BASIC MECHANISM OF

EVOLUTIO
for General
N Biology 2 Grade11
Quarter3/ Week3

NegOr_Q3_
GenBio2_SLKWeek3_v2

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 FOREWORD

Dear students of Senior High School. Welcome

back to this week’s self-learning kit where you will
journey to the new lesson. This learning kit will serve
as a guide in understanding deeply the concepts on
the biological evolution.

Evolution is the process by which modern

organisms have descended from ancient ancestors.
Evolution is responsible for both the remarkable
similarities we see across all life and the amazing
diversity of that life — but exactly how does it work?

Fundamental to the process is genetic variation

upon which selective forces can act in order for
evolution to occur. This learning kit examines the
mechanisms of evolution.

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OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this module, the learners will be able to:

K: explain the basic mechanisms of evolution:
natural selection, mutation, genetic drift, and gene
flow/ migration;
S: describe the effects of evolution on the diversity of
the population; and
A: appreciate the major evolutionary forces that have
created the variations in the species.

LEARNING COMPETENCY

➢ Explain the mechanisms that produce change in

populations from generation to generation (e.g., artificial
selection, natural selection, genetic drift, mutation,
recombination)
(STEM_BIO11/12-IIIc-g-9)

I. WHAT HAPPENED

CROSS-WORD Challenge!!
Directions: Locate the eight important words embedded on the grid
below.
These words are relevant to the variations in the species.
Search the words in an upward, downward and sideward
directions. List down the words in your activity notebook.

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 N O V E M I S O C L T R A I X B
S A R D O N D S E L F E H N O A
L A T M M A A E C X I V B J L R
E C T U S R B I C Z R O R I N B
A O D T R S I C A E D W A N D S
N A B A R A G E F A V E G M D Y
O C S T A R L P O L I S H L N I
N O R I G I N S E N T X G V S L
G J O O N S A V E M E L R D J D
O S U N T T P V O L N I K E E S
D N G P P B O C Z F E N C H S O
A D H I B L U S G U G C C I M P
L L T D U S L Z C X Y R T A E M
O C R T W D A R W I N B V I S V
N M I Q A Z T Y U I O P K M O K
E O K A S B I N J M I L D U H N
N A S D F G O H E R T Y U M K I
G O A L M E N W U R K S M U R T

Answer:
1. __________________ 5. __________________
2. __________________ 6. __________________
3. __________________ 7. __________________
4. __________________ 8. __________________

II. WHAT I NEED TO KNOW

Mechanisms: The processes of evolution
Biological evolution, simply put, is descent with modification. This
definition encompasses small-scale evolution (changes in gene — or more
precisely and technically, allele — frequency in a population from one
generation to the next) and large-scale evolution (the descent of different
species from a common ancestor over many generations). Evolution helps
us to understand the history of life.

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 Biological evolution is not simply a matter of change over time. Lots
of things change over time: trees lose their leaves, mountain ranges rise
and erode, but they aren't examples of biological evolution because they
don't involve descent through genetic inheritance.
(https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_02)

Evolution is the process by which modern organisms have descended

from ancient ancestors. Evolution is responsible for both the remarkable
similarities we see across all life and the amazing diversity of that life —
but exactly how does it work?

Fundamental to the process is genetic variation upon which selective

forces can act in order for evolution to occur. This section examines the
mechanisms of evolution focusing on:

• Descent and the genetic differences that are heritable and passed on
to the next generation;
• Mutation, migration (gene flow), genetic drift, and natural selection
as mechanisms of change;
• The importance of genetic variation;
• The random nature of genetic drift and the effects of a reduction in
genetic variation;
• How variation, differential reproduction, and heredity result in
evolution by natural selection; and
• How different species can affect each other's evolution through
coevolution.
(https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_14)

Populations evolve, but individual organisms do not. A population is

an interbreeding group of individuals of one species in a given geographic
area at the same time. A population evolves because the population
contains the collection of genes called the gene pool. As changes in the
gene pool occur, a population evolves.
(https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/biology/biology/principles-of
evolution/mechanismsof-evolution)
Mechanisms of change
Each of these four processes is a basic mechanism of evolutionary change.

1. Mutation
Mutation is a change in DNA, the hereditary material of life. An
organism's DNA affects how it looks, how it behaves, and its physiology
— all aspects of its life. So a change in an organism's DNA can cause
changes in all aspects of its life.

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 A mutation could cause parents with genes for
bright green coloration to have offspring with a gene for
brown coloration. That would make genes for brown
coloration more frequent in the population than they were
before the mutation.
Mutation is a change in a DNA sequence, usually
occurring because of errors in replication or repair.
Mutation is the ultimate source of genetic variation.
Changes in the composition of a genome due to recombination alone are
not considered mutations since recombination alone just changes which
genes are united in the same genome but does not alter the sequence of
those genes.
(https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/
evo_1)
Sources of Genetic Variation
Without genetic variation, some of the basic mechanisms of
evolutionary change cannot operate.

There are three primary sources of genetic variation, which we will learn
more about:

1. Mutations are changes in the DNA. A single mutation can have a

large effect, but in many cases, evolutionary change is based on the
accumulation of many mutations.
2. Gene flow is any movement of genes from one population to
another and is an important source of genetic variation.
3. Sex can introduce new gene combinations into a population. This
genetic shuffling is another important source of genetic variation.
(https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_17)

Genetic shuffling is a source of variation.

Source(

https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_17)

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Mutations are random
Mutations can be beneficial, neutral, or harmful for the organism, but
mutations do not "try" to supply what the organism "needs." In this
respect, mutations are random — whether a particular mutation happens
or not is unrelated to how useful that mutation would be.

Not all mutations matter to evolution

Since all cells in our body contain DNA, there are lots
of places for mutations to occur; however, not all
mutations matter for evolution. Somatic mutations occur in
nonreproductive cells and won't be passed onto offspring.

For example, the golden color on half of this Red

Delicious apple was caused by a somatic mutation. The
seeds of this apple do not carry the mutation.

The only mutations that matter to large-scale evolution are those

that can be passed on to offspring. These occur in reproductive cells like
eggs and sperm and are called germ line mutations.

A single germ line mutation can have a range of effects:

1. No change occurs in phenotype

Some mutations don't have any noticeable effect on the phenotype
of an organism. This can happen in many situations: perhaps the
mutation occurs in a stretch of DNA with no function, or perhaps the
mutation occurs in a protein-coding region, but ends up not affecting
the amino acid sequence of the protein.
2. Small change occurs in phenotype
3. A single mutation caused this cat's ears to curl backwards
slightly.
4. Big change occurs in phenotype
Some really important phenotypic changes, like
DDT resistance in insects are sometimes caused
by single mutations. A single mutation can also
have strong negative effects for the organism.
Mutations that cause the death of an organism
are called lethals — and it doesn't get more
negative than that.

There are some sorts of changes that a single

mutation, or even a lot of mutations, could not cause.
Neither mutations nor wishful thinking will make pigs have wings; only pop
culture could have created Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — mutations
could not have done it.

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Mutations happen for several reasons.

1. DNA fails to copy accurately

Most of the mutations that we think matter to evolution are
"naturallyoccurring." For example, when a cell divides, it makes a
copy of its DNA — and sometimes the copy is not quite perfect. That
small difference from the original DNA sequence is a mutation.

2. External influences can create mutations

Mutations can also be caused by exposure to
specific chemicals or radiation. These agents
cause the DNA to break down. This is not
necessarily unnatural — even in the most isolated
and pristine environments, DNA breaks down.
Nevertheless, when the cell repairs the DNA, it
might not do a perfect job of the repair. So the cell
would end up with DNA slightly different than the
original DNA and hence, a mutation.

Source (https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_20)
Sex and genetic shuffling
Sex can introduce new gene
combinations into a population and is an
important source of genetic variation.

You probably know from experience

that siblings are not genetically identical to
their parents or to each other (except, of
course, for identical twins). That's because
when organisms reproduce sexually, some
genetic "shuffling" occurs, bringing together
new combinations of genes. For example,
you might have bushy eyebrows and a big
nose since your mom had genes associated
with
bushy eyebrows and your dad had genes

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associated with a big nose. These
combinations can be good, bad, or neutral. If your spouse is wild about the
bushy eyebrows/big nose combination, you were lucky and hit on a winning
combination!

This shuffling is important for evolution because it can introduce new

combinations of genes every generation. However, it can also break up
"good" combinations of genes.

Source (https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_22)

2. Migration/ Gene flow

Gene flow — also called migration — is any movement of individuals,
and/or the genetic material they carry, from one population to another.
Gene flow includes lots of different kinds of events, such as pollen being
blown to a new destination or people moving to new cities or countries. If
gene versions are carried to a population where those gene versions
previously did not exist, gene flow can be a very important source of
genetic variation. In the graphic below, the gene version for brown
coloration moves from one population to another.

Gene flow is the movement of genes between populations. This may

happen through the migration of organisms or the movement of gametes
(such as pollen blown to a new location).

Source
(https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_21)

Some individuals from a population of brown beetles might have joined

a population of green beetles. That would make genes for brown coloration
more frequent in the green beetle population than they were before the
brown beetles migrated into it.

3. Genetic drift
Another mechanism for evolution is genetic drift, which can occur
when a small group of individuals leaves a population and establishes a
new one in a geographically isolated region. Fitness of a population is not
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considered in genetic drift, nor does genetic drift occur in a very large
population.
Source (https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/biology/biology/principles-of
evolution/mechanisms-of-evolution)
Imagine that in one generation, two brown beetles happened to have
four offspring survive to reproduce. Several green beetles were killed when
someone stepped on them and had no offspring. The next generation
would have a few more brown beetles than the previous generation — but
just by chance. These chance changes from generation to generation are
known as
genetic drift. https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_16

Genetic drift — along with natural selection, mutation, and migration

— is one of the basic mechanisms of evolution.

In each generation, some individuals may, just by chance, leave

behind a few more descendent (and genes, of course!) than other
individuals. The genes of the next
generation will be the genes of the "lucky"
individuals, not necessarily the healthier or
"better" individuals. That, in a nutshell, is
genetic drift. It happens to ALL populations
— there's no avoiding the vagaries of
chance

Source(https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_16)

Random Drift consists of random fluctuations in the frequency of

appearance of a gene, usually, in a small population. The process may
cause gene variants to disappear completely, thereby reducing genetic
variability. In contrast to natural selection, environmental or adaptive
pressures do not drive changes due to genetic drift. The effect of genetic
drift is larger in small populations and smaller in large populations.

Genetic drift is a stochastic process, a random event that happens by

chance in nature that influences or changes allele frequency within a
population as a result of sampling error from generation to generation. It
may happen that some alleles are completely lost within a generation due
to genetic drift, even if they are beneficial traits that conduct to
evolutionary and reproductive success. Allele is defined as any one of two
or more genes that may occur alternatively at a given site (locus) on a
chromosome. Alleles are responsible for variations in a trait.

The population bottleneck and a founder effect are two examples of

random drift that can have significant effects in small populations. Genetic
drift works on all mutations and can eventually contribute to the creation

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of a new species by means of the accumulation of non-adaptive mutations
that can facilitate population subdivision.

Source(https://nectunt.bifi.es/to-learn-more-overview/mechanisms-of-
evolutionarychange/)

Bottleneck effect occurs when there is a sudden sharp decline in a

population’s size typically due to environmental factors (natural disasters
such as: earthquakes or tsunamis, epidemics that can decimate the
number of individuals in the population, predation or habitat destruction,
etc.). It is a random event, in which some genes (there is not any
distinction) are extinguished from the population. This results in a drastic
reduction of the total genetic diversity of the original gene pool. The small
surviving population is considerably be farther from the original one in its
genetic makeup.
Source(https://nectunt.bifi.es/to-learn-more-overview/mechanisms-of-
evolutionarychange/)
Founder effect is the loss of genetic variation that occurs when a
new population is established by a small number of individuals that are
cleaved from a larger population. This new population does not have the
genetic diversity of the previous one. Because the community is very small
and also geographical or socially isolated, some genetic traits are
becoming more prevalent in the population. This leads to the presence of
certain genetic diseases in the next generations. In some cases, founder
effect plays a fundamental role in the emergence of new species.
Source (https://nectunt.bifi.es/to-learn-more-overview/mechanisms-of-evolutionary-
change/)

Generation 1: The frequency of alleles in the population is the same.

Generation 2: Randomly and due to a catastrophic natural or man-made

event, most of individuals of the population died (there is no influence of
adaptive pressures).

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Generation 3: As a result, the original large population is reduced to a
small population composed by few individuals. This new surviving
population subset contains much less genetic variability than the previous
population.

Generation 4: Later, the drastic reduction in the population size is

followed by an expansion (population is recovered). The final population is
no longer genetically representative of the original one. In this particular
case, an allele is completely removed from the gene pool.

A new population is established by a small number of individuals that

are cleaved from the original population. This leads to a loss of genetic
variability as the founders of the new colony are not genetically
representative at all of the population from which they come from. The
right figure shows an evident predominance of orange circles in the newly
founded population. These orange circles may correspond to a given allele
responsible for the variation in a trait (for example, specific eyes color). In
extreme cases, founder effect also plays a fundamental role in the
emergence of new species.

https://nectunt.bifi.es/to-learn-more-overview/mechanisms-of-evolutionary-change/

Genetic drift affects the genetic makeup of the population but,

unlike natural selection, through an entirely random process. So
although genetic drift is a mechanism of evolution, it doesn't work to
produce adaptations.

4. Natural selection
Another mechanism for evolution is natural selection, which occurs
when populations of organisms are subjected to the environment. The
fittest creatures are more likely to survive and pass their genes to their
offspring, producing a population that is better adapted to the
environment. The genes of less-fit individuals are less likely to be passed

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on to the next generation. The important selective force in natural
selection is the environment.

Imagine that green beetles are easier for

birds to spot (and hence, eat). Brown beetles
are a little more likely to survive to produce
offspring. They pass their genes for brown
coloration on to their offspring. So, in the next
generation, brown beetles are more common
than in the previous generation.

All of these mechanisms can cause changes in the frequencies of

genes in populations, and so all of them are mechanisms of evolutionary
change. However, natural selection and genetic drift cannot operate unless
there is genetic variation — that is, unless some individuals are genetically
different from others. If the population of beetles were 100% green,
selection and drift would not have any effect because their genetic make-
up could not change.

https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_16

Natural selection is one of the basic mechanisms of evolution, along

with mutation, migration, and genetic drift.

Darwin's grand idea of evolution by natural selection is relatively simple

but often misunderstood. To find out how it works, imagine a population of
beetles:

1. There is variation in traits.

For example, some beetles are green and some are brown.
2. There is differential reproduction.
Since the environment can't support unlimited population growth,
not all individuals get to reproduce to their full potential. In this
example, green beetles tend to get eaten by birds and survive to
reproduce less often than brown beetles do.
3. There is heredity.
The surviving brown beetles have brown baby beetles because this
trait has a genetic basis.
4. End result: The more advantageous trait, brown coloration,
which allows the beetle to have more offspring, becomes more
common in the population. If this process continues, eventually,
all individuals in the population will be brown.

If you have variation, differential reproduction, and heredity, you will

have evolution by natural selection as an outcome. It is as simple as that.

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Natural selection :
Differential
Natural selection
reproduction Natural selection :
:Heredity
There is differential End result
There is heredity. End result: The more
reproduction. Since
The surviving brown advantageous trait,
the environment can't
beetles have brown brown coloration,
support
baby beetles which allows the
unlimited population
growth, not all because this trait has beetle to have more
individuals get to a genetic basis. offspring, becomes
reproduce to their full more common in the
potential. In this population. If this
example, green beetles process continues,
tend to get eaten by eventually, all
birds and survive to individuals in the
reproduce less often population will be
than brown beetles do. brown.

Natural Selection
leads to an evolutionary
change when some individuals with certain traits in a population have a
higher survival and reproductive rate than others and pass on these
inheritable genetic features to their offspring. Evolution acts through
natural selection whereby reproductive and genetic qualities that prove
advantageous to survival prevail into future generations. The cumulative
effects of natural selection process have giving rise to populations that
have evolved to succeed in specific environments. Natural selection
operates by differential reproductive success (fitness) of individuals.
https://nectunt.bifi.es/to-learn-more-overview/mechanisms-of-evolutionary-change/

The Darwin’s Finches diagram illustrates the way the finch has
adapted to take advantage of feeding in different ecological niches:

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(https://nectunt.bifi.es/to-learn-more-overview/mechanisms-of-evolutionary-change)

Natural selection at work

Scientists have worked out many examples of natural selection, one
of the basic mechanisms of evolution. Any coffee table book about natural
history will overwhelm you with full-page glossies depicting amazing
adaptations produced by natural selection, such as the examples below.

(a) (b) (c)

a. Orchids fool wasps into 'mating' with them.
b. Katydids have camouflage to look like leaves.
c. Non-poisonous king snakes mimic poisonous coral snakes.

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 Orchid and wasp image courtesy of Colin Bower; Heart Cockle image
courtesy of Avril Bourquin; Katydid image © Greg Neise, GE Neise
Digital Communication; Snake images courtesy of Neurotoxin; Blue-
footed booby image courtesy of Ian Skipworth.

Behavior can also be shaped by natural selection. Behaviors such as

birds' mating rituals, bees' wiggle dance, and humans' capacity to learn
language also have genetic components and are subject to natural
selection.
In some cases, we can directly observe natural selection. Very
convincing data show that the shape of finches' beaks on the Galapagos
Islands has tracked weather patterns: after droughts, the finch population
has deeper, stronger beaks that let them eat tougher seeds.
In other cases, human activity has led to environmental changes that
have caused populations to evolve through natural selection. A striking
example is that of the population of dark moths in the 19th century in
England, which rose and fell in parallel to industrial pollution. These
changes can often be observed and documented.

Activity Time
Evolution via Natural Selection
In this simulation, you will model the effect of a predator (you) on
the evolution of an insect population (toothpicks). This species of insect
has 5 color variations: red, blue, green, yellow, and tan. You will “eat”
the insects and record data. Work with a partner, and decide who Partner
A is and who Partner B is before beginning. Your partner may be your
parents or siblings who can count.
You should begin with: -Plastic bag: the “stomach” of the predator
-8 toothpicks of each color (40 total): the “insects”
Follow the steps:

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1) Find an area outside (about 10ft x 10ft). It should be in grass, dirt, or
leaves. 2) Partner A randomly scatters all 40 of the toothpicks around the
area without Partner B looking.
3) Partner B is now the first predator! Collect the first 20 toothpicks you
see and place them in the plastic bag. Make sure to look away from the
ground after each toothpick is picked up. Partner A should help count the
toothpicks to make sure exactly 20 are collected.
4) Count how many toothpicks of each color were collected and record it
in your data table. Calculate how many toothpicks of each color are
remaining in the habitat.
5) The insects reproduce! Each surviving insect in the habitat will
produce one offspring. For each toothpick that is remaining in the habitat,
add one new toothpick of the same color to the habitat. Record this in your
data table. Partner B should scatter the offspring into the habitat while
Partner A isn’t looking. (Example: If 5 blue toothpicks remain in the habitat,
add 5 new blue toothpicks to the habitat, and record 10 total remaining
after reproduction in the data table)
6) Partner A is now the predator for Generation 2. Collect exactly 20
more toothpicks from the habitat while Partner B helps count.
7) Repeat steps 4 and 5 in which you record data and add offspring to
the habitat.
8) Partner B is now the predator again for Generation 3. Collect 20
toothpicks and record the data as you did for the previous generations.
9) Do not put anymore toothpicks into the habitat. Clean up the
toothpicks still remaining the habitat and return them to containers.

Generation 1
COLOR NUMBER NUMBER NUMBER TOTAL NUMBER
IN COLLECTED REMAINING REMAINING
HABITAT AFTER
REPRODUCTION
Red 8

Yellow 8

Blue 8

Green 8

Tan 8

TOTAL 40

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Generation 2
COLOR NUMBER NUMBER NUMBER TOTAL NUMBER
IN COLLECTED REMAINING REMAINING
HABITAT AFTER
REPRODUCTION
Red

Yellow

Blue

Green

Tan

TOTAL

Generation 3
COLOR NUMBER NUMBER NUMBER TOTAL NUMBER
IN COLLECTED REMAINING REMAINING
HABITAT AFTER
REPRODUCTION
Red

Yellow

Blue

Green

Tan

TOTAL

Answer the questions:

1. Describe a real example of this mechanism of evolution.
2. Does your data suggest that a certain color of toothpick is
advantageous? Which color?
3. Why might some colors/phenotypes survive better than others in this
particular habitat?
4. How might the results be different if this activity was performed in a
habitat that is mostly red?
_v2

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