Evolution Resources: Simplifying the Study of Phylogeny, Evolutionary Theory, Tree of Life, and Speciation
Evolution Site
The subject matter is complex, and a Web search for evolution resources can yield virtual reams of unproductive links. This site, produced by Get Further Info Boston PBS affiliate WGBH, is an exception.
Its homepage welcomes nonexperts with a learning tour and tools to help them build a tree house of information about life on earth. Its nested bread crumb structure makes it easy to navigate.
Phylogeny
Phylogeny is the study of evolutionary relationships among organisms (or genes, biochemicals, or developmental mechanisms) and it’s at the heart of the link between the fields of biological systematics and evolutionary biology. Understanding phylogenies is the first step to understanding many important problems in biology, from the distribution of character trait https://epball.com/ frequencies to evolutionary developmental biology.
In a phylogenetic tree, the tips of the branches represent extant groups and the nodes represent ancestral lineages that split or fused over time. On a molecular level, this is often tracked by comparing DNA or protein sequences.
Molecular phylogenetics is central to most biological research. It’s used to test and compare genetic models, calculate substitution rates for different sites, estimate branch lengths, and reconstruct phylogenetic trees. It’s also an important tool for explaining the relationship between genetic mutations and the phenotypes they cause.
Evolutionary Theory
Biological evolution is a well established scientific theory (see the entry on Evolution for more). It combines Darwin’s ideas about common ancestors with Gregor Mendel’s laws of heredity to explain how living things might have developed over time. This unified theory is Uncover More Details known as the modern synthesis and remains the basis for evolutionary biology as practiced today.
It’s important to recognize that there are many ways of evolving biology, not just the slow, gradual process that Darwin outlined in The Origin of Species. For example, evolution can occur by sexual selection, genetic drift, and mutation.
The modern synthesis is not without its detractors, however. For instance, the developmental biologist CH Waddington complained that a ‘party line’ on evolutionary thinking had sidelined valuable theories. Other dissenters have taken to calling themselves neo-Lamarckists after Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, the 19th-century populariser of pre-Darwinian ideas about http://epball.com inheritance. They want their sub-fields of evolutionary thinking – such as plasticity, evolutionary development, epigenetics, and cultural evolution – to be recognised as a legitimate part of the discipline.
Tree of Life
Phylogenetic trees are the most common tool biologists use to depict evolution. This website provides a range of examples, from a “zooms in” on the relationship among more than 60 amphibian species to one that outlines the evolutionary connections between many different microbial organisms.
The site explains that “The goal of this project is to create a visual representation of all known life forms, their relationships and evolutionary history. It is a collaborative effort of researchers throughout the world who are collecting images and information for all living organisms. The result will be 에볼루션파워볼 a comprehensive, searchable online database of the tree of life.”
A version of this article first appeared on PBS’s Evolution Web Read More site, which is companion to the eight-hour series 파워볼안전사이트 에볼루션파워볼 broadcast on the Public Broadcasting Service in 2001. The website is a free-standing resource for 에볼루션파워볼 teachers and students, not just a support tool for the television series. Originally developed in cooperation with Boston’s WGBH, the site has grown beyond its roots as a companion to the series.
Speciation
Speciation is the creation of new genetically distinct species. It occurs when two populations become reproductively isolated from one another due to drastic changes in 안전사이트 에볼루션파워볼 allele frequencies in each population over a period of time. These changes result from natural selection acting on different groups of individuals within each population.
The four geographic modes of speciation are allopatric, peripatric, parapatric, and sympatric. Allopatric speciation occurs when populations of a single species become geographically separated by such barriers as huge ocean expanses, mountain ranges, deep river valleys, or deserts. These separations prevent the free flow of genes between the populations, allowing each population to evolve into a distinct phenotype.
In parapatric speciation, populations remain in the same geographical area but are isolated through other mechanisms of separation such as habitat preferences, host plant adherence in insects, or competition for food in fishes. Examples of this kind of speciation are seen in the Midas cichlids living in Lake Apoyo, Nicaragua.