BIL 160 Final: Final exam guide
22 Apr 2016
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Lamarck- first person to ever publish articles on biological change. He wrongly explained why animals and people change over time, however the idea was right. He said whatever features we acquire during lifetime get passed on to offspring. Natural selection reduces variation because it chooses which traits get passed along. Variation comes in different ways, such as mutation. In reassessing his observations, darwin perceived adaptation to the environment and the origin of new species as closely related processes. Descent with modification by natural selection explains the adaptations of organisms and the unity and adaptations and diversity of life. Natural selection does not create new traits, but edits or selects for traits already present in the population (works on what is available) Mentioned that simple organisms gave rise to complex organisms. The current, local environment determines which traits will be selected for or selected against in any specific population. Evolutionary fitness- how many genes you pass on to next generation.
