Biological Evolutionary Theory
A Biological Evolutionary Theory is an evolutionary theory that applies to biological systems, explaining the processes that drive the diversity and adaptation of life on Earth.
- Context:
- It can (typically) involve the mechanisms of natural selection, genetic drift, mutation, and gene flow.
- It can (typically) incorporate modern techniques such as phylogenetic analysis and genomic sequencing to understand evolutionary history.
- It can (typically) be supported by evidence from fossil records, comparative anatomy, genetics, and molecular biology.
- It can (often) explain the patterns of biodiversity and the evolutionary relationships between species.
- It can (often) involve the study of speciation and extinction events.
- …
- Example(s):
- a Theory of Natural Selection that explains how traits that enhance survival and reproduction become more common in a population.
- a Modern Synthesis Theory that integrates Darwinian evolution with Mendelian genetics, explaining how evolution occurs at the genetic level.
- a Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution that posits that most evolutionary changes at the molecular level are caused by random drift of selectively neutral mutations.
- …
- Counter-Example(s):
- a Meme Evolution Theory, which applies evolutionary principles to cultural ideas rather than biological traits.
- an Evolutionary Economics Theory, which uses evolutionary concepts to explain economic systems rather than biological ones.
- See: Self-Replicating System, Charles Darwin, Genetic Drift, Speciation, Phylogenetics.
References
2013
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution
- Evolution is the change in the inherited characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.[1]
All life on Earth is descended from a last universal ancestor that lived approximately 3.8 billion years ago. Repeated speciation and the divergence of life can be inferred from shared sets of biochemical and morphological traits, or by shared DNA sequences.[2] These homologous traits and sequences are more similar among species that share a more recent common ancestor, and can be used to reconstruct evolutionary histories, using both existing species and the fossil record. Existing patterns of biodiversity have been shaped both by speciation and by extinction.[3]
Charles Darwin was the first to formulate a scientific argument for the theory of evolution by means of natural selection. Evolution by natural selection is a process that is inferred from three facts about populations: 1) more offspring are produced than can possibly survive, 2) traits vary among individuals, leading to different rates of survival and reproduction, and 3) trait differences are heritable.[4] Thus, when members of a population die they are replaced by the progeny of parents that were better adapted to survive and reproduce in the environment in which natural selection took place. This process creates and preserves traits that are seemingly fitted for the functional roles they perform.[5] Natural selection is the only known cause of adaptation, but not the only known cause of evolution. Other, nonadaptive causes of evolution include mutation and genetic drift.[6]
In the early 20th century, genetics was integrated with Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection through the discipline of population genetics. The importance of natural selection as a cause of evolution was accepted into other branches of biology. Moreover, previously held notions about evolution, such as orthogenesis and "progress" became obsolete.[7] Scientists continue to study various aspects of evolution by forming and testing hypotheses, constructing scientific theories, using observational data, and performing experiments in both the field and the laboratory. Biologists agree that descent with modification is one of the most reliably established facts in science.[8] Discoveries in evolutionary biology have made a significant impact not just within the traditional branches of biology, but also in other academic disciplines (e.g., anthropology and psychology) and on society at large.[9][10]
- Evolution is the change in the inherited characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.[1]
- ↑ Hall, B. K.; Hallgrímsson, B., eds. (2008). Strickberger's Evolution (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett. pp. 762. ISBN 0-7637-0066-5. http://www.jblearning.com/catalog/9780763700669/.
- ↑ Panno, Joseph (2005). The Cell: Evolution of the First Organism. Facts on File INC. ISBN 0-8160-4946-7.
- ↑ Cracraft, J.; Donoghue, M. J., eds. (2005). Assembling the tree of life. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-517234-5. http://books.google.ca/books?id=6lXTP0YU6_kC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Assembling+the+tree+of+life#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ↑ Lewontin, R. C. (1970). "The units of selection". Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 1: 1–18. doi:10.1146/annurev.es.01.110170.000245. JSTOR 2096764.
- ↑ Darwin, Charles (1859). "XIV". On The Origin of Species. p. 503. ISBN 0-8014-1319-2. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/On_the_Origin_of_Species_(1859)/Chapter_XIV.
- ↑ Kimura M (1991). "The neutral theory of molecular evolution: a review of recent evidence". Jpn. J. Genet. 66 (4): 367–86. doi:10.1266/jjg.66.367. PMID 1954033. http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jjg/66/4/66_367/_article.
- ↑ Provine, W. B. (1988). "Progress in evolution and meaning in life". Evolutionary progress. University of Chicago Press. pp. 49–79.
- ↑ National Academy of Science Institute of Medicine (2008). Science, Evolution, and Creationism. National Academy Press. ISBN 0-309-10586-2. http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11876.
- ↑ Moore, R.; Decker, M.; Cotner, S. (2009). Chronology of the Evolution-Creationism Controversy. Greenwood. p. 454. ISBN 0-313-36287-4. http://books.google.ca/books?id=4KwJRNgscdEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Chronology+of+the+Evolution-Creationism+Controversy#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ↑ Futuyma, Douglas J., ed. (1999). "Evolution, Science, and Society: Evolutionary Biology and the National Research Agenda". Office of University Publications, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~ecolevol/fulldoc.pdf. [dead link]
1986
- (Dawkins, 1986) ⇒ Richard Dawkins. (1986). “The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design." W. W. Norton & Company, 1996 ISBN:0393315703.
1982
- (Dawkins, 1982) ⇒ Richard Dawkins. (1982). “The Extended Phenotype: The long reach of the gene.." Oxford University Press. ISBN:0192880519.
1976
- (Dawkins, 1976) ⇒ Richard Dawkins. (1976). “The Selfish Gene." Oxford University Press. ISBN:0199291152.
1859
- (Darwin, 1859) ⇒ Charles Darwin. (1859). “On the Origin of Species, by Means of Natural Selection; Or, The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life." John Murray.