Evolutionary Theory
An Evolutionary Theory is a system theory that involves processes of system mutation, system inheritance and system selection.
- AKA: Evolution.
- Context:
- It is supported by a large amount of evidence from various research fields: paleontology, genetics, comparative anatomy, biogeography, etc.
- …
- Example(s):
- Counter-Example(s):
- an Economic Theory.
- a Moral Theory.
- See: Game Theory, Punctuated Equilibrium.
References
2023a
- (ChatGPT-OpenAI, 2023) ⇒ https://chat.openai.com/ Retrieved-28-4-2023.
- Q: What is Evolutionary Theory?
- A: Evolutionary theory is a scientific explanation for how biological species change over time, based on the idea of natural selection. It is a fundamental concept in the field of biology and refers to the process by which species develop and adapt to changes in their environment over generations.
According to this theory, genetic variation exists within populations of organisms, and some individuals possess traits that provide them with an advantage in survival and reproduction. As a result, these individuals are more likely to pass their advantageous traits on to their offspring, leading to the gradual evolution of a population towards greater fitness and adaptation to its environment.
The theory of evolution is supported by a vast body of evidence from various fields, including paleontology, genetics, comparative anatomy, and biogeography. It has helped to shape our understanding of the history of life on Earth and continues to inform research in many areas of biology, including medicine and ecology.
2023b
- (Wikipedia, 2023) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution Retrieved:2023-4-28.
- In biology, evolution is the change in heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation tends to exist within any given population as a result of genetic mutation and recombination.[1] Evolution occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection (including sexual selection) and genetic drift act on this variation, resulting in certain characteristics becoming more common or more rare within a population.[2] The evolutionary pressures that determine whether a characteristic is common or rare within a population constantly change, resulting in a change in heritable characteristics arising over successive generations. It is this process of evolution that has given rise to biodiversity at every level of biological organisation. [3]
The theory of evolution by natural selection was conceived independently by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in the mid-19th century and was set out in detail in Darwin's book On the Origin of Species. Evolution by natural selection is established by observable facts about living organisms: (1) more offspring are often produced than can possibly survive; (2) traits vary among individuals with respect to their morphology, physiology, and behaviour (phenotypic variation); (3) different traits confer different rates of survival and reproduction (differential fitness); and (4) traits can be passed from generation to generation (heritability of fitness).[4] In successive generations, members of a population are therefore more likely to be replaced by the offspring of parents with favourable characteristics. In the early 20th century, other competing ideas of evolution such as mutationism and orthogenesis were refuted as the modern synthesis concluded Darwinian evolution acts on Mendelian genetic variation.[1]
All life on Earth—including humanity—shares a last universal common ancestor (LUCA),[5] [6] which lived approximately 3.5–3.8 billion years ago. The fossil record includes a progression from early biogenic graphite to microbial mat fossils to fossilised multicellular organisms. Existing patterns of biodiversity have been shaped by repeated formations of new species (speciation), changes within species (anagenesis), and loss of species (extinction) throughout the evolutionary history of life on Earth.Morphological and biochemical traits are more similar among species that share a more recent common ancestor, and these traits can be used to reconstruct phylogenetic trees.Evolutionary biologists have continued to study various aspects of evolution by forming and testing hypotheses as well as constructing theories based on evidence from the field or laboratory and on data generated by the methods of mathematical and theoretical biology. Their discoveries have influenced not just the development of biology but numerous other scientific and industrial fields, including agriculture, medicine, and computer science.
- In biology, evolution is the change in heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation tends to exist within any given population as a result of genetic mutation and recombination.[1] Evolution occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection (including sexual selection) and genetic drift act on this variation, resulting in certain characteristics becoming more common or more rare within a population.[2] The evolutionary pressures that determine whether a characteristic is common or rare within a population constantly change, resulting in a change in heritable characteristics arising over successive generations. It is this process of evolution that has given rise to biodiversity at every level of biological organisation. [3]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Futuyma, Douglas J.; Kirkpatrick, Mark (2017). Evolution (Fourth ed.). Sunderland, Massachusetts: Sinauer Associates. ISBN 978-1-60535-605-1. LCCN 2017000562. OCLC 969439375.
- ↑ Scott-Phillips, Thomas C.; Laland, Kevin N.; Shuker, David M.; et al. (May 2014). "The Niche Construction Perspective: A Critical Appraisal". Evolution. 68 (5): 1231–1243. doi:10.1111/evo.12332. ISSN 0014-3820. PMC 4261998. PMID 24325256. Evolutionary processes are generally thought of as processes by which these changes occur. Four such processes are widely recognized: natural selection (in the broad sense, to include sexual selection), genetic drift, mutation, and migration (Fisher 1930; Haldane 1932). The latter two generate variation; the first two sort it."
- ↑ Voet, Donald; Voet, Judith G.; Pratt, Charlotte W. (2016). Fundamentals of Biochemistry: Life at the Molecular Level (Fifth ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-91840-1. LCCN 2016002847. OCLC 939245154.
- ↑ Lewontin, Richard C. (November 1970). "The Units of Selection"(PDF). Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics. 1: 1–18. doi:10.1146/annurev.es.01.110170.000245. JSTOR 2096764. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 February 2015.
- ↑ Kampourakis, Kostas (2014). Understanding Evolution. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-03491-4. LCCN 2013034917. OCLC 855585457.
- ↑ Doolittle, W. Ford (February 2000). "Uprooting the Tree of Life" (PDF). Scientific American. 282 (2): 90–95. Bibcode:2000SciAm.282b..90D. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0200-90. ISSN 0036-8733. PMID 10710791. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 September 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2015.