BIOL 1500 Lecture Notes - Biogeography, Gene Flow, Comparative Anatomy
17 Dec 2013
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Darwin"s observations: all species have such great potential fertility, populations tend to remain stable in size, environmental resources are limited, individuals of a population vary extensively in their characteristics, much of this variation is heritable. The genotype you have is the one you get. Natural selection can amplify or diminish only heritable traits. Acquired characteristics cannot be passed on to offspring. Evolution is not goal directed and does not lead to perfection. Multiple lines of evidence lead to the same conclusions. Natural selection is not only cause of evolutionary change. Change in genetic characteristics of biological populations over generations. Change in the gene pool of population due to chance. In a small population, chance events may lead to the loss of genetic diversity. The only mechanism that consistently leads to adaptive evolution.
