Anthro 260 Midterm
Recessive:
An allele that is expressed in an organism's phenotype if two copies are present, but is masked if the dominant allele is present. Phenotypically visible.
Explain why the benefits of a behavior must outweigh the costs if natural selection is to favor it. Providing real or hypothetical example may improve your answer.
An example of behavior that benefited primates leading them to survive was living in groups. The chances of being hunted decreased the bigger the group allowing the group to survive. Group life also allowed relationships and bonds to form allowing the group to prosper and survive
Why is there typically a division of labor in the efforts of modern foraging groups?
Because high skill tasks favor division of labor, and if foraging tasks are hard to master then specialization is necessary.
*Give examples and dates of early Homo sapiens fossils.
Omo-Kibish S. Ethiopia 190 kya, Herto, Ethiopia, 160 kya, Qafzeh 9, Israel, 115 kya
Linneaus:
Published Systema Naturae, standardized Ray's system giving us binomial nomenclature. (Knight) Developed Tree-thinking, placed humans in the order of primates.
sperm competition:
competition between different individuals sperms in fertilizing a females egg.
John Ray:
Recognized species as groups of plants and animals that can interbreed, classified plants and animals with similarities and differences, and grouped similar species into genera.
Dominant:
Refers to an allele that is expressed in an organism's phenotype and that simultaneously masks the effects of another allele, if another one is present. Latent.
Polygenetic:
Refers to one phenotypic trait that is affected by two or more genes
To what might the characteristics of the Paranthropines have been in response?
these characteristics may have come about to ease the eating of tough plant materials, such as nuts and seeds
contest competition:
clumped, valuable resources
scramble competition:
dispersed, low value resources
Describe the characteristics of the Australopithecines
! ape-like prognathic face ! adapted to generalized diet ! fast development Bipedal • Still adept in trees • Small bodies • Teeth, jaws, skull intermediate between apes and later hominids • Ape-like development patterns • Ape-sized brains • Pronounced sexual dimorphism • Woodland/scrub/grassland habitat
Theory:
"a grown up hypothesis", a hypothesis becomes a theory after it has been rigorously tested and shown not to be incorrect time and time again.
synapomorphy:
(shared derived traits)- a characteristic shared by two or more taxa because it was inherited from a more recent ancestor.
symplesimorphy:
(shared primitive trait)- a characteristic shared by two or more taxa because it was inherited from a distant ancestor.
*Balanced Polymorphism:
multiple alleles are actively maintained in a population
Explain how the particulate nature of inheritance can be reconciled with fact that most traits are continuous in nature.
- The particulate nature of inheritance, and Mendel's experiments, implies inherited variation is discontinuous. This is in opposition to the apparently continuous variation observable for many traits... And Darwin argued that adaptations arose through the accumulation of small changes... - Traits can be passed on from generation to generation through genes, and genes can keep their ability to be expressed while not always appearing in a descending generation - If multiple genes were involved in the expression of an individual trait, they could produce the diverse results observed.... - So, Many traits are not discrete features (e.g. yellow or green peas) but instead continuous (e.g. human height and skin color) which are the products of many genes...polygenic traits!
*Allomother
-a woman who cares for children that is not the biological mother of said children
*Describe the different forms of biased cultural transmission.
-content bias: do what requires least effort to learn -results bias: do what provides the best result for you -prestige bias: do what famous or prestigio people do -conformist bias: do what the majority of people do
*In lecture, Prof Kemp talked about using DNA to tell which two of three population are most closely related. If you had this knowledge what might you also expect to be true of the two most closely related populations? Can you think of exceptions?
...
*What does the timing of this event indicate about how humans initially reached the Americas?
...
If you were looking for early evidence of bipedalism, what traits would you want to find in a fossil creature?
0. location of foramen magnum 1. Lumbar curve 2. Remodeled ilium 3. Knees drawn under the body 4. Angle of femur modified 5. Adducted big toe
According to recent findings, approx. how much of an average non-African human's genome is of Neanderthal origin?
1-4%
Explain how group living can be an effective anti-predator strategy.
1. Detection: more eyes to detect predators, less timing scanning 2. Deterrence: More individuals to scare away the predator 3. Dilution Effect: in groups, single individuals less likely to be caught by predators
If infanticide is truly a "strategy" taken by males and not just a result of psychopathic behavior (as once believed to be the case by biologists and primatologists), what predictions might one make? Are these predictions supported by any observations (i.e. data)?
1. Infanticide will be linked to changes in male residence or status 2. Males will kill unweaned infants 3. Males won't kill their own infants 4. Infanticidal males will gain reproductive benefits
Homology:
A trait shared by two or more organisms inherited from a common ancestor.
Lamarck came up with a hypothesis for the evolutionary process. Explain his ideas.
1. The will to change 2. Inheritance of acquired traits 3. Law of use and disuse
According to Darwin's theory of evolution by means of natural selection, what three conditions are necessary for natural selection to produce adaptations?
1. a struggle for existence - ability to expand is infinite but enviroment limits populations 2. variation in nature -fitness= survival and reproductive success 3. inheritance of variation -variation transferred from parents to offspring
*What kind of tools did Homo ergaster/erectus use?
1.8 mya H. ergaster associated with Oldowan (Mode 1) tools, about 1.6mya bifaces added to tool kit
Prior to ____ years ago, all humans acquired their food through hunting and gathering (foraging)
100,000-200,000 years ago
*When did humans enter the Americas? From where did they originate?
30-20k years ago, Beringia
The very first hominins date to about?
6 million years ago
Life in trees: Humans and chimps diverged how many millions of years ago?
7 to 10 million years
*Unbiased Cultural Transmission
A "Naive" individual chooses to copy a behavior or a "teacher" at random from within a population
A interesting question posed by others is "If we evolved from apes, why are apes still here"? How can this be reconciled?
A interesting question posed by others is "If we evolved from apes, why are apes still here"? How can this be reconciled?
True-breeding line:
A kind of breeding in which the parents with a particular phenotype produce offspring only with the same phenotype. (Machuca) ...or when 2 parents of identical genotypes (AA x AA) produce a child with an identical genotype
Vestigial Trait
A part of an organism that doesn't have a particular function anymore - seemingly non-functional, [but had functionality in a recent common ancestor (garrett b. michelle p. xanthe d.)]. EX: Appendix in humans(sara d.) and pelvis in the whale (garrett b. michelle p. xanthe d.)
The spider monkeys weigh approximately the same as howler monkeys, yet spider monkeys have a brain that is twice the size of the howler. Why might this be the case?
A spider monkey's main diet consists of fruit, while a howler's consist of leaves. Since the fruit has more nutrients in it, this helps with brain development and size, while leaves have very little nutrients in them
Why is defining a trait as a synapomorphy always RELATIVE? Provide a few examples to illustrate your point.
A synapomorphy is a relative term depending on what you are looking at. Synapomorphies will be shared among all the organisms that are being studied, so we can lump these together in a group. Yet this does nothing to classify the organisms in the group. But, if you looked at a broader group, what was a symplesiomorphy before may now be a synapomorphy (the separating factor between groups). example with mammals. - symplesiomorphy = all mammals are warm blooded. this doesn't allow us to see which mammals predated which (because all are warm blooded) instead it defines the group as a whole - but if we are looking at tetrapods, we can use warm bloodedness as a synapomorphy to show when mammals arose because it arose later within the broader group of study. it all depends on the group being studied.
One argument for the evolution of bipedalism is that it freed the hands to carry tools. Is this hypothesis consistent with the evidence from the fossil record?
About 1.8 mya hominids larger body size, larger brain (900cc). Homo ergaster classfied as part of human genus. Even though H.ergaster fossils dont record 2.5 mya that doesnt mean they were not around.
*Describe the Achuelian handaxe.
Achuelian hand axes are bifaces, Bifaces are cores flaked along sides to produce cutting edge all along edge. Hand axes all have the same proportions (H:W:T),regardless of size, Hand axes were unchanged for nearly one million years all over the world
Where do you find Suborder Strepsirhini?
Africa, India, SE Asia and especially Madagascar
Modern _____ populations are genetically more variable than other populations
African
*Define agriculture. What effects did the domestication of plants and animals have on our species?
Agriculture is the production, processing marketing and use of foods fibers and byproducts from plant crops and animal. it allowed our populations to boom in numbers and expand
Autosome:
All chromosomes, except sex chromosomes, that occur in pairs all in the somatic cells (not the gametes)
Deterious allele
Alleles that are harmful to oneself (ex. sickle cell)
Discontinuous Variation:
Also called discrete variation. Phenotypic variation in which there is a discrete number of phenotypes.
Provide an experiment that you could conduct to test Lamarck's hypothesis.
An Experiment that could be done to prove the Lamarck hypothesis would be to have two dogs and make them blind and have them mate. Then have the next generation of offspring, make them blind and have them mate and so on and so forth. Eventually, due to the disuse of the trait of sight, the offspring stemming from that original dog would all become blind from birth. Another experiment could be to cut the tails off generations of mice, with the Lamarck evolutionary process, eventually the mice would have no tails.
*What evidence supports the idea that Neanderthals were hyper-cold adapted?
Animals in cold places are large and stocky, with short limbs, Neanderthals had short arms and legs with short digits in line with this trend, also known as Allen's rule
Explain the various hypotheses that have been put forward to explain why some apes evolved the ability to walk on two legs.
Apes may have evolved the ability to walk on two legs because1) it was an efficient way to travel on ground: Forests became scarce and apes may have needed to walk further distances to forested areas. 2) It was a good way to keep cool in open country: Less body exposure to the sun while standing up, and more wind area hitting the front of the body, sweating is more efficient. 3) It leaves hands free to carry things: holding stones, sticks or spears. 4) It was efficient for harvesting food from trees: apes would have been able to reach low hanging fruit from trees, or forage easier.
Olduvai Gorge-
Archaelogical site where the first Olduwan tools were discovered from 2.5 mya
Base Pair
Are the building blocks of the DNA double helix. Consist of Thymine, Guanine, Cytosine, and Adenine. Thymine and Adenine pair together and Guanine and Cytosine pair together.
Why is Australopithecus a good transitional species? Make sure to describe aspects of both this species cranium and post cranium.
Australopithecus teeth & jaws were intermediate between chimps and later hominids Lower part of face protrudes (prognathic) Most Australopithecine species brains are about 400-500 cc Extant chimps about 370 cc Modern human brains are 1200-1500 cc
Why is Professor Kemp obsessed with eye spots?
Because even though the organism cannot see, feel, or acknowledge the presence of eye spots, it continues to persist in future generations and ward off predators. Eye spots are a prime example that evolution is not driven by desire or intelligent recognition of what traits will allow individuals to live longer. From this action we can see that those without these spots die out causing those with spots to express a higher fitness and passing of genes.
What are the costs and benefits of group living?
Benefits: multi-mates, social interaction, safety, shared information,better resources Costs: inbreeding, not enough resources, infighting, more disease, cannibalism, infanticide, competition
Platyrrhini: The New World Monkeys
Capuchin, Saki, Spider Monkey, Howler monkey, Marmosets, found in the neotropical forests of the Americas- locomotion- Arboreal quadrupeds
Parvorder
Catarrhini
Corn/Maize was first domesticated in?
Central America
Copernicus:
Challenged the notion that the earth was the center of creation.
Charles Darwin:
Charles Darwin went on the Voyage of the Beagle from 1831-1836 and later published 'The Origin of Species' in 1859. Darwin is significant because he came up with the theory of Natural Selection with is still very prevalent today.
African Hominoidea
Chimpanzees of the family Pongidae, Genus Pan. Gorillas of the family Pongidae, Genus Gorilla
What are the major difference between Collected Foods, Extracted Foods, and Hunted Foods?
Collected: Easily picked up - berries, hanging fruit Extracted: Learned way of removing and making a food edible -> Removing the acorn and leaching the toxins Hunted: Animals, using tools
It has been argued that the move to complex foraging among hominids shifted the evolution trajectory of these creatures (and thus lead to the modern human condition). What is complex foraging? How did the adoption of complex foraging shift the evolutionary trajectory of sexually dimorphic bipeds to roughly sexually monomorphic modern humans?
Complex foraging- extracting and hunting resources sites using mastered skills and tools. Over time, the brain became larger allowing more knowledge and mastery of skills allowing them to survive. Reduced competition between males decreased the dimorphicsm in human societies
Provide examples of high value, clumped distributed resources. What type of competition does this encourage?
Contest competition, where organisms will compete for the best resources, which might result in a dominance relationship. high valued resources might be ripened fruit or fruiting trees and fresh leaves
*What was behaviorally new about first members of the genus Homo?
Controlled fire, Relied more heavily on hunting, for tools Knowledge may have been passed along by teaching But, teaching and imitation much is different than in modern humans (that it can lead to quick change) There was a development of language and symbolic capabilities that accelerated the rate of behavioral change. The members of the first genus of Homo created new blade technologies, started painting and buried their dead. Their acknowledgment of a need to bury their dead elaborately shows they were thinking more abstract or differently than before
Why are convergent traits so cool?
Convergent traits are very interesting because they show how a handful of different organisms solve problems by independently coming up with similar solutions.
*What is culture? How can it be studied from an evolutionary perspective?
Culture is learned(from other people), shared (must be understood from "population thinking"), symbolic, dynamic
*What is meant by cumulative culture?
Cumulative Culture is the idea of an accumulation of innovations in each separate cultural item. "Standing on the shoulders of giants." One generation builds on something and that's the starting point for the next generation and so on and so forth.
What is translation and where in the cell does it take place?
Cytoplasm, outside the nucleus and translation is the process in which cellular ribosomes create proteins. It is part of the process of gene expression.
*Why can DNA tell us something about our relationships that other data (i.e. family trees) cannot?
DNA has all the information needed to make various connections with each other
Explain how differences in DNA sequences can ultimately lead to differences in phenotypes.
DNA must lead to different phenotypes to play a role in evolution (for others to gain advantageous attributes). It does this in 3 way: 1. DNA in protein coding genes: Specify the structure, or codes for proteins. this is crucial in the function of living things example: enzymes 2. DNA in regulatory genes: Determines conditions when protein coding genes will be expressed this allows cell differentiation in complex, multicellular organisms examples: liver cells, nerve cells, muscle cells 3. DNA specifies structure of different kinds of RNA: RNA is crucial to important cellular function example: protein synthesis, gene regulation and expression, cell replication
Why does "descent with modification" reveal the cousinhood of all life? Why does "descent with modification" reveal the cousinhood of all life?
Descent with modification reveals the cousinhood through all life by making seemingly unrelated species relatable through physical and biological features. EX: A human can be related to a jellyfish in the fact that we both are compiled from cells and Humans and dogs by the fact that we have 5 digits
*Describe some of the behavioral changes that are associated with early members of our species? Was there a revolution or gradual change that lead to our evolution of complex behaviors. Explain.
Development of language and symbolic capabilities helped accelerate the change in behavior. This behavior change came in Africa over the last 250 kya as more modern humans began to replace old hominid populations in the old world, There was no abrupt change or revolution
Explain the role of early exploration on evolutionary thinking?
Discoveries of the fossils of extinct species and geological formations suggested that the Earth was much older than it was religiously conceived to be. Perhaps, as the formation of geological structures was gradual, so too were the appearance of humans from a non-human ancestor. The first who noted these contradictions in religious belief faced much ridicule of their peers; not many were willing to accept such a role and to do so seemed to be silly at best, but the role of early exploration was to get people to start thinking about change over a long period of time.
The first animal domesticated was the ___?
Dog
What are some examples of convergent traits and how are they seen as a solution?
EX: Wings - many species have wings and for the most part, they came up with these devices through independent means when different problems were presented to them. Of course, these traits had evolved
Savannah hypothesis:
Ecological influences drove an ape like ancestor into making a life in open savannah habitats. Developed bipedality to counter predators by looking over grass.
Why is it likely that the earliest hominids used tools? Why might it be the case that we have we not found tools that are older than 2.5 million years old?
Examples of tool use is found in bones with cut marks in them, butchering sites and the Olduwan tool technology. We have yet to find tools dating older than 2.5 million years old because it is very hard for a tool to become fossilized.
*What are the physical characteristics of the first members of our species?
Face:Small Protruding chin,High forehead,Small brow ridges Teeth,Small Skull, Rounded back Skeleton,Less robust than Neanderthals ,Longer limbs, slighter bones
Explain how the scientific method works.
Facts are data from which conclusions can be drawn (ie. are observations). Then a hypothesis is a personal explanation of a phenomenon (ie. it makes predictions that must be tested). A theory is like "grown up hypothesis." A hypothesis becomes a theory after it has been rigorously tested.
Gregor Mendel:
Father of modern genetics
What is fitness? What are two component that contribute to fitness? Explain them.
Fitness is the relative reproductive success of an organism, the two components to fitness are, survival and reproductive success, survival refers to an organisms ability to live in its environment and the ( relative) reproductive success of an organism refers to how well they can find a mate then reproduce.
The Asian Hominoidea
Gibbons and siamangs of the family Hylobatidae - Genus Hylobates • Orangutans of the family Pongidae: - Genus Pongo
Genus
Gorilla
Name three traits that are used to classify creatures as primates
Grasping hands, stereostopic vision, post orbital bar/plate
Which primates live in groups? Which are solitary?
Groups: Gorilla, Chimps, baboons, howler monkeys, lemurs, Solitary: Orangutans
*What evidence suggest that modern human coped better with the environment than did Archaic Homo (e.g. Homo neanderthalensis)?
Had longer life spans,UP men sometimes lived to 60, UP women rarely lived past 40,Less vulnerable to injury and disease,Show less evidence of trauma, illness,May have been better nourished,May have managed encounters with dangerous animals better, Lived at higher population densities
Buffon:
He wrote Natural history, not an evolutionists but thought change was possible. Buffon noted that despite similar environments, different regions have distinct plants and animals, a concept later known as Buffon's Law
Family
Hominidae
Superfamily
Hominoidea
What distinguishes Hominoids from Cercopithecoids?
Hominoids brachiate, no tails, no honing complex and diastemas, ischial callosities( butt pads)
*What was the first member of our genus Homo?
Homo Ergaster
What is the "Chihuahua Problem" and how is it solved?
How do we get a chihuahua and all the other variations of dogs from a wolf? Reshuffling of genetic material during meiosis can bring out a tremendous combination of variation. Mutation and segregation explain how a species can move beyond its initial range of variation.
*Allen's Rule
Humans living far away from the equator tend to have shorter limbs and are stockier.
Explain some fundamental difference between the foraging behaviors of chimpanzees and modern
Humans spend a high proportion of their time on extracted and hunted foods, Chimps spend a high proportion of their time on collected foods.
*Bergman's Rule:
Humans tend to have smaller bodies close to the eqautor, those far way tend to have larger bodies.
How can differences in DNA sequences lead to difference in fitness?
If a change in sequence results in a trait that is more favorable to it's current environment, or resistant to harm when the environment chances, this can lead to increase in fitness. On the other hand however, a change in genetic sequence can also produce harmful effects on fitness and the individual. (ex: a butterfly with 1 shorter wing)
Explain how natural selection causes changes in allele frequencies.
If a trait that is more advantageous to an organism's survival and reproductive success is selected for over one that is not a selective advantage, there will be an increase in the gene pool for alleles that produce the advantageous trait and a decrease in the alleles that produce the less advantageous trait.
Alfred Russel Wallace
In 1854 he came up with an explanation for evolution, same idea as Darwin around the same time. Presented at the Linnaeus society jointly with Darwin. (Joseph.C) arrived at the same conclusions as darwin,but he had less evidence than darwin, helped spur darwin into writing his book.
What is transcription and where in the cell does it take place?
In the nucleus and is the first step of gene expression, in which a particular segment of DNA is copied into RNA.
Explain how infanticide can be viewed as a stable reproductive strategy taken by males.
Infanticide is when a male will go into another group and kill off the other male's unweaned offspring. By doing this, the females will go into heat and the new male will breed with them. This insures the male that those females and their new offspring are his.
Is "Intelligent Design" a scientific theory? Explain your answer.
Intelligent Design isn't a scientific theory because it can't be rigorously tested, and this is part of the definition for a theory. There is no definitive way to work with the proposed designing "agent" or to show how or why it created anything. (
Taxonomy:
Is concerned with phylogenies for naming and classification purposes. Carl Linnaeus was a biologist and is known for being the Father of Taxonomy.
What does Archaeology as Long-Term mean?
Long term ethnography or study of the long term culture that surrounds hominids.
Why is the theory of Intelligent design not scientific?
It is not a testable idea
Where was ''Sahelanthropus tchadenensis'' discovered? To when does it date? What about this creature indicates that it was bipedal?
It was found in Tchad, it dates to about 7-6 mya, it is thought to be bipedal because the foramen magnum is located under the skull
Name and explain Mendel's two laws of inheritance. Provide an example of each from what you know about human variation.
Law of Segregation states that an individual organism has two alleles for every gene, one inherited from its mother and one from its father. When this organism forms its own gametes, each gamete will receive only one of these alleles, and this process is random. The Law of Independent Assortment states that separate genes for separate traits are passed independently of one another from parents to offspring. Examples: the law of segregation can be seen in the form of meiosis. meiosis takes place during reproduction, where one diploid cell containing two copies of each chromosome—one from the organism's mother and one from its father. The cell divides twice, potentially producing up to four haploid cells containing one copy of each chromosome. Example for Law of Independent Assortment can be seen in the fact that the color of your hair is independent on the color of your eyes or vise versa. The color of your hair is controlled by a different allele than the one that controls eye color.
Name Mendel's Law that explains why hair color has nothing to do with the sex of a baby?
Law of independent assortment
Fixity of species:
States that all organisms are in a fixed and unchanging state for the entire history of earth
Which was the last place reached by humans
Madagascar
*What were some of the last places on Earth reached by humans. Approximately when did they arrive in these places?
Madagascar and polynesia roughly 2000 years ago
Galileo:
Major player in the scientific revolution helped pave the way for future scientists such as darwin.
What do squares represent in pedigrees?
Males
*Why did researchers first try to isolate mitochondrial DNA from Neandertals (vs. Y-chromosomal DNA or other nuclear DNA)?
Mitochondrial DNA Has less base pairs than Y-chromosomal DNa
Work conducted by Prof. Kemp on the human remains recovered from the ____ archaelogical site lead to novel insights about the entrance of humans into Americas
Monte Verde
How is natural selection like a near-sighted mountain climber that has forgotten her glasses?
Natural selection is blind and does not always reach the best possible solution to a problem. A mountaineer that has forgotten her glasses will follow the rule of "always go up" because even though she cannot see that well, she knows to reach the top of the mountain, she needs to keep going up. So, natural selection will follow this same rule and avoid valleys, even though this may help it get from the local optimum to the global optimum.
Why was a there a seeming problem between Darwin's theory of Natural Selection and Mendel's laws?
Natural selection, the guiding force of evolution, could operate only on variation that already existed in a population. How did new variation--new characteristics--arise in a population? Morgan showed that a new gene could arise in a population as a result of spontaneous change in an existing gene. (mutation)
*Describe aspects of Neanderthal culture and/or behavior? Were these guys the brutish creatures we often see depicted the media?
Neanderthals seem to have lived short, difficult lives.Life expectancy 40-45 years, used shells and pigments, presences of hyoid bones suggests they were capable of speech. accomplished big game hunters, probably not as brutish or stupid as the media has portrayed them.
Why can organisms largely be classified based on nested similarities?
Nested similarities feature the recent common ancestry of specific traits between organisms. In this manner, organisms can be classified based on these related characteristics
_____ : DNA as Amino Acid: Protein
Nucleotide
What is the fundamental difference between male and female mammalian reproductive biology?
Nutritional status affect female reproductive success and fitness. Male is more influenced by access to females rather than by nutrition.
Name one feature of the Neanderthal skull
Occipital bun
*Describe the Neanderthals cranial features.
Occipital bun, defined brow ridges, Cranial capacity = 1245-1720 midfacial prognathism
Which feature of the skull was particularly pronounced in Homo Erectus?
Occipital torus
The earliest stone tool industry is known as?
Olduwan
How old are the first tools? Where were they found? Who made the first tools?
Olduwan tools are indicated to be approximately 2.5 million years old or older. They were found near the Olduvai Gorge archaeological site. They were believed to first be used by the species Australopithecus garhi followed by other early species of the genus homo
Which type of social group is associated with the most sexual dimorphism in body size?
One male, multi female groups
With what type of social/mating structure is sexual dimorphism in size most pronounced? Why is this the case?
One male, multi female, polygamous, because the male has to fight off other males from outside the group.
Allele:
One or more alternative forms of a gene. Gene variation.
It was found in Tchad, it dates to about 7-6 mya, it is thought to be bipedal because the foramen magnum is located under the skull
Orrorin was found in the highlands of Kenya, it is dated to 6 mya, it is thought to be bipedal because the thigh bones are more like humans, the long femoral neck is like bipedal hominids, and it also has an angled femur.
*What characteristics of mitochondrial DNA make it an ideal genetic marker to study?
Past one maternally , changes only happen via mutation., high copy number and no recombination
Continuous Variation:
Phenotypic variation in which there is a continuum of types. Example: human height.
Why reconstruct phylogenies? Explain.
Phylogenies are a basis for classification and identification of species, which allows us to observe how evolution has proceeded. Phylogenetic trees can also help us understand behaviors and functions of different species.
Phenotype
Physical expression of a genotype, it may be influenced by the environment.
Fossil
Physical remains of part or all of a once living organism, mostly bones and teeth that have become mineralized by the replacement of organic with inorganic materials.
This is a mating system that includes one male and multiple females, and is not legal in the u.s
Polygyny
Order
Primate
Primitive vs. Derived:
Primitive: characteristic which has been inherited from a distant ancestor; a trait that has been around for awhile. (example: body hair among primates, chimps look more like gorillas than us because they retain ancestral traits) Derived: characteristic present in a descendant taxon that was either: 1. uniquely derived (autapomorphy) 2. present in a recent ancestor and other descendants (synapomorphy) (examples: a decrease in body hair in humans versus primates, or flippers in whales when compared to terrestrial mammals) ... remember, this is a relative term!
Why focus on reproduction? In other words, why is reproduction so important? (note: placing the answer in the context of how natural selection works would make for an excellent answer)
Reproduction is so important because it carries on an organism's survival. through reproduction, an organism can pass on half of its genetic makeup, thus supplying the next generation with traits that natural selection likes would benefit those who gained that genetic makeup
Describe Olduwan tools
Rock tools found in Olduvai gorge. Flakes are made from the core, one core can make up to 30 separate flakes. Flakes are made from striking one rock at the core at an angle.
Describe the characteristics of the Paranthropines (i.e. members of the genus Paranthropus).
Sagittal crest enlarges attachment surface for temporalis muscle that works jaw ,very large molars Zygomatics (cheek bones) flared out to make, room for enlarged temporalis
Provide examples of low value, widely distributed resources. What type of competition does this encourage?
Scramble competition, where the organisms try to get the best resources for themselves. low value resources might be grass blades, flowers, and wild celery
What is meant by "nested set of similarities"? Why does speciation lead to this?
Shared recent common ancestor and closeness depicted in a tree or other diagram.
*Hemoglobin S allele
Sickle cell
How are Haplorhines differentiated from Strepsirhines?
Strepsirrhines for the most part have highly developed sense of smell, enlarged nasal passageways, a rhinarium, scent glands, a large olfactory bulb in the front of the brain, and have a mix of nails and claws. Haplorhines have larger brains, sexually dimorphic, fewer teeth convergent eyes, post orbital plates, ability to see in color
Which of the following persons was most responsible for the vision and execution of this endeavor, learned in the film "Decoding Nenaderthals"
Svante Paabo
Why are symplesiomorphies not useful in cladistics?
Symplesiomorphies are characteristics shared by 2 or more taxa because it was inherited from a distant ancestor. These are not useful in cladistics because they don't do anything explain evolutionary relationships. It takes recently (or shared-) derived traits, synapomorphies, that differ between organisms in the group being studied to see when one organism branched from another and see the evolutionary relationship between organisms
What is the cutest primate, besides Ryan Gosling?
Tarsiers? dr. kemp thinks its the slow loris?
*Molecular Clock:
Technique in molecular evolution, that uses fossil constraints and rates of molecular change, deduce the time in geologic history, when two species or taxa diverge
Charles Lyell:
Termed and explained uniformitarianism which is the theory that processes that occurred in the geologic past are still at work today.
*According to lecture, what is significant about the first cave paintings?
That early humans had the ability to recreate images or scenery that they had seen in mediums such as the cave paintings.
Francis Bacon
The Baconian method (the scientific method).
Gene:
The basic unit of inheritance; a sequence of DNA on a chromosome, coded to produce a specific protein.
Explain the role of early discovered fossils on evolutionary thinking?
The discovery of fossils did not support the commonly held belief that all living beings had been created by God at the same time and continued to persist, today. The "existence" of extinct species allowed for people to start thinking about ancestry and the relationships between different species, specifically the extinct and the existing.
Let's say that the camera style eye (the kind we have) is superior to the compound eye (such as possessed by dragonflies). Why won't the dragonfly evolve a camera style eye?
The dragonfly won't evolve a camera style eye because in order to do so, it would have to go into a valley, or have worse solutions to the problem in order to get to a better solution...and this is not how selection works. Selection avoids valleys.
Lamarck
The first to propose a hypothesis of the evolutionary process. (Machuca) 1. The will to change 2. Inheritance of acquired traits 3. Law of use and disuse
What is the coolest primate?
The fonz... Aye Aye
Uniformitarianism
The idea that what is happening today, was happening long ago. Ex. Hunter-gatherers as they exist and use subsistence patterns today, did the same in the past.
Why do humans have a seemingly insatiable appetite for sugar, salts, and fats?
The reason that humans have an insatiable appetite for sugar, salts, and fats was because these were hard to come by before humans adopted agriculture. But now, we are in an disequilibrium, where we are eating sugars, salts, and fats when we should not be doing so.
In class we paid some attention on a slide that depicted a positive relationship between birth weight and weaning weight. What does the relationship indicate? Why is the pattern not random?
The relationship indicates that mothers start to wean away from their newborn about 4x their birthweight to prepare for the next newborn, meaning the mother decided the newborn was ready to be on their own
What did Dobzhansky mean when he stated "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution"? Provide some examples.
The relationships between organisms and their related traits cannot be scientifically explained without considering evolution. For example, the existence of fossils of extinct species with similar traits to modern ones.
fitness:
The relative reproductive success of an organism
Great Chain of Being:
a strict, religious hierarchical structure of all matter and life, believed to have been decreed by God
*mitochondrial Eve:
The source of all Mitochondrial DNA of modern human
Chromosome:
The strand of DNA found in the nucleus of eukaryotes that contains hundreds of thousands of genes.
uniformitarianism:
The theory that processes that occurred in the geologic past are still at work today. Termed by Charles Lyell.
For reciprocal altruism to work, which of the following need to be true?
There must be more than one opportunity to interact, Individuals need to keep track of aid given and aid received
*How can one explain the maintenance of the hemoglobin S allele at levels exceeding 15% in some population in Africa and India?
These are the places where Malaria is at the highest levels, at the same time so is the occurrence of Hemoglobin S alleles. The occurrence and continual maintenance of the hemoglobin S allele happens because heterozygotes, where Malaria is present, have a higher fitness than those who have normal hem
Why are closely related species similar?
They are closely related because they share a more recent common ancestor.
The fact that natural selection removes variation from populations seems counter-intuitive to evolution proceeding by this process. Why was this a conundrum for Darwin? Explain how variation ultimately arises and can be maintained in populations (using an example may help).
This was a conundrum for Darwin because the fact that there is variation is one of his 3 conditions necessary for natural selection. If there is no variation, natural selection cannot produce adaptations. Variation ultimately arises in populations due to mutation. Mutations are the ultimate source of variation. Low mutation rates can maintain variation as some variation is protected from selection in polygenic traits. (think of them being shielded) This is an advantage of being a diploid. beak depth in finches is an example:
The human genome is comprised of 23 of these, the longest pair is 249 million nucleotides in length
chromosomes
*Extended dependency during childhood is a key feature of humans. According to the lecture, how have we coped with this challenge?
Through cooperative breeding. We get help in raising our infants with the idea of altruism. This way it allows for greater reproductive success because it isnt constant dependency on just one individual, rather there is many people such as grandparents, aunts and uncles, and other close relatives
*Where were the following plants or animals domesticated?
Tomato central america Potato south America Chicken southeast asia Corn central america Sunflowers North America Coffee Africa
Descent with Modification
Traits that have been modified from a common ancestor. EX: The mammoth had a fused radius and ulna, whereas branching ancestors have a separate ulna and radius.
Evidence suggests that Neanderthal adorned themselves with jewelry and makeup, true or false?
True
What behavioral evidence do we have for bipedalism at Laetoli?
Two creatures walked through a thick bed of wet volcanic ash, 3.5 mya • Their footprints solidified as the ash dried • One individual was about 4'9", the other 4'1" • Footprints similar those made by modern people who usually walk barefoot
*What does the DNA of Neanderthals indicate about their relationships to modern humans?
We are related, but Neanderthals branched off earlier than we did. 27 differences were seen compared to the human mtDNA reference sequence. about 550k-690k years ago.
*mitochondrial DNA:
circular molecule of 16569 base pairs in length
How can evolution be viewed as fact, hypothesis, and theory?
We can look at what the definition of a fact, hypothesis and theory are according to Francis Bacon. Facts are data from which conclusions can be drawn, they're observations. Evolution is an observable fact because it is observed that species change through time, through the discovery of fossils and the simple fact that nothing is perfect. A Hypothesis is a provisional explanation of a phenomenon, it makes predictions that are testable, most importantly a hypothesis must be falsifiable. Evolution is a phenomenon that has happened throughout history, it can be viewed as a hypothesis through the lens of Lemarck who saw evolution via the inheritance of acquired characteristics. Or by Darwin's hypothesis of evolution through the means of natural selection which has since gained theory status. A Theory is like a 'grown up' hypothesis. A hypothesis becomes a theory after it has been repeatedly tested and proven not to be wrong. A hypothesis can never be proven correct, it can only be refuted. Darwin's theory of Natural Selection does have points that are missed but has yet to be proven wrong, this is why it has maintained it's theory status.
*How is DNA evidence used to date the emergence of modern humans? To when and where do the DNA data place the emergence of modern humans? Is this consistent with the fossil evidence?
We can use DNA specifically mitochondrial DNA to trace maternal lineages. DNA places Humans at 100-200k years ago.
*Describe the general trajectory that humans followed after leaving Africa.
We went east out of africa, and kept going east until we crossed or sailed to the new world, then we branched out hitting up europe and lastly madagascar.
Convergence
When separate organisms are presented with a relatable problem and independently come up with a similar solution. EX: Wings(sara) Not homologous, it is independent evolution. Demonstrates that the evolution of complex traits and or behaviors is quite likely.
Should lambs and asparagus be classified together? Why or why not?
Whether they should be classified together or not depends on the characteristic one is observing. For throughout various generations. They are NOT based on a common ancestor.
What did Dobzhansky mean when he stated "without that light [of evolution] it becomes a pile of sundry facts some of them interesting or curious but making no meaningful picture as a whole"?
Without a means to classify or explain variants of the same genus, facts about various organisms have no meaningful relationship with other organism and with ourselves.
*The adoption of agriculture is often seen as correlated with the rise complex societies and inequality. What is the link between the domestication of plants and animals and societal complexity and structure? Are agriculturalists the only human populations to have exhibited complex social structure?
You need to have resource management in an agricultural society. This generally entails someone who dictates who gets what such as an authority figure like a chief or king. Agriculturists are by far the more complex social structures.
Phylogeny:
a depiction of evolutionary relationships. EX: an extended family tree
Infanticide-
a male going into a group and killing the offspring of another male
When are males predicted to invest in their offspring? Provide a basic statement that answers this question and provide a few specific examples in which a male will invest.
a male will invest in offspring when mates are hard to find, and when fitness of offspring that is raised by one parent is low. a male might invest if there is only a one female that he can get to and her offspring in weak
*Menopause-
a period in a woman's life where her reproductive success goes down and then stops after a certain age
*Alloparent
a person who takes care of children that are not the biological parents of said children
cost:
a price that must be paid, like expending energy in search of food
Hypothesis:
a provisional explanation of a phenomenon, makes predictions that must be testable and must be falsifiable. It can never be proven correct, it can only be refuted.
Mutation:
a random change in a gene or chromosome, creating a new trait that may be advantageous, deleterious, or neutral in its effects on the organism
*What insights can ancient DNA provide?
analyzing ancient DNA allows one to directly test hypotheses that are based on theory from "modern" DNA studies through the ability to precisely date the age of remains that exhibit genetic types of interest
*Ancient DNA
ancient DNA research is "defined broadly as the retrieval of DNA sequences from museum specimens, archaeological finds, fossil remains, and other unusual sources of DNA. . ."
*What is ancient DNA?
ancient DNA research is "defined broadly as the retrieval of DNA sequences from museum specimens, archaeological finds, fossil remains, and other unusual sources of DNA. . ."
What are two hypotheses that are used to explain why primates have this suite of characters
arboreal hypothesis: hypothesis that primates evolved as an adaption to life in trees visual predation hypothesis: stereoscopic vision increased depth perception and grasping hands for catching insects.
neocortex:
area of the brain associated with problem solving and behavioral flexibility
*Agricultural Food System:
artificial selection plays a huge role, grow, tend to, manufacture, and process food. sedentarism
What is the ultimate limiting factor to a male mammals reproductive success?
available females
As humans, we think we are pretty special...however there are other primates that are also very derived (i.e. specialized)? What are some of these creatures and what derived traits do they exhibit?
aye aye and its crazy finger, tarsier and their reflective eyes ,baboons special pretty nose, secondary stomach chamber in the howler monkeys
Why is altruism seemingly at odds with natural selection?
because it doesn't benefit the individual doing the altruistic act.
*Mutation is the source of all new variation. Explain how mutation can maintain deleterious alleles at low levels.
because often there will be people who may not have the deleterious gene but can be carriers for it. also the trait may have some kind of benefit like malaria and sickle cell anemia
*Why is it interesting when humans vary in some trait, such as ability to roll one's tongue, ability to taste PTC, or if they are sun sneezers?
because somewhere along the line, those traits were beneficial to that group of descendents, where it wasn't so much to others
*Why are there thought to exist human universals in behavior?
because we may have evolved some universal mode of behavior when we were all living in Africa and this has followed us ever since
Why is the age of a fossil species always an underestimate of the true age?
because when a species is first arising there is a limited amount, in the middle when they are thriving there are the most then they decrease as they go extinct. so the chances of fossilization is greatest in the middle which is not the true age of the species.
List evidence of extractive foraging among the apes.
chimps fishing for ants/termites, extracting honey in trees, using rocks to open shelled nuts
Why is DNA particularly suited to be the chemical basis of life?
because: 1. it is a very stable molecule meaning it is not easily prone to degeneration. also because it can deliver a nearly infinite variety of "messages" without many mistakes in the replication process. 2. it is a long molecule 3. it replicates itself and does a great job at it!
altruism:
behavior by an animal that is not beneficial to or may be harmful to itself but that benefits others of its species
strategy:
behavioral mechanisms that produce particular course of action in particular contexts
*Biased Cultural Transmission
biased cultural transmission is that an individual copies a particular behavior or particular teacher for a reason.
*What are some sources of ancient DNA?
bones, teeth and mummified tissue poo, quids(chewed on and spit out), midden (ancient garbage), permafrost (frozen soil),
What strategies do females take to enhance their reproductive success (think about the three Cs). Explain each
care: females provide nourishment, transportation, warmth, protection competition:female reproduction is limited by food availability cooperation: members of group helping others take care of young,
How do population geneticists define evolution?
change in allelic frequencies over time.
How does radiocarbon dating work?
cosmic radiation courses N-14 (normal) to become C-14 (radioactive). C-14, carbon 14, is an unstable isotope that decays back to N-14. after death, carbon is no longer replaced with N-14, and starts to decay. The rate of decay is measured and that will tell when the organism died.
Fact:
data in which conclusions can be drawn, facts are observations.
*Desribe Homo heidelbergensis
derived features: brain size 1200-1300cc, ancestral features: large brow ridges, thick cranial bones, large, prognathic face, no chin, robust bodies
*What are some applications of ancient DNA? [Note that we discussed more than the examples used in this lecture]
diet and environmental reconstruction study the genetics of extinct populations and/or species determine evolutionary relationships study ancient diseases - e.g. the black plague test for population continuity vs. replacement molecular sex determination domestication of plants and animals measure the rate of molecular evolution
*Lactose
disaccharide of glucose + galactose. Milk sugar. Much less soluble than sucrose (many can't digest/intolerant b/c they lack enzyme lactase).
autapomorphy:
distinctive anatomical feature, known as a derived trait, that is unique to a given terminal group. That is, it is found only in one member of a clade, but not found in any others or outgroup taxa, not even those most closely related to the group (which may be a species, family or in general any clade).
This means mostly awake and active during the day, opposite of nocturnal
diurnal
*What was the first domestic animal? What were other early animal domesticates?
dogs, sheep cows pigs horses
*Pastoralism:
domesticated animals that you have with you. you control breeding, feeding, and protection for the most part
What are the two basic hypothesis about why primates have such large brains?
ecological challenges might favor big brains, fining food is complicated not all food is readily edible social challenges may favor big brains.
A protein capable of catalyzing a chemical reaction
enzyme
Why is it hard to both love your iPod and fundamentally disagree with evolutionary theory?
evolution works for the ipod as well as it does biologic organisms, over the years ipods have had a series of small beneficial changes, making them what they are today.
*What is the Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness?
evolutionary processes are responsible for the adaptations we have today
Explain the "Central Dogma".
explanation of the flow of genetic information in a biological system. dna makes rna protein, but not the reverse flow of information from rna to dna...in other words....dna replication, to transcription, to translation.
Infanticide cannot be maintained by natural selection cause it is not good for the species, true or false
false
Describe the process of becoming a fossil and later being discovered by a fossil hunter.
first, after death make sure your body is inaccessible to scavengers, followed by a quick burial, excessive dry conditions with a little moisture are ideal, continued by sedimentation that makes layers hard, pertification, organic materials are replaced by inorganic materials, finally dissolved organic material leaves an imprint
What is the ultimate limiting factor to a females reproductive success? Why? List other factors that limit a females lifetime reproductive success.
food availability is the ultimate limiting factor. the reason being is that females need to be able to carry the offspring to full term, so they need lots of resources, this is also the same to keep up lactation. some of the other factors for a females lifetime repro success is in the dominance ranking of a female. the ones with higher dominance have better access to better resources, another factor is reproductive success, if a female has an offspring that survived longer than the other offspring, she has a high rank
extractive foods:
foods that are hard to process such as nuts, coconuts ,and durians Ex: aye aye's extract insect larva using their finger and chimpanzees use sticks to extract termites
List evidence for and against either of these hypotheses.
for social, primates live in relatively large groups. recognizing individuals, tracking nature of social relations between second and third parties, hamilton's rule of relatedness.
Why is phylogenetic reconstruction difficult using fossils?
fossils are almost always incomplete and missing parts need to be filled in.
A creature that eats mostly fruit, spider monkey is a good example
frugivorous
What characteristics are used to define the Order Primates?
grasping hands and feet, forward facing eyes, stereoscopic vision, hand-limb dominated locomotion, pentadactyly, tactile pads, nails, postorbital bar,clavicle, small litters and long gestation, juvenile period, large brains and greater dependence on flexible and learned behaviors
Name one derived trait exhibited by the aye-aye relative to those exhibited by general primates
growing incisors
Suborder
haplorhini
Michael Behe:
he was a researcher that works for the Discovery Institute. He was one of the researchers that stated that intelligent design was a true scientific theory
*Hunting and Gathering (Foraging):
highly mobile small groups of people who gain nutrients through hunting wild animals and collecting naturally occurring plants and roots
First species of hominin to leave Africa?
homo ergaster
Explain two ways in which altruism can evolve via natural selection.
if an altruist takes turns giving and receiving benefits altruism can evolve. or if it is directed only at kin
What are strategies that males take when living in pair-bond groups? Why?
in pair-bond groups, males will invest in offspring, carry infants, share food with infants , guard infants, and are closely bonded to mates. this is to make sure that the male will always have someone to mate with
*Contrast individual learning vs social learning.
individual learning - behavior acquired through trial and error social learning - a behavior acquired by observing or interacting with another individual (social learners do not pay a cost for acquiring the behavior)
Evolution by means of natural selection could not proceed as envisioned by Darwin if?
inheritance is blending and, as a result, all organisms became similar
This refers to the time between producing young, a limiting factor in a females reproductive success
inter birth interval
Explain the role of early inventions on evolutionary thinking?
inventions like the telescope, microscope, and barometer allowed humans to see things they couldn't before...like things really far away, or really small things. this allowed people to observe new sets of data presented to them and find a way to explain the discovery of these new phenomena.
Radiometric Dating :
is a technique used to date materials such as rocks, usually based on a comparison between the observed abundance of a naturally occurring radioactive isotope and its decay products, using known decay rates
cladistics:
is an approach to biological classification in which items are grouped together based on whether or not they have one or more shared unique characteristics that come from the group's last common ancestor and are not present in more distant ancestors. Therefore, members of the same group are thought to share a common history and are considered to be more closely related.
Phenetics
is an attempt to classify organisms based on their similarities
phenetics:
is an attempt to classify organisms based on their similarities
*What does ancient DNA evidence tell us about the domestication of the turkey in the Americas?
it was domesticated in the south west.
What are the biases presented by the fossil record?
its rich but incomplete, chances if actually becoming a fossil are slim, our view underestimates the diversity of extinct creatures. dates of species are always estimated.
*Describe the characteristics of Homo ergaster. Where did this species live?
large, robust bodies, long legs and short arms, slower growth rate, reduced sexual dimorphism, live in E. Africa, and S. Africa, about 1.8mya
Examples of Strepsirhines
lemurs, lorises, aye-ayes, galagos
Crural index:
length of tibia/length of femur X100
*FOXP2 gene-
located in human choromosome 7 which may have something to do with the evolution of human language.
*Explain the key tradeoff in energy allocation. Energy applied to one activity is not available for another activity.
longer gestation periods, age of weaning, age of sexual maturity, age at first birth, number and timing of offspring, total life span
*Explain the role the of the waist-to-hip ratio in an evolutionary context. good for baby makin
low WHR: optimal levels of sex hormone-signals reproductive status, indicates good health, increased likelihood of pregnancy, PREDICt: men should posses mechanisms (conscious or unconscious) to detect this feature and assign it of greater importance than other features.
What are strategies that males take when living in one-male/multi-female groups? Why?
males compete for access to groups of females, when males join groups, they often commit infanticide. this is to make sure that the offspring that is in the group belongs to the new male
What are strategies that males take when living in multi-male/multi-female groups? Why?
males compete for dominance rank, high ranking males monopolize females, this is to make sure that the high ranking males are the ones who are breeding the most
*Industrialized Agriculture:
mass produced food resources. Can support the largest populations
cognitive map:
mental representation of location, availability and quality of things in the environment
What is the main difference between the processes of mitosis and meiosis? How does meiosis explain the observations made by Mendel?
mitosis: cell division and reproduction, diploid parent to 2 identical, diploid daughter cells, genetically identical cells, one division, creates everything other than sex cells. meiosis: sex cell division, number of chromosomes reproduced by half, separate homologous chromosomes, creates 4 haploid cells, crossing over occurs, sex cells only. the segregation of chromosomes in meiosis shows that each parent gives one allele for each trait at random to their offspring....despite whether the allele is expressed or not. This shows that genes for different traits are inherited independently of one another.
*How many calories does it take to raise a child to the point of being independent?
more than just what a mother can provide
polygamy:
multi-mate
Explain why correlated character can result in a constraint on adapatation.
natural selection does not always come to the best outcome and correlations can arise when one gene affects multiple traits (pleiotropy). When traits are correlated, selection on one trait affects another because the traits are link. By selecting for one, you automatically select for the other. in terms of beak depth of Darwin's finches, during the drought, seeds became larger therefore deeper beaks were selected for. This resulted in a positive correlation for beak depth, and because of this it is not possible for a bird to have a deep beak and a wide beak, even though it is the best outcome.
Why is the term "missing link" a misnomer?
once a link is found you have two more missing links
polyandry:
one female, multi male
polygyny:
one male, multi female
monogamy:
one mate
*Most humans cannot digest lactose as adults. However adults from some populations in northern Europe and east Africa largely maintain the ability to digest lactose. Explain how this is currently understood.
people in northern europe can digest milk because they, and their ancestors heavily relied on milk as a source of nutrients. they have evolved an advanced LAC-P. N. europe can digest lactose because they are deprived of sunlight, so lactose works as a substitute since it contains vitamin d and vitamin c
*Hemoglobin
protein-iron compound contained in the erythrocyte that has bonding capabilities for the transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide
*Life History Theory-
scheduling various milestones in an organisms life
intrasexual selection-
selection favors traits that make individuals more successful in same-sex competition
intersexual selection-
selection favors traits that make males attractive to females
How great was the level of sexual dimorphism exhibited by australopithecines? What might this indicate about their mating system and or social structure?
sexual dimorphism was prominent, with forensic anthropologist estimating the height of the laetoli australopithecines at 4'9", the other 4'1".the sexual dimorphism shows, that the mating structure may have been one male and multi female or polygamous.
*Describe the Neanderthals post-cranial features.
short, stocky, shorter limbs, shorter digits.
*What's up with Homo floresiensis?
small body, small brain, small teeth, strong, arching brow ridges, as old as 35,000 years or more and persisting until about 14,000 years ago, probably evolved from H. erectus, likely underwent the process of "insular dwarfing" common among animals living on small isolated islands
Are Tarsiers Haplorhines or Strepsirhines? Why?
strepsirrhines even though they share some derived traits with Haplorhines but are still more primitive and prosimian like.
Examples of Haplorhines
tarsiers, monkeys, apes, humans
Mechanistically, how does the bipedal body of hominids work so well?
the angle of the femur and the location of the knees under the body make bipedal locomotion more efficient.
global Optimum:
the best solution to a problem out of all the possible solutions.
Local Optimum:
the best solution to a problem when compared to all other solutions immediately surrounding it. but not the BEST solution of all.
Nucleotide
the building blocks of DNA and RNA, comprised of a suger, a phosphate group and one of the four nitrogen bases
In general, reproductive success of primate females is constrained by?
the energetic cost of pregnancy and lactation
Explain Hamiltons Rule. Make sure you define and explain the terms.
the evolutionary benefits of altruistic behaviour to the kin group outways cost to the individual acting altruistically rB>C where r = the genetic relatedness of the recipient to the acto B = benefit gained by the recipient of the altruistic act C = the reproductive cost to the individual performing the act.
kin selection:
the evolutionary benefits of altruistic behaviour to the kin group outways cost to the individual acting altruistically, altruistic behaviours that increase the donors inclusive fitness.
Ecological hypotheses about the evolution of intelligence are supported by?
the exploitation of extractive foods by apes
genotypic frequency:
the frequency in which a physical trait is expressed
allelic frequency:
the frequency of an allele appearance in a population
*Explain how the sources of variation within and among groups can be different. because evolution will favor whatever trait is best for the environment that the individual is from. for example, being tall and skinny will not be favored where it is coldand dry
the idea that there is variation in lawns. those who focus on the lawn like fertilize, weeding, and water have more beautiful lawns where as those who stay in doors and watch tv while studying are more likely to have an uglier lawn.
Law of Superposition-
the layers on the bottom are older and the ones on the top are younger, this is only true if there has been no disturbance
What's the deal with lemmings?
the lemmings are rodents where many people believed would commit mass suicide when their population got too big. But in reality, the movie makes herded them off cliffs, and put them on a turntable that would make the lemmings dizzy, then run around and fall off cliffs
What does the morphology of Ardipithecus ramidus suggest about its from of locomotion? Explain.
the morphology of the A. ramidus suggests that the creature was bipedal. the hips are more like bipedal hominids, which would then suggest that the femur was at about a 75 degree angle, making it walk upright
*Menarche
the onset of a girl's first menstrual period
benefit:
the possible reward for paying a cost like finding food during a scavenging session
socioecology:
the scientific study of how social structure and organization are influenced by an organism's environment
Systematics:
the study and classification of living organisms to determine their evolutionary relationships with one another.
Theory of Mind:
theory that others know different things from what you know In humans theory of mind develops in early childhood.The ability to distinguish what we know and what others know.
In terms of reproduction, why does natural selection act more strongly on males than on females?
there is more variation in their fitness.
While it is difficult to determine precisely from which ancient hominids our species descends, what can we argue logically about the type of ancient hominid from which we evolved? Why?
these characteristics may have come about to ease the eating of tough plant materials, such as nuts and seeds
Why is Lucy such a famous fossil discovery? What other major discoveries were made by Donald Johanson and his crew at Hadar?
they found a bipedal knee structure and then a year later they found at least 13 other individuals. including her "baby"
*Describe the characteristics of Homo erectus. Where did this species live?
thicker skull, larger brow ridges, sides of skull slope more steeply, more pronounced occipital torus, lived in Asia
In the 19th century there was a prevailing notion that the traits of offspring always represented an average of those exhibited by their parents. What type of inheritance is this known as? Explain why evolution by means of natural selection could not proceed if this is how inheritance truly works.
this is known as the blending hypothesis or blending inheritance. The problem with this is that it removes variance, therefore evolution by means of natural selection could not proceed if this is how inheritance truly worked.
William Farabee:
traced the occurrence of bracydactyly through multiple generations of a large family in Pennsylvania who had short fingers. He found that its pattern of inheritance followed one of an autosomal dominant trait.
According to genetic data, the turkey was domesticated atleast twice, true or false?
true
A theory of mind includes the ability to?
understand the mental states of other individuals
*What is evolutionary psychology?
understanding how evolutionary behaviors affect why we think certain ways
Archbishop James Ussher:
used scholarly records, the bible and other sources, to date the age of the earth, he dated creation at 4004 b.c.
Locomotion
vertical clinging and leaping
*Explain the role of disgust from an evolutionary perspective.
was an early form of germ detection. gross things are bad for our health. Since we were more proned to being "disgusted" by things that looked gross, it dealt as a protector from bacteria and sickness.
*Artificial Selection
we pick and choose the traits being passed on
What are characteristics found among Strepsirhini?
wet nose, Their eyes contain a reflective layer to improve their night vision, and their eye sockets include a ring of bone around the eye, but they lack a wall of thin bone behind it, a toothcomb(only in some, not all)
sexual selection-
when strength of natural selection on males and females differs
Characters are more likely to exhibit continuous variation when?
when the environment affects the trait, they are affected by many genes
Explain how the distribution of resources can dictate whether females are philopatric or whether they disperse.
when there are a lot of resources in one area, females may become philopatric, which is staying in or near an area. the females may know where the best fruits/leaves are in the area and will not travel far from it. but when most of the resources are seasonal and not a lot of other food is around that will help the females stay alive, they may decide to move to a new location
Explain how the distribution of resources can influence social structure and primate behavior.
when there is a lot of resources, primate social structure and behavior does not really play a part within the group. but when resources are few and far between, primate social structure and behavior plays a major role. those who are fast and strong are the ones who will get the best resources first and they will fight and create a dominance hierarchy, with those who are able to keep their resources are on the top of the hierarchy and those who lose them are at the bottom
A population of 8,000 individuals (50:50 male:female) contains how many x-chromosomes? how many Y?
x= 12,000 y= 4,000
*How can plant and animal domestication be discerned from the archaeological record?
you can find such evidence coprolites and in animal fossils that show geographic location, size sexual characteristics osteological changes.
Name the features of the Paranthropus skull
zygomatics, sagitital crest
