PCB-4674 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Big Band, Macroevolution, Young Earth Creationism
Document Summary
Examples: freshwater fish are interesting models for rapid evolution. They are so closely tied to their water habitat that any time we have geological evidence of where the water has been in the past, we know something about the presence of the fish in them. For sympatric speciation: invasion of marine species, splitting of the invaders into two populations that take advantage of different aspects of the lake environment. Summary of evidence concerning evolution: homologies: organisms share many apparently trivial details of form that seem unnecessary for function. Paleontologists find some intermediate forms predicted by the tree of life (humans and chimps), but not those not predicted (humans and squid): biogeography: organisms have restricted ranges consistent with change in place. Fossils are often found in the same areas as their descendents: direct observations of change. We see evidence of change over time, directly or indirectly.
