BIOL 153 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Main Source, Philopatry, Survivorship Curve

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lemonlouse810

6 Jun 2020

School

Chico State University

Department

Biological Sciences

Course

BIOL 153

Professor

rachell schleiger

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Document Summary

What are other important mortality risks (e. g. , accident, disease, etc: write 2-3 paragraphs about the natural history of each species that you selected. Include peer-reviewed scholarly citations to support your summary. Baboons are primates that mainly live in africa and the arab peninsula. Baboons have large teeth and thick fur coats and hairless bottoms. These primates mainly live in the savannas and woodlands. As omnivores, baboons primarily eat fruit, grass, seeds, bark, roots, birds and rodents (national geographic). Baboons also have a strong sexual dimorphism of having large white manes, and being large in size. They live in populations that range from about 300 baboons. In these populations baboons live within a strict hierarchical system. The system relatively goes; alpha male, dispersing male, mom and children, juveniles, and teens. The male baboons are allowed to mate with any female when it comes to mating. The main source of mortality right now for baboons is habitat loss (national geographic).

Related Questions

As temperatures in an African savanna increase and rainfall decreases, it would most likely change into

tiaga

desert

tropical rainforest

temperate forest

What is imprinting? Give an example.

fixed assocation, such as hatching ducks recognizing the first animal they see as their mother

a learned behavior, such as a wasp circling during a search for food, so that it can return to its nest

alteration of instinct, such as a spider changing the type of web it weaves depending upon the environment

Opportunistic species

provide extensive care for their offspring

produce many offspring

reproduce later in life

What are the five agents of microevolution?

gamete production; mating; fertilization; caring for offspring; formation of herds

photosynthesis; respiration; mitosis; meiosis; fertilization

mutation; gene flow; nonrandom mating; genetic drift; natural selection

Microevolution is

new species

minor extinction of species

changes in allele frequency in a population

Which of the following is does not help defend against predators?

Toxins made by plants that injure caterpillars feeding on the plant

The large eyespots on a moth's wing that can startle a hungry bird

Thorns on a plant

Many plants have brightly colored fruit and flowers

Humans have a favored birth weight, neither too small nor too large. This is

stabilizing selection

disruptive selection

artificial selection

directional selection

What is a keystone species?

the first organism that populates an area

an organism upon which the entire ecosystem depends

the first fossils found in the earliest rock strata

As temperatures in the Arctic warm, which of the following changes may occur?

Tundra will be replaced by taiga

Taiga will be replaced by tundra

Temperate forest will be replaced by taiga

Tundra will be replaced by desert

Taiga will be replaced by temperate rain forest

What is desertification?

restoration of vegetation and water to deserts

areas adjacent to deserts also become deserts

abandonment of a habitat by animals

Evolution occurs at the level of

individuals

populations

communities

The maximum population that the environment can support is called the

biotic potential

environmental resistance

carrying capacity

replacement reproduction

demographic transition

A population with relatively more pre-reproductive individuals is common in _____-developed countries

less

Endangered species sometimes breed in captivity. Why are such species endangered in the wild?

Their population density is too high

Loss of habitat

Their environment is polluted

Abiotic components of an ecosystem include

only animal life

only plant life

living components only

nonliving components only

both living and nonliving components

Carbon returns to the atmosphere

as carbon dioxide

from respiration of plants

by the burning of fossil fuels

from respiration of animals

All of the answer choices are correct

Why does the Tropical Rain Forest contain an abundance of antibiotic compounds?

The area is crowded, leading to random production of useful compounds

The area is wet. plants had to develop resistance to fungi and bacterial infections

There is a great diversity of plants, leading to random production of useful compounds

The carrying capacity of the environment for a species is determined by

the reproductive rate of the organism

the number of organisms of that species

the state and national wildlife laws pertaining to that species

a complex

the limited productivity of the environment and the environmental resistance to the biotic potential of the organism

An introduced species that breeds and spreads is

resourceful

harmful

native

dominant

invasive

What is disruptive selection?

environmental influences that select against change

environmental influences that promote one phenotype versus all others

environmental influences that promote two or more phenotypes versus all others

Natural selection acts on

individuals

populations

communities

Two populations of birds live in the same area but have different sleep/wake cycles. This is

behavorial isolation

mechanical isolation

geographical isolation

temporal isolation

An insect that resembles the face of a snake avoids predation by

camouflage

warning coloration

mimicry

chemical defense

mutualism

Unselfish acts that help others in a group so that they increase their chances of surviving and reproducing is called

imprinting

mimicry

altruism

learning

instinct

If an environment changes rapidly, organisms with ____ will be more likely to survive and reproduce.

the correct allele frequency

existing neutral mutations

existing beneficial mutations

How did geology influence Darwinâs thoughts?

It demonstrated that the earth was very old, therefore there was enough time for species to evolve

it demonstrated that all continents were similar

it demonstrated the presence of many fossils

The founder effect occurs when

large groups of individuals leave their home population and establish new settlements, mating only among themselves

many members of a population die, resulting in a great loss of genetic diversity

many members of a population reproduce causing too much genetic diversity within the population

small groups of individuals leave their home population and establish new settlements, mating only among themselves.

The greenhouse effect is due to high atmospheric

Nitrogen

Ammonia

Carbon monoxide

Carbon dioxide

Oxygen

What are the Reproductive Barriers that keep species separate?

lack of food; lack of habitat; lack of potential mates; lack of nesting sites; lack of genetic variation

mountains; canyons; glaciers; bodies of water (for terrestrial animals); areas of land (for aquatic animals)

habitat isolation; temporal isolation; behavioral isolation; mechanical isolation; gamete isolation

What is directional selection?

environmental influences that select against change

environmental influences that promote one phenotype versus all others

environmental influences that promote two or more phenotypes versus all others

Which of the following is correct when describing a predator-prey cycle?

A decline in the numbers of predators causes a decline in the number of prey

A decline in the numbers of prey causes a decline in the number of predators

An increase in the number of predators triggers an increase in the number of prey

An up-and-down cycle will be seen for the prey animal

A seasonal die-off that will occur without the other species present

Why are top-level predators (lions, eagles, humans) so rare in a community?

Only a small amount of the energy is passed from one trophic level to the next

They do not breed as fast as other animals

Because of predation by higher predators

It is difficult for them to learn how to capture prey

Their job is to keep the population size of other animals in check

Alleles conferring bright color to male guppies are common because

they make males less visible to predators

they help males identify each other

they are preferred by females

Organisms that obtain their energy from producers or other consumers are

autotroph

heterotroph

producer

autotroph and producer

heterotroph and producer

What is the environmental impact of strip mining?

lack of trees exposes the surface of the earth, promoting runoff and loss of adjacent trees

removal of minerals from the soil hampers growth of vegetation

it causes a potential increase in volcanic activity

Two populations of squirrels are separated by a mountain range and would not be capable of interbreeding. This is an example of:

behavorial isolation

mechanical isolation

geographical isolation

temporal isolation

What is a danger of overfishing?

humans will become dependent upon fish

selection for smarter fish that can avoid being caught

driving the population back into the lag phase

What is meant by prezygotic versus postzygotic speciation mechanisms?

before versus after formation of a zygote

before versus after meiosis

before versus after gamete formation

The relatively short term changes in allele frequencies within a species or population is

artificial selection

microevolution.

speciation

macroevolution

Avoidance of a location with predators is the result of

imprinting

mimicry

altruism

learning

instinct

What is the difference between Density-Dependent and Density-Independent Factors on populations?

density-dependent factors exert a greater influence when there are more individuals; density-independent exerts the same influence on all individuals regardless of their number

density-dependent factors exert a greater influence on larger, more dense individuals; density-independent factors exert the same impact on individuals of all size

density-dependent factors exert the same influence on all individuals regardless of their number; density-independent factors exert a greater influence when there are more individuals regardless of their number

All of the organisms in a given location or area is termed a

peer group

flock

community

population

herd

The concentration of the pesticide DDT would be highest in

a minnow

a mosquito larva

a seagull

plankton

algae

Our biosphere is

the Earth

the atmosphere

the ocean

land on Earth

fresh and salt water

What is meant by âcarrying capacityâ?

the amount of food produced in an ecosystem

the extent of energy required to maintain an ecosystem

the number of individuals that can be supported by an ecosystem

Species living on another is

resource partitioning

coevolution

symbiosis

predation

niche sharing

One species feeding on another is

competition

a community

an ecosystem

predation

symbiosis

Populations of different species interacting with one another in a natural environment is called

competition

a community

a biome

predation

symbiosis

Which of the following is not a biogeochemical cycle?

ATP cycle

water cycle

carbon cycle

phosphorus cycle

nitrogen cycle

Horses became larger and faster to escape predators. This is

stabilizing selection

disruptive selection

artificial selection

directional selection

Read the information on exotix and invasive species and answer this question;

writing assignment : Maximum 1 page answer is needed for the below question

Question:Should the government work to prevent the introduction of exotix species to Canada??

From Freeman et al. 2019. Biological Sciences.

Global trade and global travel have vastly increased the rate of exchange of plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms around the world. A nonnative species that is introduced into a new area is called an exotic species. Exotic species do not necessarily pose problems, and they can even be beneficial in some circumstances. But some exotic species pose a direct threat to native species by eating them, competing with them, causing disease, or other types of interactions. For example, a lethal fungus is spreading from Asia in the exotic salamander pet trade, endangering native salamanders worldwide. Exotic species can also pose indirect threats by changing the local biotic or abiotic resources.

If an exotic species is introduced to a new area, grows to large population size, and disrupts species native to the area, it is called an invasive species. For example, Burmese pythons were set free by pet owners into the Florida Everglades and are now dramatically affecting native wildlife there. Argentine ants have dispersed around the world in food shipments and are forming supercolonies that outcompete native ants. The round goby, a small benthic fish from Eastern Europe first detected in Ontario rivers in 1990, has since spread to all five Great Lakes. The round goby competes for food and spawning habitat with native fishes and is thought to be responsible for the local extinction of native sculpin species from areas of Lake Michigan.

The impact of invasive species can also be beneficial. McMaster University biologist James Quinn and his colleagues investigated the diet of double-crested cormorant chicks in Lake Ontario to determine whether the parent birds were taking advantage of the newly abundant round goby to feed their young. They found that the round goby was the second most frequent fish species eaten by cormorant chicks, suggesting that piscivorous birds are changing their diet to feed on this invasive fish.

Genetic analysis carried out by Tony Einfeldt, a researcher at the University of New Brunswick, suggests that Hediste diversicolor, an abundant polychaete worm in the Bay of Fundy, is an invasive species that originated in France. H. diversicolor is an important prey item for birds and fish in the mud flats in the Bay of Fundy. The polychaete is a poor swimmer with low dispersal ability and could not have made its own way to Canadian waters. The polychaetes live in mud, so they would not end up in ballast water taken in by ships to balance the mass of their cargo. Einfeldt suggests that these species were likely carried to Canada in the early 1600s by ships used by early European explorers such as Samuel de Champlain and Henry Hudson. Prior to 1880, ships lacked ballast tanks, and sailors loaded ships with intertidal material, including rocks, sticks, and mud, as âdry ballastâ. Hediste diversicolor likely arrived in the Bay of Fundy in this intertidal mud. The worms form burrows and bring water currents through their burrows as they feed. As a result, H. diversicolor acts as an ecosystem engineer, altering nutrient flow and restructuring the muddy intertidal where it lives. The invasive polychaete is also a major food source for millions of birds and fish in the Bay of Fundy and plays a key role in the ecology of the area. âThe reason that many of these birds and fish come to our mud flats is to feed on these prey. There are so many of them,â says Einfeldt. âThe idea that so much of what our ecosystem runs on came from our history â it's very exciting.â

Modified from Breining. 2009. A New View on Exotic Species. Yale Environment 360

When biologist Mark Davis talks about invasive species, he eventually comes to LTL, his shorthand for Learn to Love them. Invasive species are here to stay, says Davis, so get used to them, and forget about ripping out the fast-spreading plant purple loosestrife on a large scale or throwing Asian carp on the bank to die. If newcomers are only changing the ecosystem but ânot causing significant harm,â then âaltering oneâs perspective is certainly much less costly than any other sort of management program.â

Davis claims that assuming that invasive species are inherently bad, that ecosystem integrity can be measured by the number of alien species, or even that newly arrived species are functionally different from longtime residents, simply isnât supported by science. Many introduced species have proven valuable and useful, including crops (from apples to wheat), horticultural plants (hostas and Norway maples), and game species (ring-necked pheasants and brown trout). He holds firm to that position, while conceding that some newcomers can be terribly destructive.

âSome invasive species are causing problems,â admits Davis, who says he supports control programs where damage is great and controls stand a chance of success. One highly destructive invasive species causing great economic harm, for which Davis supports eradication programs, is the emerald ash borer, a beetleârecently introduced into eastern Canada from Asiaâthat typically kills 99% of ash trees in affected areas.

Today, biologists continue to wage a war on alien species that have taken root by accident or design. Zebra mussels, Dutch elm disease, purple loosestrife, Eurasian water milfoil, American bullfrogs, gypsy mothsâCanada is beset by exotic species invading native forests, spreading across prairies, and clogging streams and lakes. Davis takes issue with some conventional views of exotic species.

Because native species evolved in a specific ecosystem and exotics didnât, natives are better suited to their environment. In fact, says Davis, a scientist who didnât know the history of individual organisms would have difficulty in distinguishing natives from non-natives. The Galapagos Islandsâa world heritage site of biodiversityâprovide just such an example. For years, conservationists fretted over invasive weeds overrunning the islands. Because the weeds were out of control, conservationists assumed they were non-natives, recently introduced by humans. Research showed, however, that the plants were native and had been present since prehistoric times.

Diverse communities of native species resist invasions by alien species. While carefully controlled experiments on small plots have confirmed this idea, studies in natural forests and grasslands show the opposite, says Davis. Natural disturbances, such as disease or fire, and fluctuations in resources in diverse communities offer plenty of footholds for invaders.

Pristine ecosystems are highly evolved and well-ordered. Again, ecologists have little evidence for this, Davis says. Ragtag assemblages of exotics and natives quickly adapt and perform about as well. âIf you view [nature] as a continually changing tumult, the introduction of new species isnât necessarily looked at as a huge threat.â He cites the example of regeneration of forests in Puerto Rico, where non-native species are facilitating the re-establishment of native species.

The spread of invasive species threatens to drive natives extinct. Rarely happens, Davis says, except on islands, in lakes, or in other insular environments. Usually itâs the oppositeâthe appearance of exotics increases species richness, he maintains. Throughout Canada, local ecosystems have roughly 20 percent more plant species than they once did because of the addition for foreign species.

Exotics signify a âdegradedâ ecosystem. âThere isnât such a thing as a healthy ecosystem or a sick ecosystem,â Davis says. âEcosystems have no goal or purpose. Theyâre just the species and the physical and chemical processes taking place.â

In some cases, invasions of invasive species do threaten native species with extinction. Chestnut blight, caused by an introduced fungus, swept across southern Ontario in the 1950s and virtually exterminated the native chestnut tree. Ecologist Dan Simberloff says, âWe know it caused total global extinction of at least seven species of moths that were host-specific only on North American chestnuts.â

Even if exotics donât drive native species to extinction, they can completely transform ecosystems. âThere are some biotic communities that have entirely disappeared because of invasive species,â says Simberloff. âThere are others that have drastically changed over large areas.â For example, Eurasian cheat grass now dominates millions of hectares of Western range, displacing native bunch grasses and reducing the value of the range for livestock.

James Carlton, Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation, contends that biologists can distinguish natives from exotics. âWe can easily distinguish natives from many (not all!) non-natives many times in many ways, based very much on how they function in an ecosystem. Native species are often finely tuned physiologically to the environment, whereas nonnative species may possess a repertoire of adaptations that clearly do not match the environment.â

Conservation biologist Dov Sax became positive about the impact of invasive species as an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley. A professor leading a field trip described the Bay Areaâs abandoned plantations of Australian eucalyptus trees as a âbiological desert.â Says Sax, âThere was all kinds of stuff growing in there. I found there were really a similar number of species in both [native oak and eucalyptus] woodland types. Exotics werenât always doing the awful things people thought they were doing.â Land managers canât begin to control the thousands of exotics that reach native ecosystems through globalized trade and travel. âConservation biology in the past has been built around the idea of preventing change,â says Sax, âbut itâs impossible to do.â

In a matter of decades, researchers believe, animals and plants are adapting to life in a warmer world. Some species will be unable to change quickly enough and will go extinct, but others will evolve, as natural selection enables them to carry on in an altered environment. With global warming pushing some animals and plants to the brink of extinction, conservation biologists are now saying that the only way to save some species may be to move them. The future landscape will be home to ânovel ecosystems,â never-before-seen agglomerations of species, of which exotics will be a key â and often valued component, Sax and others say. âIf we lump them into this category of all being evil or awful in some way,â he says, âwe may blind ourselves to those situations where theyâre actually providing a benefit either for humans or for biological conservation.â For example, a recent study of two nonnative wetland plants, suggests they provide waterfowl habitat, biomass production, and nitrogen retention that equals that of native species. Davis feels we should focus instead on disease organisms, agricultural pests, and other threats and says, âItâs important to distinguish harm from change.â

1.. Polymorphisms for a given trait are relatively common in most species. Discuss the possible advantages or polymorphisms in terms of evolutionary fitness. Be sure to relate your discussion to a specific example. It is also possible that organisms showing more heterozygosity may actually be less fit. Describe one such possible scenario.

2. In the peppered moth (Biston betularia), black individuals may be either homozygous (A1A1) or heterozygous(A1A2), whereas the pale gray moths are homozygous (A2A2). Suppose that in a sample of 250 moths from one locality, 108 are black, and 142 are gray.

3. Retrace the history of primate evolution from early primates to monkeys, apes and hominins. When did some ofthe significant divergences occur (such as between the prosimians and the monkeys or between the chimps and hominins)? What was happening with the continents and the major climatic conditions during these times?What are the major species (including the extinct species) along the human lineage after the split with the chimps and bonobos? Where did many of these events occur on the globe and when?

4. Spencer Wells described his study how the genetic markers in humans are being used to infer the historical geographical distribution of humans and the dispersal of our ancestors. Explain how the genetic markers on our DNA (from blood samples) helps us understand that history. What are the techniques he is using? What is the nature of the evidence? What are the major conclusions about the journey of our ancestors out of Africa?What were the major migrations of humans to all the other continents? Approximately when did each migration occur and what were the major paths? How does the evidence support these conclusions? What Supporting evidence besides the DNA evidence is being used to support these conclusions?

5. Provide an adaptive and a non adaptive hypothesis for the evolutionary loss of useless organs, such as eyes in many cave-dwelling animals. How might these hypotheses be tested?

6. Directional selection is one of the models of natural selection. Describe this type of selection in terms of the frequencies of advantageous alleles over time. What is the trend over time? What is the eventual outcome for this allele as long as no other evolutionary factors intervene? Describe at least one good example of directional selection.

7. Consider the first copy of an allele for insecticide resistance that arises by mutation in a population of insects exposed to an insecticide. Is this mutation an adaptation? If, after some generations, we find that most of the population is resistant, is the resistance an adaptation? If we discover genetic variation for insecticide resistance in a population that has had no experience of insecticides, is that variation an adaptation? If an insect population is polymorphic for two alleles, each of which confers resistance against one of two pesticides that are alternately applied, is that variation an adaptation? Or is each of the two resistance traits an adaptation?Explain your reasoning thoroughly.

8. Suppose that a mutation in a species of annual plant increases allocation to chemical defenses against herbivores, but decreases production of flowers and seeds (i.e., there is an allocation trade-off). What would you have to measure in a field study in order to predict whether or not the frequency of the mutation will increase?

9. In many socially monogamous species of parrots and other birds, both sexes are brilliantly colored or highly ornamented. Is sexual selection likely to be responsible for the coloration and ornaments of both sexes? How can there be sexual selection in pair-bonding species with a 1:1 sex ratio, since every individual presumably obtains a mate? Which of the models of sexual selection described in the book might account for these species characteristics?

10. Kin selection explains why organisms may provide benefits to relatives. Is there a conflict between the principle of kin selection and the evolution of siblicide and abortion?

11.Many species of albatrosses and other seabirds nest in colonies on islands. The adult search for food at sea,sometimes over great distances. Some ecologists who study seabirds turn to their favorite topic of discussion in a bar one evening, and one says, âI can imagine an albatross genotype that destroys the eggs of nestlings of its colony mates when the parents are away foraging, and leaves them dead without eating them. Do you think such a behavior would evolve?â One of his companions says, âYes, because it would make more food available for the albatross and its offspring.â Another says, âNo, because it would threaten the survival of the population.â The fourth says, âYouâre both wrong. I have a different explanation for why albatrosses donât kill othersâ chicks.â What is the fourth ecologistâs explanation, and why does she think her companions are wrong?

12. The concept of a species is fundamental to understanding biology, yet there may not be one definition that fits all âtypesâ of organisms (e.g. animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, slime mold, lichens, etc.). Discuss several of the definitions of a species as presented in class and present your own definition for a species. Compare the strengths and weaknesses of each definition. Ernst Mayr is strong proponent of the biological species concept.How does he justify his position? Do you agree or disagree? If we employ the biological species concept, when did species first exist? What were organisms before then, if not species? What might the consequences of the emergence of species be for processes of adaptation and diversification? Be sure to explain your reasoning thoroughly.

13. The process of speciation ultimately involves the development of reproductive isolation between two related populations of organisms. Describe the various types of both prezygotic and postzygotic reproductive isolation and give an example of each.

14. Respond to the following quote from the character named Mr. Spock in âStar Trekâ:âA truly successful parasite is commensal, living in amity with its host, or even giving it positive advantages, as for instance, the protozoans who live in the digestive system of your termites and digest for them the wood they eat. A parasite that regularly and inevitably kills its host cannot survive long, in the evolutionary sense, unless it multiplies with tremendous rapidity ... it is not pro-survival.âFrom what you have learned in this course, do you agree or disagree with Spock? How can you apply your reasoning to the relative âfitnessâ of HIV which causes AIDS, the Ebola virus which causes hemorrhagic fever,fleas which suck blood from dogs, or the prokaryotic ancestors of mitochondria and chloroplasts?

15. In many species of birds and mammals, clutch size is larger in populations at high latitudes than in population sat low latitudes. Species of lizards and snakes at high latitudes often have smaller clutches, however, and are more frequently viviparous (bear live young rather than laying eggs), than low-latitude species. What selective factors might be responsible for these patterns? Explain your reasoning.

16. The popular media often presents evolution as being a predictable process with a definite goal. For instance, in one âStar Trek: Voyagerâ episode, the captain instructs the shipâs computer to extrapolate the âprobable courseâ of evolution of hadrosaurs (a bipedal dinosaur), if hadrosaurs had been removed from Earth before the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) Extinction and allowed to evolve on another planet. What information about the hadrosaursâ new environment would have been useful in developing the best possible prediction? Given what you know on genetic drift and selective agents, is it possible to accurately predict the long-term course of evolution?

17. Young children often develop strong food preferences that sometimes seem bizarre to their parents --- such as wanting to eat only a certain food prepared in a familiar way, or being reluctant to each new foods or foods with strong or bitter tastes (like coffee and some vegetables). Develop an evolutionary explanation for such preferences. What evidence would you gather to investigate your hypothesis and rule out alternative explanations?

18. Many organisms, such as mammals, only reproduce by sexual means. Other organisms are exclusively asexual,such as many of the bacteria and fungi. And still others have ways of propagating by both sexual and asexualmeans. Discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages of each mode of reproduction. Why arenât all organisms sexual critters? Why are many asexual organisms still very successful as evidenced by the pure abundance and diversity? What is the adaptive significance of having different genders (e.g. male and female)?In other words, why sex?

19. How might differential expression and regulation by Hox genes contribute to mosaic evolution in which different segments of an animal body plan evolve different morphology?

20. Development of a morphological structure involves many different types of gene products, including transcription factors, signaling proteins, and âeffectorâ genes such as enzymes. When a morphological change occurs in a single mutational step, which of these types might be more or less likely to be involved? Within a gene, would such single-step events be more likely to involve coding or non-coding sequences, and what characteristics of the geneâs function might affect this likelihood?

21. Since 2001, the complete DNA sequences of the genomes of many people have been determined. If humans,along with other forms of life, have evolved from a common ancestor, what evidence of this would be expected in the human genome? In what ways might the history and processes of evolution help us interpret and make sense of the human genome sequence data?

22. Paleontologists and some biologists commonly infer function, and even behavior, from anatomical details.Skeletal features, for example, are often used to infer that an extinct mammal (such as an early hominid) was highly, somewhat, or not at all arboreal. This inference assumes a good fit of form to function (i.e., optimal form). Can this assumption be justified?

23. Stephen Jay Gould (1989) and others have argued that the evolution of self-conscious, intelligent species (i.e.humans) was historically contingent: it would not have occurred had any of a great many historical events been different. The philosopher Daniel Dennett (1995) and others have disagreed, arguing that convergent evolution is so common that if humans had not evolved, some other lineage would probably have given rise to a species with similar mental abilities. What do you think, and why? If Gouldâs position is right, what are its philosophical implications, if any?

24. Explain how Intelligent Design was determined as a religious view rather than a scientific view in the court casein Dover, PA. Should a scientific explanation of evolution be included in a science curriculum in K-12 schools?How is science and religion different in how they seek answers to questions? How is term "theory" used differently in science than in everyday English use? What is biological evolution? What evidence is used to support the scientific explanation of evolution? Is it possible to accept scientific explanations without rejecting religious faith?

25. Discuss how a creationist versus an evolutionary biologist might explain some human characteristics and the implications of their differences. Sample characteristics: eyes; wisdom teeth; individually unique friction ridges(fingerprints); five digits rather than some other number; susceptibility to infections; fever when infected;variation in sexual orientation; limited life span.

BIOL 153 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Main Source, Philopatry, Survivorship Curve

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