Class XII Biology

Evolution – Notes (part 2)

7.4 WHAT IS ADAPTIVE RADIATION?

 During his journey Darwin went to Galapagos Islands. There he observed an amazing
diversity of creatures. Of particular interest, small black birds later called Darwin’s Finches
amazed him.

 He realised that there were many varieties of finches in the same island. All the varieties, he
conjectured, evolved on the island itself.
 From the original seed-eating features, many other forms with altered beaks arose, enabling
them to become insectivorous and vegetarian finches (Figure 7.5).
 This process of evolution of different species in a given geographical area starting from a
point and literally radiating to other areas of geography (habitats) is called adaptive
radiation.
 Darwin’s finches represent one of
the best examples of this
phenomenon. Another example is
Australian marsupials.
 A number of marsupials, each
different from the other (Figure
7.6) evolved from an ancestral
stock, but all within the Australian
island continent.
 When more than one adaptive
radiation appeared to have
occurred in an isolated
geographical area (representing
different habitats), one can call this
convergent evolution.
 Placental mammals in Australia
also exhibit adaptive radiation in
evolving into varieties of such placental mammals each of which appears to be ‘similar’ to a
corresponding marsupial (e.g., Placental wolf and Tasmanian wolf-marsupial). (Figure 7.7).

7.5 BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION

 Evolution by natural selection, in a true sense would have started when cellular forms of life
with differences in metabolic capability originated on earth.
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  The essence of Darwinian theory about evolution is natural selection.
 The rate of appearance of new forms is linked to the life cycle or the life span.
 Microbes that divide fast have the ability to multiply and become millions of individuals
within hours.
 A colony of bacteria (say A) growing on a given medium has built-in variation in terms of
ability to utilise a feed component.
 A change in the medium composition would bring out only that part of the population (say
B) that can survive under the new conditions.
 In due course of time this variant population outgrows the others and appears as new
species.
 This would happen within days. For the same thing to happen in a fish or fowl would take
million of years as life spans of these animals are in years.
 Nature selects for fitness.
 One must remember that the so-called fitness is based on characteristics which are
inherited.
 Another way of saying the same thing is that some organisms are better adapted to survive
in an otherwise hostile environment.
 Adaptive ability is inherited. It has a genetic basis. Fitness is the end result of the ability to
adapt and get selected by nature.
 Branching descent and natural selection are the two key
concepts of Darwinian Theory of Evolution (Figures 7.7 and 7.8).
 Even before Darwin, a French naturalist Jean Baptist Lamarck
had said that evolution of life forms had occurred but driven by
use and disuse of organs [Theory of use and disuse of organs].
 He gave the examples of Giraffes who in an attempt to forage
leaves on tall trees had to adapt by elongation of their necks.
 As they passed on this acquired character of elongated neck to
succeeding generations, Giraffes, slowly, over the years, came to
acquire long necks.
 This conjecture was rejected.
 The world we see, inanimate and
animate, is only the success
stories of evolution.
 When we describe the story of
this world we describe evolution
as a process.
 When we describe the story of
life on earth, we treat evolution
as a consequence of a process
called natural selection.
 We are still not very clear whether to regard evolution and natural selection as processes or
end result of unknown processes.
 It is possible that the work of Thomas Malthus on populations influenced Darwin.
 Natural selection is based on certain observations which are factual.
 Natural selection is based on
i. Natural resources are limited,
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 ii. Populations are stable in size except for seasonal fluctuation,
iii. Members of a population vary in characteristics (infact no two individuals are alike)
even though they look superficially similar, most of variations are inherited etc.
 The fact that theoretically population size will grow exponentially if everybody reproduced
maximally (this fact can be seen in a growing bacterial population) and the fact that
population sizes in reality are limited, means that there had been competition for resources.
 Only some survived and grew at the cost of others that could not flourish.
 The novelty and brilliant insight of Darwin was this: he asserted that variations, which are
heritable and which make resource utilisation better for few (adapted to habitat better) will
enable only those to reproduce and leave more progeny.
 Hence for a period of time, over many generations, survivors will leave more progeny and
there would be a change in population characteristic and hence new forms appear to arise.

7.6 MECHANISM OF EVOLUTION

 What is the origin of this variation and how does speciation occur?
 Even though Mendel had talked of inheritable 'factors' influencing phenotype, Darwin either
ignored these observations or kept silence.
 In the first decade of twentieth century, Hugo deVries based on his work on evening
primrose (Oenothera lamarckiana) brought forth the idea of mutations – large difference
arising suddenly in a population.
 He believed that it is mutation which causes evolution and not the minor variations
(heritable) that Darwin talked about.
 Mutations are random and directionless while Darwinian variations are small and
directional.
 Evolution for Darwin was gradual while deVries believed mutation caused speciation and
hence called it saltation (single step large mutation).
 Studies in population genetics, later, brought out some clarity.
Darwin Theory Hugo De Vries Theory
Darwinian theory is mainly based on Hugo De Vries Theory is based on
natural selection mutation.
Darwinian variation are small and Mutations are random and
directional. directionless.
According to Darwin, Minor According to Hugo de vries,
variations causes evolution. mutations causes evolution.
Evolution is gradual or slow process. Sudden mutation causes evolution.

7.7 HARDY-WEINBERG PRINCIPLE

 In a given population one can find out the frequency of occurrence of alleles of a gene or a
locus.
 This frequency is supposed to remain fixed and even remain the same through generations.
 Hardy-Weinberg principle stated it using algebraic equations.

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  This principle says that “allele frequencies in a population are stable and is constant
from generation to generation”.
 The gene pool (total genes and their alleles in a
population) remains a constant. This is called genetic
equilibrium.
 Sum total of all the allelic frequencies is 1. Individual
frequencies, for example, can be named p, q, etc. In a
diploid, p and q represent the frequency of allele A and
allele a.
 The frequency of AA individuals in a population is simply p2.
 This is simply stated in another ways, i.e., the probability that an allele A with a frequency of
p appear on both the chromosomes of a diploid individual is simply the product of the
probabilities, i.e., p2. Similarly of aa is q2, of Aa 2pq.
 Hence, p2+2pq+q2=1. This is a binomial expansion of (p+q)2.
 When frequency measured, differs from expected values, the difference (direction) indicates
the extent of evolutionary change.
 Disturbance in genetic equilibrium, or Hardy- Weinberg equilibrium, i.e., change of
frequency of alleles in a population would then be interpreted as resulting in evolution.
 Five factors are known to affect Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium: These are gene migration
or gene flow, genetic drift, mutation, genetic recombination and natural selection.
 When migration of a section of population to another place and population occurs, gene
frequencies change in the original as well as in the new population.
 New genes/alleles are added to the new population and these are lost from the old
population.
 There would be a gene flow if this gene migration, happens multiple times.
 If the change in gene frequency occurs by chance, it is called genetic drift.
 Sometimes the change in allele frequency is so different in the new sample of population
that they become a different
species.
 The original drifted population
becomes founders and the effect is
called founder effect.
 Microbial experiments show that
pre-existing advantageous
mutations when selected will result
in observation of new phenotypes.
 Over few generations, this would
result in Speciation.
 Natural selection is a process in
which “heritable variations enabling
better survival are enabled to
reproduce and leave greater
number of progeny”.
 Variation due to mutation or
variation due to recombination
during gametogenesis, or due to
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 gene flow or genetic drift results in changed frequency of genes and alleles in future
generation.
 Coupled to enhance reproductive success, natural selection makes it look like different
population.
 Natural selection can lead to stabilisation (in which more individuals acquire mean character
value), directional change (more individuals acquire value other than the mean character
value) or disruption (more individuals acquire peripheral character value at both ends of the
distribution curve) (Figure 7.8).

7.8 A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF EVOLUTION

 About 2000 million years ago (mya) the first cellular forms of life appeared on earth.
 The mechanism of how non-cellular aggregates of giant macromolecules could evolve into
cells with membranous envelop is not known.
 Some of these cells had the ability to release O2.
 The reaction could have been similar to the light reaction in photosynthesis where water is
split with the help of solar energy captured and channelised by appropriate light harvesting
pigments.
 Slowly single-celled organisms became multi-cellular life forms.
 By the time of 500 mya, invertebrates were formed and active.
 Jawless fish probably evolved around 350 mya.
 Sea weeds and few plants existed probably around 320 mya.
 We are told that the first organisms that invaded land were plants.
 They were widespread on land when animals invaded land. Fish with stout and strong fins
could move on land and go back to water.
 This was about 350 mya. In 1938, a fish caught in South Africa happened to be a Coelacanth
which was thought to be extinct.
 These animals called lobefins evolved into the first amphibians that lived on both land and
water.
 There are no specimens of these left with us.
 However, these were ancestors of modern day frogs and salamanders. The amphibians
evolved into reptiles.
 They lay thick-shelled eggs which do not dry up in sun unlike those of amphibians.
 Again we only see their modern day descendants, the turtles, tortoises and crocodiles.
 In the next 200 millions years or so,
reptiles of different shapes and sizes
dominated on earth. Giant ferns
(pteridophytes) were present but they
all fell to form coal deposits slowly.
 Some of these land reptiles went back
into water to evolve into fish like
reptiles probably 200 mya (e.g.
Ichthyosaurs).
 The land reptiles were, of course, the
dinosaurs.
 The biggest of them, i.e., Tyrannosaurus rex was about 20 feet in height and had huge
fearsome dagger like teeth.

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  About 65 mya, the dinosaurs suddenly disappeared from the earth. We do not know the
true reason.
 Some say climatic changes killed them. Some say most of them evolved into birds. The truth
may live in between. Small sized reptiles of that era still exist today.
 The first mammals were like shrews. Their fossils are small sized.
 Mammals were viviparous and protected their unborn young inside the mother’s body.
 Mammals were more intelligent in sensing and avoiding danger at least.
 When reptiles came down mammals took over this earth.
 There were in South America mammals resembling horse, hippopotamus, bear, rabbit, etc.
 Due to continental drift, when
South America joined North
America, these animals were
overridden by North American
fauna.
 Due to the same continental drift
(ALFRED WEGENER, 1930) pouched
mammals of Australia survived
because of lack of competition from
any other mammal.
 Lest we forget, some mammals live
wholly in water. Whales, dolphins, seals and sea cows are some examples.
 Evolution of horse, elephant, dog, etc., are special stories of evolution.
 The most successful story is the evolution of man with language skills and self-
consciousness.
 A rough sketch of the evolution of life forms, their times on a geological scale are indicated
in (Figure 7.9 and 7.10).

7.9 ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF MAN

 About 15 mya, primates called Dryopithecus and Ramapithecus were existing. They were
hairy and walked like gorillas and chimpanzees.
 Ramapithecus was more man-like while Dryopithecus was more ape-like.
 Few fossils of man-like bones have been discovered in Ethiopia and Tanzania (Figure 7.11).
 These revealed hominid features leading to the belief that about 3-4 mya, man-like
primates walked in eastern Africa.
 They were probably not taller than 4 feet but walked up right.
 Two mya, Australopithecines probably lived in East African grasslands.
 Evidence shows they hunted with stone weapons but essentially ate fruit.
 Some of the bones among the bones discovered were different.
 This creature was called the first human-like being the hominid and was called Homo
habilis.
 The brain capacities were between 650-800cc.
 They probably did not eat meat. Fossils discovered in Java in 1891 revealed the next stage,
i.e., Homo erectus about 1.5 mya.
 Homo erectus had a large brain around 900cc.
 Homo erectus probably ate meat.

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  The Neanderthal man with a brain size of 1400cc lived in near east and central Asia
between 1,00,000-40,000 years back.
 They used hides to protect their body and buried their dead.
 Homo sapiens arose in Africa and moved across continents and developed into distinct
races.
 During ice age between 75,000-10,000 years ago modern Homo sapiens arose.
 Pre-historic cave art developed about 18,000 years ago.
 One such cave paintings by Pre-historic humans can be seen at Bhimbetka rock shelter in
Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh.
 Agriculture came around 10,000 years back and human settlements started.
 The rest of what happened is part of human history of growth and decline of civilisations.

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