Transcript II. Evolution in Ecosystems

II. Evolution in Ecosystems
A. Evolving to a niche
1. Evolution is the changes in the
frequency of a trait in a population due
to environmental pressure
2. Mostly is done to avoid competition
a. Competition= extinction or
adaptation
3. Becoming specialized means you do
one specific task very well
a. Extremely fragile
4. Generalized species have a wide
niche doing many things very well
B. Convergent evolution
1. Similar ecosystems can have similar
niches
a. Organisms in those niches can
be similar
2. Convergent evolution- the similar
adaptation in two species with similar
niches
3. Examples
a. Wings of bats and birds
b. Shapes of sharks and dolphins
c. Eyes of mammals and octopi
C. Co evolution
1. Organisms can have evolutionary
influence on each other
2. Co evolution- species that interact
closely will adapt to one another
3. Predators and prey
a. Cheetah and antelope
4. The ant and the acacia tree
a. Ants use the hollow thorns as
nests
b. Ants kill any organism trying to
prey on the tree including other
plants
c. Studies have shown that the two
cannot live without each other