Transcript File
Daily Warm-up
February
th
7
What is genetic drift? What are the two types?
HW:
-Darwin video due tomorrow
-Read 21.4
Turn in:
-Nothing
5 Evolutionary Agents
Natural selection
Sexual selection
Mutation
Gene flow
Small population size (genetic drift)
Genetic Drift
Chance events that take out alleles at random
Ex. Earthquake, flood
More pronounced in small populations
Two Types
Founder effect
Individuals become “founders” o f new population
Bottleneck effect
Population has experienced a “bottleneck” and certain
alleles may be over-represented
Founder effect example
Cheetahs as a bottleneck example
Genetic Drift
Significant in small populations
Causes allele frequencies to change at random
Can lead to a loss of genetic diversity
Can cause harmful alleles to be more prominent
Gene Flow
Transfer of alleles into or out
of a population
Question
In what sense is natural selection more predictive than
genetic drift?
Natural Selection
Only agent that consistently causes adaptive evolution
Survival and reproductive advantage
Can be measure by relative fitness
Contribution to the gene pool by an individual relative to the other
members of the population
3 Types of Evolution
1. Directional selection= conditions favor individuals at
one extreme
2. Stabilizing Selection
Intermediate phenotype versions are selected for by
conditions
3. Disruptive Selection
Intermediate phenotype is selected against, both
extremes selected for by conditions.
Sexual Selection
Traits that may or may not improve the likelihood of
obtaining a mate
Sexual dimorphism- difference in
secondary sex characteristics
ex. Color, ornamentation, behavior
Intrasexual
Intersexual (mate choice)
*Birds of Paradise
Preservation of Genetic Variation
Neutral variation- genes that do not confer any
advantage or disadvantage help maintain genetic
variation
Also Diploidy- recessive allele is “hidden”
Balancing selection- natural selection keeps two or more
forms in the population
Heterozygote advantage
Frequency-dependent
Heterozygote Advantage
When heterozygotes have greater fitness than either
homozygous forms
Ex. Sickle-cell disease and
malaria
Frequency-Dependent Selection
Fitness of phenotype
depends on how common
in the population.
Ex. Fish in lake
Fungi in population of
insects (see video)
Why doesn’t natural selection=
perfect organism?
1. Selection can only act on existing variation
2. Evolution is limited by historical constraints
-Limited to ancestral structures
3. Adaptations are often compromises
4. Chance, natural selection, and environment interact