Human Evolutionary Biology 1329 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Resource Holding Potential, Ring-Tailed Lemur, Kin Recognition
4 Feb 2014
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Finches, beak side correlates to what size of seed they eat. More offspring are produced than can survive on the amount of resources available (malthus). Each individual is unique (in sexually producing species) Breeders can artificially select for desired characteristics by only allowing those with the desired trait to breed. Postulates: evolution occurs by natural selection under the three conditions:- individuals vary within a species - variation is heritable - individuals vary in their reproductive success (rs)* When true: then: traits favorable to survival and reproduction will be passed down to offspring more frequently than unfavorable variants, so the frequency of that trait will increase in the species. Over long geological time periods, successful variants may accumulate to cause such great changes that new species arise. Because offspring tend to inherit their parents" traits, those traits that better promote reproduction* tend to be preserved and come to predominate.
