Higher Taxa Report

He noticed that the rocks at the top of the section had a very high percentage of fossils of living mollusc species. Those at the bottom of the section had very few living forms. He deduced that this difference was because of the extinction of older forms and the evolution of living forms during the time that the rocks were being deposited. He divided the Tertiary rocks into three sub-ages: the Pliocene, the Miocene, and the Eocene. 90% of the fossil molluscs in Pliocene rocks were living today. In the Miocene rocks, only 18% of the molluscs were of living species, and in Eocene rocks, only 9.5%.” (Polly et al.,

a. Microevolution: evolutionary change below the species level; change in the genetic makeup of a population from generation to generation. It is evolutionary change on its smallest scale

As seen with Anolis, single species of organisms have the ability to undergo adaptive radiation and become new species by filling niches in a given environment. This is prevalent not only in Anolis, but other model organisms as well, such as finches, sticklebacks, and cichlids. All of these organisms have gone through the similar mechanisms and processes to evolve into different species. Alike to Anolis, they have gone through reproductive isolation, adaptation, and convergent evolution. Due to a poor fossil record of Anolis, the other model organisms may give better outlook on how they have diverged overtime. Further investigations on all of these organisms and their evolutionary mechanisms would not only give better a better idea of ecological speciation, but more comprehension on the origin of all

Macroevolution (the change of one species to another through natural selection over a long period of time) is currently taught exclusively in many public high schools as the leading theory for the variety of species on Earth, including human life. Everyone who has sat in a high school biology class has heard that humans have evolved over time from a single cell to more complex organisms such as apes to our current state of humans. There is much controversy on the validity of the macroevolution theory which has numerous evidentiary shortcomings. Unlike microevolution (successive changes within a species due to natural selection) which is easily proven through examining bacteria, macroevolution is a best-guess science. Because macroevolution

In the first chapter, Coyne discusses the basic concept outline of evolution, and brings clarity to the common misconceptions thought and said about how the science works, and the large misuse of the word theory. The first chapter of this book also defines very carefully each of the main hypothesis of evolutionary theory. Which stands in dissimilarity to many other treatments of evolution, which all have a propensity to confuse some readers by integrating different meanings of the word. Coyne also divides Darwinism into six components. They are: evolution which means change over time, gradualism which is a policy of slower change rather than sudden change or a revolution, speciation which is the evolutionary process where a new biological species

The author and his colleagues chose to focus on 375 million year old rocks in their search for fossils because amphibians that look dissimilar to fish were discovered in 365 million year old rocks, while fish without amphibian characteristics were discovered in 385 million year old rocks. Thus, it is possible that the evolutionary intermediary, or the “missing link” between fish and amphibians, would be discovered in 375 million year old rocks, between the two time periods. The rocks examined were sedimentary in composition, as the gradual and relatively gentle formation of sedimentary rock under conditions of mild pressure and low heat are conducive to the fossilization of animal remains. Sedimentary rock is also often formed in rivers and seas, where animals are likely to live. This site provides a resource that describes means by which fossils are formed and how the fossil record may be interpreted, and shows some examples of fossils demonstrating evolution through geological periods: http://www.fossilmuseum.net/fossilrecord.htm. In 2004, Shubin and his colleagues were looking for fossils on Ellesmere Island, in northern Canada. This location was chosen because of its lack of human development, as well as of obstructing natural formations and life forms such as trees, which

In the science of paleontology, the history of life is studied. Paleontologists study fossils to learn the past ecologies, evolution, and the origins of humans. In order to understand the processes that have led to both the origination and destruction of organisms since life began, paleontologists incorporate both scientific knowledge and studies. Fossil findings are critically important for confirming predictions of evolution theory. Of the many discoveries that are made yearly to add depth to the understanding of evolution, an example is a recent discovery of a creature they named Tiktaalik. The Tiktaalik was uncovered to be a transitional animal between shallow-water fishes and limbed animals. The creature supports the idea that it emerged from both mammals and reptiles, suggesting that the two are related. These findings support prediction of evolution, contradicting the belief that God

Station 4 shows us a fossil record of past marine animals. Block 2 was proven to be older as it had more sea life. As a result, Block 1 is an accurate image of the Earth after the first animals made it to land. Therefore, Station 4 allows us to firmly conclude that animals did in fact arise from the oceans. Station 3 displays 2 preserved eels and one preserved salamander. It was shown that the Congo eel was more closely related to the salamander than to the other eel. In a way, Station 3 is an extension of Station 4, in that Station 3 shows the rise of animals from water to land and Station 4 shows the ascension of the amphibious creatures from semi-land to land. Station 4 allows us to conclude that animals did in fact rise from the oceans to land. Therefore, both Station 3 and 4 confirm the Theory of

In our studies of Intelligent Design (ID) theory and Creation Science, I found little information that seriously challenged the theory of evolution. However, there was one event that appeared to defy the logic of Darwinian gradualism: the Cambrian Explosion. This event was presented by ID theorists as proof of design--something which science is unable to account for. Unfortunately for ID proponents, this is not the case. There are several scientific explanations for the Cambrian Explosion. I will give an account of the Cambrian Explosion, present the ID arguments relating to it, and give some scientific explanations of the event.

While creationism is seemingly a very hopeful explanation for the creation of animal phyla by a supernatural force or being, this overlooks the potential of preservation bias and true triggers causing this explosion. Earth’s forces created the events of the Cambrian era. From glaciation, to change in oxygen, to distinct ecological interactions, there are true explanations we can observe from our planet’s history.

Macroevolution and microevolution use different approaches. Macroevolution looks at the classification of species and subspecies whereas micro-evolution takes on a more reductionist approach. Macro-evolution is a large change over time and focuses more on speciation resulting from separated gene pools. Its focus is between species and their common ancestors rather than within species. Microevolution is essentially part of macroevolution, just on a different time scale. Small evolutionary changes over time make up macroevolution and consists of mutations, changes in gene flow, genetic drift, and selection processes. These processes can result in speciation over a large amount of time.

The author suggest that mammals existed during the dinosaurs' era and had relied on eggs of dinosaurs. As a result, this might had also contributed dinosaur

4m, arthropods vary from herbivores and carnivores, parasitic and free-living, social and solitary, being extreme ubiquitous they can be found everywhere on the planet, to deepest oceans and highest mountains (Wheeler et al, 2004). Arthropods possesses a wide range of taxonomic and structural diversity, ancient fossil record and a prefered model system to study morphogenisis, therefore it could awnser many questions regarding evolutionary biology (Regier & Shultz, 1997). To awnser those questions is required a a phylogenetic framework. Unfortunally evolutionary relationships among the majorority of arthropods groups are still controversial (Regier & Shultz, 1997). One of the problems of phylogenetic reconstruction of arthropods is the choice of a outgroup (Giribet & Ribera, 1997). Acording to Giribet & Ribera (1997) an outgrup must be historically related to the members of the ingroup. Other problem is about polyphyly and monophyly and relationships in subphyla Chelicerata, Atelocerata and Crustacea (Regier & Shultz, 1997). With advancements in

My outside source for questions 3 and 4 is a journal by Pat Shipman titled Fossils. This journal was published in The New Scientist Vol. 215, Issue 2876, p. 8-16.

First off, when talk about macro, micro evolution there is much falsehood about these two words, but, understanding them is maybe the vital essential for comprehension the creation or development issue. Macroevolution alludes to major developmental changes after some time, the inception of new sorts of creatures from beforehand existing, yet distinctive, tribal sorts. On the other hand, Microevolution alludes to assortments inside of a given sort. Change happens inside of a gathering, however the relative is unmistakably of the same sort as the precursor.