EBIO 1220 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Darwin Awards, Genetic Drift, Falsifiability
7 Feb 2018
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Lecture 2: evolution and the origin of species. Learning goal: describe how natural selection and genetic drift lead to evolutionary change. Evolution: change in the genetic composition of a species over time, such that species alive today are the descendents of ancestral species. The earth is young (1000"s of years ago) Species do not change, all species have remained the same since creation (aristotle) There is no such thing as a new species. Closely related to each other and to mainland species. Individuals with species vary (they can"t be the same) More offspring are produced than can survive (not enough food for everyone) Survival and reproduction are nonrandom (i. e. , some traits help you survive and reproduce more than others). 1990 darwin award: killing yourself in the most stupid way. Natural selection does not create variants; it only preserves or eliminates variants created through genetic changes.
