Transcript Evolutionary History - Western Washington University

Evolutionary History
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Evolution does not occur in a vacuum; it depends on:
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Geology – distribution of land and water
Climate – temperature, precipitation, latitude, ocean currents
Chemistry – water, atmosphere, soil
Other organisms
• Predation, parasitism, mutualism, competition, habitat changes
* Fate
• Extraterrestrial (and earth-bound) caused extinction events
• Probabilities of dispersal, gene change, etc.
* Mechanisms of evolutionary change
Geology
• “Big” time - Geological time periods
• Plate tectonics & continental drift
Time - Geological time periods
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geological time
Defined by changes in
fossils
Eras named after the
540 mybp →
animal fossils
Extinctions occur at
boundaries
Eras
Recent animals
Visible animals
• Hierarchical units of
Eons
Middle animals
Old animals
First animals
Geological
time
• Know
65 mybp →
* eras (named after animal
life as fossilized)
* absolute timing of eras
245 mybp →
* relative timing within
the eras of important
events (see our timeline)
* you don’t need to
remember the periods,
but if you want to, learn
them
• Mnemonics
• UC Berkeley Time
Machine
540 mybp →
Plate tectonics & continental drift
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Mechanism
* New crust at mid-ocean
ridges
* Sea floor spreading,
carries continents
* Subduction under
continents
Christopher Scotese Web
Sites
Walk Thru Time – 580
concept frame