The Phylogenic Tree

There are numerous counts of evidence showing the processes of evolution and how species ultimately evolved over millions of years. One of the most compelling hypotheses behind evolution was presented by Charles Darwin with his study of the Galapagos Islands. His study showing the various different birds and their different evolutions they went through to be able to survive the changes of weather and relocation. The birds he studied had to change in order to survive, or as he simply puts it: “Survival of the Fittest”. Evolution is the changing of past organisms to diversify and have the ability to fit better in their environment and survive. Diving into the dinosaur cladogram, studies have shown that ancient dinosaurs, over hundreds of millions of years ago, evolved into our modern day birds, and not lizards as many suppose. It became apparent that there would not be enough food for a 9 ton dinosaur to consume on a daily basis forever. So evolution occurred and dinosaurs evolved to become more efficient so they could survive more effectively in their

Vertebrates are known to be animals with backbones. Tooth reduction is one of the major evolutionary trends that developed among major vertebrate groups that allowed for the transition from aquatic to terrestrial life. Evolution of limbs and being able to breath air are other evolutionary trends that took placeThese trends include improved respiration and protective and insulating body coverings. More over the transition from water to land also included changing to more efficient reproductive methods like having a placenta for some animals or egg layers for other animals. Lastly, the morphology of organisms evolved such that for land they would have paired, muscular appendages used for crawling and

It was an ordinary winter day in the city of Lynn, Massachusetts. As people headed to work and school they looked forward to the adventures the weekend would bring the next day. However, not so far away, Henry Rosario and his wife, Wendy Contreras, waited anxiously in their apartment knowing that the moment that would change their lives forever was near. “As my first daughter it was very painful, scary, and anxious” (Contreras interview). After waiting for what seemed like forever, they decided to go to Salem Hospital. Once they arrived, however, they were told by the doctor that she was not was not ready to deliver yet and was sent back home. At home, Wendy paced around the living room in agony waiting for the moment to come so she could get

Major Biological Event: Life evolved and diversified greatly during this Era, in an event called the Cambrian Explosion. Plants began to grow on the land and jawed fish began to appear. The first forests made of small trees and bushes forms, populated by insects, reptiles, amphibians. However, this Era ended with a max extinction in which 96% of the populus went extinct.

The political scenario in America consists of three institutions- the Congress (legislative), President (executive) and the Supreme Court (judiciary) which acts as safeguards to counterbalance each other.

From the common ancestor to organisms as complex as the Bonobo, certain species have changed to the point where they cannot be seen as related to their ancestors at all. The Bonobo (Pan paniscus), the Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae), the domestic Dog (Canis lupus familiaris), the Rhinoceros (Rhinocerotidae), Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus), Lion(Panthera leo), and American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) are all prime examples of organisms that are all related to one common ancestor.

The first super-continent- Rodinia broke up and vertebrate life began to colonize the planet. (Ross, Whitmore, Gollmer, Faulkner, 2015). This era is broken up into six time periods: the Cambrian- characterized by the sudden appearance of , Ordovician- characterized by life moving out of the oceans, Silurian- invertebrates appeared, Devonian-the first vertebrates appear, Carboniferous- when coal beds were formed around the earth due to “low-oxygen sedimentary conditions that produced peat” (Ross, Whitmore, Gollmer, Faulkner, 2015) and the Permian- when the extinction of most of the marine invertebrates

Such changes can be infinite as well as complex but is synonymous with the external nature and that of other organic beings and species. (OS p.60-61) Changes within natural conditions can lead to extinction of a specie, migration and immigration of others, and if befitting variation can occur, showing that descendants of a particular specie can become adapted to new conditions. For example we can use Giraffe to illustrate this because of their long neck. We have ‘Giraffe A’ who has a neck length of 2 metres, and can only reach to the lower part of a tree’s leafing section, and ‘Giraffe B’ with a neck length of 3 metres. With no other outside interference Giraffe B has a greater chance of survival because its neck is simply longer; allowing it to reach the lower levels of the tree and higher, ‘Survival of the Fittest’. Now for Giraffe A to allow its offspring to also have range of the higher levels of the tree it is necessary or at least advantageous for it to create offspring with Giraffe B, ‘Natural Selection’. The change may not be apparent within the first or second generation but as this cycle continues you would likely to find that by the fourth or fifth generation you have Giraffe with 4 to 5 metre length necks. The latter part of my example can also be accredited to

This spike in oxygen also caused the earth’s surface to be shielded from solar radiation. This was the start of the first unicellular organisms. The first multicelled animals started appearing in the records of fossils around 600 million years ago. Fossils found at this time were known as Ediacarans and showed a very important time of evolution for earth.

Long before the first species of human were alive, mammals were the ones occupying the earth. This specific period of geological time, called the Paleogene period, dated back to 66 million years ago and ended 24 million years ago; further dividing the Paleogene period, there is the Paleocene, Eocene, and Oligocene epochs. Each epoch is categorized based on their distinct differences, mainly in geography, climate, plants, and animals. To find out why scientists split the Paleogene into four epochs, we will analyze the differences in ecological conditions in each epoch and find the effect each epoch had on specific types of early primates.

Out of all of Well’s critiques for evolution, the one I found most compelling was Darwin’s tree of life. It honestly was very hard for me to pick an argument that I thought was compelling, because all of the arguments have far too many holes in them to seem realistic to me. I may have a biased view, since I am a Christian, but this argument of a common ancestor seemed like the most viable of the arguments because I do think that we all come from one ancestor, except, I think we come from Adam. I do think that this argument has the most power to me because of its potential to be true. Although fossil records indicate something more similar to the Cambrian explosion stated in the book, Well’s did admit that he could not prove to Strobel that

Phylogenetic trees are what are used to visually express the evolutionary relatedness. They show the ancestral descendant relationships among populations or species (Dynamic Books, 2011). These trees are constructed based off data from morphology, genetic characteristics, or even both (Losos,

The platypus, at first glimpse, looks as if it is an evolutionary accident, but on the contrary, it is an example of convergent evolution, where unrelated species evolve similar traits. About 280 million years ago, mammal like reptiles split from the bird and reptile origin. 80 million years later egg laying mammals, or monotremes, diverged from the mammal line. The platypus was one of those that remained from the branch of that family tree.

The Paleozoic era age approximately 300 million years (542 mya to 251 mya). This time period consists of two of the most important events in the history of animal life. In the beginning, multi celled animals underwent a dramatic explosion in diversity, this resulted in almost all living animal phyla appearing within a few million years. At the other end of the Paleozoic, it withstood the largest mass extinction in all of history. This event wiped out approximately 90% of all marine animal species. The causes of both these events are still not fully understood. Halfway in between this time period, animals, fungi, and plants began to colonize the land, insects emerged, and the limestone was deposited near the Burlington, Missouri area. During

However, such mass extinction opens up speciation – when new species are developed. After the K-Pg extinction, new groups of organisms were on the rise. Giant boid snakes (12 – 15 meters) began appearing on land and the teleost fish (diverse class of ray-finned fish) filled marine niches left vacant. Most significantly, “Paleocene mammals would spread and evolve into the many ecological niches left open by the extinction of the dinosaurs,” (“Cretaceous: Extinction of the Dinosaurs”).