10 Beautiful Graphics About Evolution Site

The Academy's Evolution Site

The concept of biological evolution is a fundamental concept in biology. The Academies are involved in helping those who are interested in science to understand evolution theory and how it can be applied across all areas of scientific research.

This site provides a wide range of tools for students, teachers and general readers of evolution. It has important video clips from NOVA and the WGBH-produced science programs on DVD.

Tree of Life

The Tree of Life, an ancient symbol, symbolizes the interconnectedness of all life. It is an emblem of love and harmony in a variety of cultures. It has many practical applications as well, including providing a framework for understanding the history of species, and how they respond to changing environmental conditions.

The earliest attempts to depict the world of biology focused on categorizing organisms into distinct categories that had been identified by their physical and metabolic characteristics1. These methods rely on the sampling of different parts of organisms or short fragments of DNA have significantly increased the diversity of a Tree of Life2. These trees are mostly populated by eukaryotes, and bacterial diversity is vastly underrepresented3,4.

Genetic techniques have greatly broadened our ability to depict the Tree of Life by circumventing the need for direct observation and experimentation. We can create trees by using molecular methods, such as the small-subunit ribosomal gene.

Despite the rapid growth of the Tree of Life through genome sequencing, a lot of biodiversity remains to be discovered. This is especially relevant to microorganisms that are difficult to cultivate, and are typically found in one sample5. A recent study of all known genomes has created a rough draft of the Tree of Life, including numerous archaea and bacteria that have not been isolated, and their diversity is not fully understood6.

This expanded Tree of Life is particularly beneficial in assessing the biodiversity of an area, assisting to determine if certain habitats require protection. This information can be utilized in a variety of ways, such as finding new drugs, battling diseases and improving crops. This information is also extremely beneficial in conservation efforts. It can aid biologists in identifying those areas that are most likely contain cryptic species with important metabolic functions that may be at risk from anthropogenic change. While funds to safeguard biodiversity are vital, ultimately the best way to ensure the preservation of biodiversity around the world is for more people in developing countries to be empowered with the necessary knowledge to act locally to promote conservation from within.

Phylogeny

A phylogeny (also known as an evolutionary tree) shows the relationships between different organisms. By using molecular information as well as morphological similarities and distinctions, or ontogeny (the course of development of an organism) scientists can create a phylogenetic tree which illustrates the evolution of taxonomic categories. The role of phylogeny is crucial in understanding the relationship between genetics, biodiversity and evolution.

A basic phylogenetic Tree (see Figure PageIndex 10 Identifies the relationships between organisms that have similar characteristics and have evolved from a common ancestor. These shared traits could be analogous or homologous. Homologous traits are similar in terms of their evolutionary path. Analogous traits might appear similar, but they do not have the same ancestry. Scientists organize similar traits into a grouping called a the clade. For instance, all the organisms that make up a clade share the characteristic of having amniotic egg and evolved from a common ancestor who had eggs. A phylogenetic tree is then constructed by connecting clades to identify the organisms who are the closest to one another.

To create a more thorough and precise phylogenetic tree scientists make use of molecular data from DNA or RNA to establish the connections between organisms. This data is more precise than morphological data and provides evidence of the evolution history of an individual or group. Researchers can utilize Molecular Data to estimate the age of evolution of organisms and identify how many organisms have a common ancestor.

The phylogenetic relationships of a species can be affected by a number of factors, including the phenomenon of phenotypicplasticity. This is a type of behavior that changes as a result of particular environmental conditions. This can cause a characteristic to appear more like a species another, clouding the phylogenetic signal. However, this problem can be reduced by the use of techniques like cladistics, which include a mix of similar and homologous traits into the tree.

Furthermore, phylogenetics may aid in predicting the length and speed of speciation. This information can assist conservation biologists in making choices about which species to protect from the threat of extinction. In the end, it is the conservation of phylogenetic variety that will result in an ecosystem that is balanced and complete.

Evolutionary Theory

The fundamental concept in evolution is that organisms alter over time because of their interactions with their environment.  에볼루션  of evolutionary change have been proposed by a variety of scientists including the Islamic naturalist Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201-1274) who believed that an organism would evolve slowly in accordance with its requirements as well as the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) who designed the modern hierarchical taxonomy Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829) who suggested that the use or non-use of traits can cause changes that could be passed on to offspring.

In the 1930s & 1940s, ideas from different fields, including natural selection, genetics & particulate inheritance, came together to create a modern evolutionary theory. This defines how evolution occurs by the variation of genes in the population, and how these variations alter over time due to natural selection. This model, called genetic drift or mutation, gene flow, and sexual selection, is the foundation of modern evolutionary biology and can be mathematically described.

Recent discoveries in evolutionary developmental biology have demonstrated the ways in which variation can be introduced to a species by genetic drift, mutations, reshuffling genes during sexual reproduction and the movement between populations. These processes, along with other ones like directional selection and genetic erosion (changes in the frequency of the genotype over time), can lead to evolution, which is defined by changes in the genome of the species over time, and also the change in phenotype as time passes (the expression of that genotype within the individual).

Students can gain a better understanding of the concept of phylogeny by using evolutionary thinking in all aspects of biology. A recent study by Grunspan and colleagues, for instance revealed that teaching students about the evidence that supports evolution increased students' understanding of evolution in a college-level biology course. For more details about how to teach evolution look up The Evolutionary Potency in All Areas of Biology or Thinking Evolutionarily as a Framework for Integrating Evolution into Life Sciences Education.

Evolution in Action

Scientists have traditionally studied evolution by looking in the past, studying fossils, and comparing species. They also observe living organisms. But evolution isn't just something that happened in the past, it's an ongoing process, that is taking place today. Viruses reinvent themselves to avoid new medications and bacteria mutate to resist antibiotics.  에볼루션 코리아  alter their behavior because of a changing environment. The results are usually evident.

It wasn't until late 1980s that biologists realized that natural selection could be seen in action, as well. The key is that different traits confer different rates of survival and reproduction (differential fitness) and can be passed down from one generation to the next.

In the past when one particular allele--the genetic sequence that determines coloration--appeared in a population of interbreeding species, it could rapidly become more common than the other alleles. Over time, that would mean the number of black moths in a population could increase. The same is true for many other characteristics--including morphology and behavior--that vary among populations of organisms.

It is easier to see evolutionary change when a species, such as bacteria, has a high generation turnover. Since 1988 the biologist Richard Lenski has been tracking twelve populations of E. bacteria that descend from a single strain; samples of each are taken every day and more than fifty thousand generations have passed.

Lenski's work has demonstrated that a mutation can dramatically alter the speed at which a population reproduces and, consequently, the rate at which it alters. It also shows evolution takes time, something that is difficult for some to accept.

Microevolution is also evident in the fact that mosquito genes for pesticide resistance are more common in populations that have used insecticides. This is because the use of pesticides causes a selective pressure that favors those with resistant genotypes.

The rapidity of evolution has led to an increasing appreciation of its importance particularly in a world that is largely shaped by human activity. This includes pollution, climate change, and habitat loss that hinders many species from adapting. Understanding the evolution process will assist you in making better choices about the future of our planet and its inhabitants.