last to fall off, especially at a time when
toothbrush was not in use (Miller 2005).

Comparative Embryology. The study of the development of vertebrate embryos from different
species and the inter-relatedness of these species based on their embryonic similarities is called
comparative embryology (Sharma 2019). It is supported by developmental biology which is the study of
growth and development of organism (Gilbert 2000). It is important in proving evolution since the
observable similarities in the vertebrates before birth or hatching provide evidence for common
ancestry (CK-12 2016).

The image shows that similarities or homologies are more observable in the earlier stages or
that “general features of an embryo appear before the specialized features”—referred to as the first
principle of embryology by Karl Ernst von Baer (Christine n.d.). Moreover, the similarities in the
embryos will disappear as they develop. For instance, some will lose their tail and gills (CK-12 2016).
Another observation can be added, that is, embryos become more differentiated as they develop.
As von Baer puts it, “the embryos develop from simple to more
complex structures (Christine n.d.).

Molecular Biology. Molecular biology studies the “composition, structure and interactions of
cellular molecules such as nucleic acids and proteins that carry out the biological processes essential
for the cell’s functions and maintenance (G. Revechon n.d.).” It provides evidence for evolution in two
ways: (1) it established common ancestry in the sense that all organisms are composed nearly of the
same genetic codes [that translates amino acids into proteins] and the same twenty (20) amino acids
(Biology for Majors 2021); (2) it was able to explain the mechanisms of evolution through the changes
in the protein during the process of DNA replication brought about by mutation, selection or drift
(Francisco J. Ayala 1999). For example, human DNA differs 1.2% from chimpanzees, 1.6% from
gorillas, and 6.6% from baboons (CK-12 2016). From such data, we can infer that the lesser is the
difference, the closer they are to being relatives and nearer to having a common ancestry. Humans and
chimpanzees are closest relatives since they have the least degree of amino acid difference. Baboons
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would be more distant relative for it has the greatest degree of amino acid difference when compared to
that of humans.

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LESSON 6: EVOLUTIONARY RELATIONSHIPS OF ORGANISMS

In the past lesson, we have ventured into the five lines of evidence to support the truthfulness
of evolution: fossil record, biogeography, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology and molecular
biology. This time, the five lines of evidence will be used as bases to infer evolutionary relationships
among organisms. Our quest is basically to answer two essential questions about evolutionary
relationships or phylogeny: (1) Which organisms are closely related? and (2) What is their common
ancestor?

Fossil Record and Comparative Anatomy

Fossil record
provides priceless data on
the skeletal morphology of
organisms that no longer
exist today but are
invaluable in piecing
together relationships
among living organisms that
nowadays look quite
different from one another—
birds and crocodiles, for
example (Carlson, Volume
9, 1999). Figure 1 depicts two of the evolved openings ( fenestra) of an archosaur skull, behind the eye;
hence are called diapsids. The first large opening is on the snout in front of the eye (antorbital fenestra)
and the other is at the junction of three bones in the lower jaw (mandibular fenestra). As to the functions
of these openings, there are just bones of contention ranging from glandular, muscular to
pneumatic hypotheses (Witmer, 1997). The other typical archosaur characteristic that further proves
similarity with birds and crocodiles is a modified ankle joint (Smith, 2005). A common ancestral joint has
variegated based on their function in the prevailing environmental conditions. The difference is aptly
described as follows (Berkeley University of California, n.d.).

From the previous fossil arguments, it can be said that birds and crocodiles are evolutionary
relatives because of their similarities in the skull features and ankle joint. Moreover, since such
similarities can be traced back to archosaurs which existed way back 246 million to 229 million years

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ago, in the Middle of the Triassic Period, (Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2017) then the common
ancestor between them are the archosaurs.

Fossil record is not only limited to macrofossils; rather, many of them are also microscopic. The
oldest fossils are the stromatolites, discovered in western Australia and said to be 3.5 billion years old.
They are formed by cyanobacteria, sometimes called blue-green algae or pond scum because they
grew in shallow oceans when the earth was still cooling (National Geographic Society, 2021).

The approach used so far was comparing the anatomies of both modern and extinct species.
By so doing, one can infer the lineages of those species (Boundless, 2020). However, this approach is
most successful for organisms that had hard body parts, such as shells, bones or teeth. For most
organisms with soft tissues and bodies, another approach is deemed necessary for establishing their
evolutionary relationships.

Fossil Record and Molecular Biology

As aforementioned, the main limit of the use of fossil record in establishing evolutionary
relationships and common ancestry rests on the fact that some species do not leave fossils either
because of their soft body composition or the geology of the place where they lived (University of
Pennsylvania, 2011). If they leave any traces, it must be inferred from the DNA of their descendants or
descendants of their relatives. This implies the use of molecular characters such as: differences in the
amino-acid sequence of a protein, differences in the individual nucleotide sequence of a gene, or
differences in the arrangements of genes. Using this approach require certain assumptions. First, more
similarities in the sequence of nucleotides in the DNA of two compared organisms mean greater
chances for common ancestry and closer relationship (CK-12, 2016). For example, human DNA
sequences are 9899% the same as those of chimpanzees implying high chances of having a more
recent common ancestor between humans and chimpanzees and a very close relationship between
them can be established. Second, differences in the sequence of nucleotides of the DNA of compared
organisms can be used to estimate their molecular clock—the estimated rate it took the organisms to
diverge from their common ancestor (Ho, 2008). In other words, the fewer the differences, the less time
since the species split from each other and began to evolve into different species. For instance, birds
evolve at an average rate of approximately 1% per 1 million years, meaning that any two-bird species
are diverging from each other at a rate of 2% per 1 million year (Schluter, 2008). The rate would be
more varied for more divergent species. This is depicted in the study of Stauffer and company (2001)
which yielded the following rates:
5.4 ± 1.1 million years ago (36 nuclear genes) for the human-chimpanzee divergence. Older
splitting events are estimated as 6.4 ± 1.5 million years ago (gorilla, 31 genes), 11.3 ± 1.3 million years
ago (orangutan, 33 genes), and 14.9 ± 2.0 million years ago (gibbon, 27 genes) (R.L. Stauffer, 2001).
This is more simply presented in the phylogram below (figure 5). Humans and chimpanzees started to
split or differentiate from a common ancestor 1.1 mya at a rate of 5.5%. It had the same split with
orangutans 1.3 mya at a rate of 11.3% and so on.

Inferring Relationships from Evidences of Evolution

 Living things share some
biomolecules which may be used to
prove relationships. These
chemicals include DNA and
proteins. The building blocks of
these chemicals may be analyzed to

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show similarities and differences among organisms. The more similarities, the closer the
relationships.
 One of these is the protein cytochrome-c, an important enzyme found in virtually all organisms.
It is a highly conserved protein which functions in the electron transport chain system of the
mitochondria which is needed for the release of energy from food. It also performs a role in
apoptosis (programmed cell death) by being released into the cytosol activating the events of
cell death.
 There are 104 amino acids in the human cytochrome c, 37 of which have been found at the
same position in every cytochrome c that has been sequenced. The molecules are assumed to
have descended from a primitive microbial cytochrome that existed over two billion years ago.
 A cladogram is a diagram used to represent a hypothetical relationship between groups of
animals, called a phylogeny. A cladogram is used by a scientist studying phylogenetic
systematics to visualize the groups of organisms being compared, how they are related, and
their most common ancestors.
 A phylogeny is a hypothetical relationship between groups of organisms being compared. A
phylogeny is often depicted using a phylogenetic tree.
 A phylogenetic tree is a diagram used to reflect evolutionary relationships among organisms or
groups of organisms. Scientists consider phylogenetic trees to be a hypothesis of the
evolutionary past since one cannot go back to confirm the proposed relationships. In other
words, a “tree of life” can be constructed to illustrate when different organisms evolved and to
show the relationships among different organisms
 A phylogenetic tree can be read like a map of evolutionary history. Many phylogenetic trees
have a single lineage at the base representing a common ancestor.
 Scientists call such trees rooted, which means there is a single ancestral lineage (typically
drawn from the bottom or left) to which all organisms represented in the diagram relate. Notice
in the rooted phylogenetic tree that the three domains— Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya—
diverge from a single point and branch off. The small branch that plants and animals (including
humans) occupy in this diagram shows how recent and miniscule these groups are compared
with other organisms. Unrooted trees don’t show a common ancestor but do show relationships
among species.
 In a rooted tree, the branching indicates evolutionary relationships. The point where a split
occurs, called a branch point, represents where a single lineage evolved into a distinct new
one. A lineage that evolved early from the root and remains unbranched is called basal taxon.
When two lineages stem from the same branch point, they are called sister taxa . A branch with
more than two lineages is called a polytomy and serves to illustrate where scientists have not

definitively determined all of the relationships. It is important to note that although sister taxa
and polytomy do share an ancestor, it does not mean that the groups of organisms split or
evolved from each other. Organisms in two taxa may have split apart at a specific branch point,
but neither taxa gave rise to the other.

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 The process of evolution describes how the world came into being.
 Biodiversity has resulted as a result of this.
 The mechanism of evolution is triggered by changes in the gene pool or gene collection.
 Evolution is important because it explains how life developed on Earth and how different

WRAP- UP

species are connected.

 The evolutionary linkages aid in the addressing of biological challenges, as well as the diversity
of life.
 Overall, evolution is a strong notion that unites a wide range of scientific domains, from
molecular genetics to anthropology, and leads to breakthroughs in medical and public policy,
as well as answers to environmental catastrophes.
 There are four factors that can change the allele frequencies of a population.
 Natural selection works by selecting for alleles that confer beneficial traits or behaviors, while
selecting against those for deleterious qualities.
 Mutations introduce new alleles into a population.
 Genetic drift stems from the chance occurrence that some individuals have more offspring than
others and results in changes in allele frequencies that are random in direction.
 When individuals leave or join the population, allele frequencies can change as a result of gene
flow.

VALUING
Knowledge of the geologic timescale is vital for miners who are searching for particular types or
ages of rocks to mine for important minerals.

Farmers may wish to know the age and origin of the sediments on their lands so that they can
plant suitable crops and find water sources.

Geologists use the geologic time scale to determine the ages of surface rocks all over the
world. This helps them to understand the history of the earth and the geologic changes that may have
occurred to fold, fault or otherwise disrupt the layers of rock.
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Paleontologists and other biologists use the geologic time scale to improve their understanding
of when species first appear, how species interact with others living at the time, and when species
become extinct.

Using the geologic timescale, paleontologists can piece together how living things have
gradually evolved from simple organisms into large, complex, specialized species.

POST-ASSESSMENT

ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES

Enrichment Activity 1. Putting Things in Order. The following are the top major events of the Earth’s
History. Arrange them according to the sequence of their time existence and answer the guide
questions. Use numbers 1 (first event) to 12 (last event).

The first life appeared on Earth The dinosaurs went extinct. The first dinosaurs evolved.
The first land animals with Oxygen began to accumulate Modern humans evolved.
backbones evolved. in the Earth’s atmosphere.
The first land plants evolved. Earth’s core and crust formed. The Earth’s first oceans
formed.
The first animals with Planet Earth formed. The first animals evolved.
backbones (fish) evolved.

Guide questions for the inferences:

1. Which evolved first, autotrophs or heterotrophs? Why?
2. How does the length of the history of life help explain the evolution of single-celled organisms to
complex organisms?

Enrichment Activity 2. Complete the table by giving examples on the reproductive isolating
mechanisms.
MECHANISMS EXAMPLES
1. Geographic Isolation 1.
2.
3.
2. Temporal or Seasonal Isolation 1.
2.
3.
3. Behavioral Isolation 1.
2.
3
4. Mechanical Isolation 1.
2.
3
5. Gametic Isolation 1.
2.
3
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Enrichment Activity 3. Who said What? In the table below identify who claimed the following postulates
on natural selection and evolution. Write Charles Darwin, Jean Baptiste Lamarck or both

CONCEPT/IDEA Answer
1. There is variation within a species
2. Organisms can only pass on traits they are born with
3. The environment had something to do with why organisms changed
4. Parents can pass on changes made in their lifetime to their offspring
5. Organisms change because they want to survive
6. Organisms cannot become extinct
7. Parents can pass on at least some of their traits to their offspring
8. Certain traits helped organisms survive better than organism without those traits
9. Species are still changing today
10. Natural selection
11. Acquired characteristics
12. Species have changed over time

Enrichment Activity 4. WE LOOK ALIKE. Based on the background information for learners on
comparative biology, match the picture from the choices with the given organism. Write the CAPITAL
letters only on the 2nd and 3rd columns of the table and answer what is asked for.
Choices:
Set A

SET B

Organism Embryo (Set A) Embryo (Set B)

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Chicken
Rabbit
Human
Tortoise
Salamander
Fish

1. Which set can prove common ancestry?

2. What principle of embryology does it portray? Explain your answer.

Enrichment Activity 5. WE ARE ALL RELATIVES. Cytochrome c is a protein found in mitochondria. It is

used in the study of evolutionary relationships because most animals have this protein. Cytochrome c is
made of 104 amino acids joined together.
Below is a list of the amino acids in part of a cytochrome protein molecule for 9 different animals. Any
sequences the same for all animals have been skipped. For each non-human animal, take a highlighter
(any bright color) and mark any amino acids that are different than the human sequence.
42
43
44
46
47
49
50
53
55
54
56
57
58
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
100
101
102
103
104
Human Q A P Y S T A K N K G I I G E D T L M E K A T N E
Chicke Q A E F S T D K N K G I T G E D T L M E D A T S K
n
Horse Q A P F S T D K N K G I T K E E T L M E K A T N E
Tuna Q A E F S T D K S K G I V N N E T L R E K A T S -
Frog Q A A F S T D K N K G I T G E E T L M E S A C S K
Shark Q Q Q F S T D K S K G I T Q Q E T L R I K T A A S
Turtle Q A E F S T E K N K G I T G E E T L M E D A T S K
Monke Q A P Y S T A K N K G I T G E D T L M E K A T N E
y
Rabbit Q A V F S T D K N K G I T G E D T L M E K A T N E
When you finish, record how many differences you found in the next table.
ANIMAL Number of Amino Acid Differences Compared to Human Cytochrome C
Chicken
Horse
Tuna
Frog
Shark
Turtle
Monkey
Rabbit

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Which animal is the closest relative of humans?

Which animal shares the farthest common ancestor? Explain your answer using the tallied data.

POST-TEST. Multiple Choice. Read each situation carefully. Choose the letter of the best answer.

1. The era of middle life, a time of many changes on Earth

A. Paleozoic B. Mesozoic C. Cenozoic D. Holozoic

2. What is the longest part of Earth’s history where trace fossils appeared?
A. Pre-Cambrian B. Paloezoic C. Mesozoic D. Cenozoic

3. The geologic time scale is subdivided into 4 groups. List them from the largest to the smallest.
A. Eons, periods, epochs, eras C. Epochs, periods, eras, eons
B. Eras, eons, periods, epochs D. Eons, eras, periods, epochs

4. The end of this era was believed to be caused by a comet or asteroid colliding with Earth,
causing a huge cloud of dust and smoke to rise into the atmosphere, blocking out the sun.
A. Paleozoic B. Holozoic C. Mesozoic D. Cenozoic

5. Which geologic event occurred during the Mesozoic era?

A. Pangaea formed C. The Rocky Mountains formed
B. Asteroids killed the dinosaurs D. The Pleistocene Ice Age began

6. Which of the following statements about biological species is(are) correct?

I. Biological species is a group of individuals whose members interbreed with one
another.
II. Biological species are the model used for grouping extinct forms of life.
III.Members of biological species produce viable, fertile offspring.

A. I only B. II only C. I and III D. II and III E. I, II, and III

7. The following isolating mechanisms prevent fertilization and formation of zygote except.
A. Temporal isolation C. Gametic isolation E. Behavioral isolation
B. Hybrid breakdown D. Ecological isolation

For numbers 8-10, use the following choices:

A. Allopatric speciation
B. Sympatric speciation
C. Parapatric speciation

8. Occurrence of abrupt genetic change cause reproductive isolation between groups of

individuals.
9. Occurs when populations are separated by a geographic barrier.
10. Abrupt change in the environment over a geographic border and strong disruptive selection
affects gene flow between neighboring populations.

11. Catastrophism, meaning the regular occurrence of geological or meteorological disturbances

(catastrophes), was Cuvier's attempt to explain the existence of ___.?
A. Evolution D. the origin of new species
B. The fossil record E. Natural selection

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C. Uniformitarianism

12. Which of the following represents an idea that Darwin learned from the writings of Thomas
Malthus?
A. Technological innovation in agricultural practices will permit exponential growth of the
human population into the foreseeable future.
B. Populations tend to increase at a faster rate than their food supply normally allows.
C. Earth changed over the years through a series of catastrophic upheavals.
D. The environment is responsible for natural selection.
E. Earth is more than 10,000 years old.

13. In the mid-1900s, the Soviet geneticist Lysenko believed that his winter wheat plants, exposed
to ever-colder temperatures, would eventually give rise to ever more cold tolerant winter wheat.
Lysenko's attempts in this regard were most in agreement with the ideas of __?
A. Cuvier B. Hutton C. Lamarck D. Darwin E. Lyell

14. Which of the following ideas is not included in Darwin’s theory?

A. All organisms that have ever existed arose through evolutionary modifications of ancestral
species.
B. The great variety of species live today resulted from the diversification of ancestral species.
C. Natural selection drives some evolutionary change.
D. Natural selection preserves favorable traits.
E. Natural selection eliminates adaptive traits.

15. Which of the following statements is not compatible with Darwin’s theory?
A. All organisms have arisen by descent with modification.
B. Evolution has altered and diversified ancestral species.
C. Evolution occurs in individuals rather than in groups.
D. Natural selection eliminates unsuccessful variations.
E. Evolution occurs in because some individuals function better than others in a particular
environment.

16. Which of the following must exist in a population before natural selection can act upon that
population?
A. Genetic variation among individuals
B. Variation among individuals caused by environmental factors.
C. Sexual reproduction
D. Three of the responses are correct.
E. Two of the responses are correct.

17. Which of the following does not contribute to the study of evolution?
A. Population genetics
B. Inheritance of acquired characteristics.
C. Fossil records
D. Comparative embryology
E. Comparative morphology

TRUE OR FALSE. Write EXCELLENCE if the statement is correct. If otherwise, write INTEGRITY.
1. As recently as 200 years ago, many people believed that Earth was only 6,000 years old.
2. Artificial selection occurs when nature selects for beneficial traits.
3. The individual Galápagos Islands are all similar to each other.
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4. Malthus argued that human populations grow faster than their resources.
5. Lamarck was one of the first scientists to propose that species evolve by natural selection.
6. Lyell was one of the first to say that Earth must be far older than most people believed.
7. Lamarck’s inheritance of acquired characteristics is has become a widely accepted scientific
theory.
8. Fossils proved to Darwin that species can evolve.
9. The term fitness to refer to an organism’s ability to outrun its hunters.
10. Darwin published his findings soon after returning to England from the voyage of the Beagle.
11. According to Darwin, natural selection is what occurs, and evolution is how it happens.
12. During his journey aboard the Beagle, Darwin found fossils from the seas in the mountains.
13. Galápagos tortoises have differently shaped shells depending on where they live.
14. Darwin’s book changed science forever.
15. Alfred Russel Wallace developed a theory of evolution at the same time as Darwin.

STEM General Biology 2 Q3 Module 2 SY 2022-2023