1.

Geologic time scale record of earths history by studying layers of the

Earth
a. Eon largest; hundreds to thousands to millions of years
b. Era - tens to hundreds to millions
c. Period no more than 100 million years
d. Epoch evolutionary ups and downs of mammals and birds

Precambrian 4500 million years 543, no eons in it; from formation of

Earth to appearance of multi-cellular organism
Phanerozoic 543 - today
o Palezoic: 543-251;
Cambrian -543
Ordovician -510
Silurian - 439
Devonian 409
Carboniferous - 354
Permian 300
o Mesozoic: 251-65
Triassic - 251
Jurassic - 206
Cretaceous -144
o Cenozoic: 65 today; when dinosaurs became extinct
Tertiary - 65
Paloecene - 65
Eocene - 57
Oligocene - 35
Miocene-24
Pliocene-5
Quartenary - 1.8
Pleistocene 1.8; bulk of human evolution
Holocene 0.01 (12 000 years ago)

2. 19th century: Horizontal section arrangement when they study of strata

a. Stratalayers of different rock types

3. George Cuvier (1768-1832) zoologist and naturalist;

a. helped establish our current understanding of history of Earth
b. began comparative anatomy and studied elephants and mammoth
fossils
c. studied sedimentary rocks, pterodactyl 5 living animals
d. believed the world to be a few million years old
e. Observed strata layers and realized some species would appear, others
disappear, led to catastrophism
i. To know Earths history With Bible, look at the Great Flood

4. Two theories about the history of the Earth

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 a. Catastrophism Earths features accounted for violent large-scale
events that occurred short amount of time
i. Belief system
1. Then: Most of the physical features are caused by
dramatic violent large scale (then)
2. Now: Small-scale relatively calm natural disaster (now)
b. James Hutton features formed by slow, ongoing geologic processes
i. Father of modern geology
ii. Present key to the past
iii. Uniformitarianism (a.k.a. gradualism) theory that Earths
features are attributed to the gradual small scale processes;
massive changes can occur on Earths surface if the
small-scale processes are given enough time
1. Fleshed out by Charles Lyell: published Principles of
Geology (finer detail of uniformitarianism)
2. Gave a real boost to geology and helped sharpen and
make fine the details that geologists encounter
3. Boosted what we know about the Earths history

5. Modern consensus lean towards catastrophism: uniformitarianism + hint

of catastrophism
a. Punctuated equilibrium change of species during short burst of
evolution

6. Methods of Geological dating

a. Relative: find ordered sequence; compare different layers of rocks to
determine ordered sequence of events; not actual dating; only knows
which rock is older
i. Stratigraphic succession: most common form; how rocks
are built up and changed by geologic processes; geologists have
the following assumptions in order to conduct SS:
1. Principle of original horizontality
a. All rock layers are horizontal
2. Law of Superposition
a. Youngest top; oldest bottom
b. Whatever forces caused the deformation must
have occurred after the formation of all the
rock strata
3. Cross cutting relationships: Rock formations that cut
across other rocks must be younger than the rocks they
cut across
a. Example 1: igneous intrusion must have happened
after the formation of the rock and the strata.
b. Example 2: A fault cut across must have cut after
formation of set
4. Inclusions foreign bodies of rock enclosed within
another rock
a. Older than the sedimentary rock within they are
found

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 5. Unconformities missing rock layers; interfaces
between discontinuous layers of rocks; do not give an
accurate picture of the geologic history
a. Example 1: Great Unconformity of the Grand
Canyon between the sandstone above and the
shale below (under is vertical; shifted rock position
after earthquake)
ii. Fossil succession: how fossils appear on the layers of the rocks
to determine the relativistic age of each
b. Numerical: find the actual age of a rock through radiometric dating
i. History: Becquerel and Rutherford
1. Henri Becquerel 1896
a. Uranium
b. Radioactive decay
c. Emit energetic particles to make new elements

2. Ernest Rutherford 1905

a. Use change in mass with radioactive decay to
determine the age
b. Study age of rock containing uranium mineral
ii. Radiometric/radioactive dating method using radioactive
decay to determine age of rocks based on known decay
rate of radioactive isotope; decay into other elements at
fixed rates
1. Uses K, Rb, U, C and U
iii. Radioactive decay process by which an unstable atomic
nucleus loses energy by releasing radiation; each radioactive
isotope decays on fixed rate expressed as half-life.
1. Get age by knowing the radioactive element and its
half-life
a. time for quantity to fall half of its starting value;
b. Full-life: all radiation, no more radioactive.
Halfway to point where it is no longer radioactive
that point half-life
2. Radioactive elements are unstable more stable state
3. Parent nuclide release energy daughter nuclide
(parent gives birth to daughter after the unstable nuclide
undergoes decay)
a. Alpha release of alpha particle (2 N + 2 P;
helium nucleus)
i. Too much energy, release 2N and 2P
b. Beta N: Z ratio is too great go to more stable
state; radioactive decay where beta particle is
emitted
i. Take proton, remove negative charge and
turn it to proton
ii. Example: neutron feels more stable if it
turns to a proton, so it emits an electron to
make it a proton.

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 c. Gamma high-energy photon not see number of
protons and neutrons but it releases a lot of energy
i. Travel through body but not through lead
ii. X-ray of the teeth, gamma ray only teeth but
not body
iii. Gamma ray emitted, nucleus emits gamma
rays (high-energy photons) leaving it into a
lower energy state
iv. Different methods
1. Uranium-Lead dating
a. Uranium-238 which decays to lead 206 (4.7 billion
years)
b. Uranium 235 to lead 207 (704 M years)
c. Start with 2 uranium isotopes lead
i. Different rates = different half lifes
d. Different rates provide different decay clocks, allow
graphs used to check different samples
2. K-Argon dating
a. K-40 Ar-40: 1.3 B
3. Rb-Sr
a. Rubidium-87 to strontium-87: 50B
b. 50 billion years long time, used to date the rocks
on Earth brought back from moon
4. Radiocarbon dating (carbon-14, carbon dating) IF
ORGANIC
a. Method used to determine the age of organic
material by measuring the radioactivity of its
carbon content
b. For those once alive like trees and plants,
determine age of relics
c. Amount of radioactive isotope C-14 is measured
i. C-14 N-14: 5730 years (shorter than
others)
ii. C-14 continuously created due to the
activities in the atmosphere due to action of
cosmic rays hit in the air
1. C-14 + oxygen (intake by organism) =
(released as) carbon dioxide
2. Plants use carbon dioxide: inside
plants, then animals, stops taking in C-
14 if organism dies
3. Decay to N-14 if organism dies, then
starts clock for radiocarbon dating
7. Conditions of Fossil Preservation, Rapid Burial, Hard parts, the
Elements
a. Tinier creatures living alongside larger species
b. Fossil Preservation process by which the remains of an organism
are transformed into rock, or impressions within sedimentary rock

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 i. If you see a fossil dinosaur bone not bone but rock in a shape
of bone, minerals in the dinosaurs bones are replaced by other
minerals
ii. After years: BONES ROCKS
iii. Lucky if bones turn fossils
iv. If they die, they decompose immediately. Scavengers and
decomposers eat it
1. Temperature shrunk tissues
2. Rain and sun degrade skins and bones
3. Beetles chew what is left
4. Other animals trample over it
v. SUCCESS OF FOSSIL PRESERVATION: Conditions
1. Rapid burial: Plant or animal is buried in mud, silt or
other protective substances after death
a. Example 1: Underwater safe from other animals
and temperature is constant; covered by
sediments.
b. Some dinosaurs are lucky that they get this, other
ancient creatures are buried in the pit of tar
i. Protected from destructive forces of
terrestrial ecosystem
2. Hard parts (thats why skin is not that known) bones,
teeth, nails, shells, exoskeleton of arthropods, wood,
seeds
a. Body organs, tissues decompose easily before
fossilized
b. Some soft body parts can be fossilized as
natural casts or rock compressions feathers,
footprints and brains, shapes of flowers,
leaves,
c. Hard part, if 3D fossil
3. Case: Skin and hair from mammoths later than
dinosaurs
a. Lived in arctic regions of the world
i. Cold temperature and dry air are more
conducive than warm moist conditions
ii. Fewer scavengers, insects, bacteria that
would accelerate a dead creatures
breakdown
4. Effects of elements:
a. Type of terrain
b. Type of scavengers
c. Local weather
d. Local soil composition
e. Humidity and precipitation of the area
8. Relative Dating with Fossils
a. If two different outcrops are found in different places, follow fossil
succession

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 b. William Smith southern England, collected fossils and recognized
which fossils tended to show up in which rock strata; identified rock
layer by the fossils they contained
i. Principle of Fossil Succession: Certain assemblages, or
groups, of animals and plants have lived during certain time
periods over geologic history (example: humans and elephants
because we are part of the same assemblage)
1. Fossil assemblage change over the years and vary from
period to period clear and predictable
a. Use succession of fossil assemblages to
establish the relative ages of rocks
b. Look out for animals not in long period but
short periods so they will show in only one
layer
2. Index fossil fossil representing a plant or animal that
existed for a relatively short duration of time; help
distinguish between rock strata from different time
periods; common widely distributed species that are easy
for scientists to identify
a. Example: scallop shells, amanites, trilabite good
examples
b. How its used for relative dating? Correlate rocks
from different distances, continents, etc. to get
more details

9. Evolution a change in characteristics within a population over time; core

theme of Biology; a theory (scientific theory is defined as something that
explains a natural phenomenon and has been repeatedly confirmed through
experiments and observations
a. Different studies
i. Paleontology study of prehistoric life
1. Whales and dolphin femur and pelvis, show they
evolved from four legged animals
ii. Biogeography distribution of species

10. Lamarckian inheritance: Heritability of Acquired

Characteristics
a. Jean Baptiste Lamarck
b. Evolution of new anatomical structures is driven by necessity, and if an
organism doesnt need it, that structure will be less developed and
smaller due to disuse
c. Need for trait promote evolution of trait
d. Mutation provides new alleles which may or may not improve traits;
these two create genetic variation
i. Random assortment
ii. Crossing over

11. Darwinian: Natural Selection

a. Populations rather than individual evolve possible due to the genetic
variation

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 b. Natural selection agent that determines the differential reproduction
rate; an evolutionary agent which allows certain individuals in a
population to contribute more offspring to the next generation than
others
c. Evolution occurs through the selective pressure for a pre-
existing trait in a population.
d. Used to predict allelic, genotypic, and phenotypic ratios
e. Species living today are descendants of others described as descent
with modification

12. August Weismann disproved Jean Baptiste Lamarck, disproved his

theory
a. Tails of mice neither disappeared

13. Paleontology, Biogeography, Embryology, Comparative

Anatomy
The theory of evolution is a scientific theory explains natural
phenomena and has been repeated confirmed through experiments and
observations, studied, tested, other sources to support it
a. Paleontology study of prehistoric life
i. Leave behind footprints and bones
ii. Form biological timeline
1. Relative
2. Radiometric
iii. Whales and dolphins evolved from four-legged animals
because they have flippers and back limbs from pelvis and
femur
b. Biogeography distribution across the Earth (first suggested to
Darwin the common ancestor theory)
i. Galapagos animals and South American islands but dissimilar to
others with similar environment
1. Galapagos South America
ii. Penguins and Polar Bears location
c. Comparative Anatomy
i. Homology similarity in a common ancestor; examples: four
limbs of mammals (same skeletal structure but different
function) structures come from common ancestors but now
different functions (BUT VERY LIMITED INFO COMPARED TO
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY)
1. Humans
2. Whales
3. Bats
4. Dogs
d. Embryology study of embryos; same structure present only in their
developmental stage show common structure
i. Example: tail, from pouches (near throat and ears, gills)

e. Molecular Biology since relationship between organisms that are

very distantly related are difficult to link with anatomy

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 i. Used biological change at the molecular level to observe
evolution of organisms
ii. Degree of difference between organisms show difference
in common ancestor
1. How closely related and
2. How long ago did they share the common ancestor
14. Rates of evolution
a. 6.5 million years for new species to develop (fossil records tell us a lot
about the world)
i. 4000 years - quickly
ii. 40 million years slowly
b. Punctuated equilibria long periods of equilibrium (little change)
with abrupt periods of speciation
i. 1 2 ------------------------------------ 2
ii. If changes occur in first 50 000, which is a short period of time,
it might not show up well in population.
iii. Fossil records can be misleading.
c. Genomes accumulate changes at a constant rate use to
compare DNA
d. Homologous genes similar in structure, location, and function
i. When you know rate of change in homologous genes, you can
calculate molecular clock
ii. Example: bat and dolphin more similar than sharks and fish
e. Molecular clock compares number of nucleotide differences against
the dates of evolutionary branch points from fossil records
i. Estimate dates of evolutionary changes
ii. May vary with different f organisms
iii. Calibrated to multiple genes to account for the different rates at
which animals DNA evolve

15. Genetic drift random loss of individuals and the alleles they possess
a. Population bottleneck drastically decrease in size
b. Founder effect: small group leaves to be part of the main population

16. Population genetics study of allelic, genotypic, and phenotypic

variation within a population (used to check if a population evolves)

17. Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium equation describes the genotypic

frequencies in a population
a. When in equilibrium: allelic and genotypic frequency may be
predicted
b. Conditions that must be met:
i. Large population size
ii. Random mating
iii. No migration between populations
iv. No mutations
v. No natural selection
c. Conditions cannot be met but this is useful because it can tell us
whether or not an evolutionary agent is affecting the
population

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 d. Allele frequency should not change unless an evolutionary
agent changed it
i. If affected by EA, population has deviated from equilibrium and
the genetic makeup of population is changing.
e. Gene pool: sum of all the alleles in a population
f. Evolutionary agent: any force that alters the genetic structure of a
population
g. Non-random mating: evolutionary agent which alters genotypic
frequency
h. Genetic drift: random loss of individuals and the alleles they posses
i. Population bottleneck: When a population decreases significantly in
size
j. Founder effect: when a small group leaves the main population to
form a new population

p2+ 2 pq+ q2=1

p and q are the proportion allelic frequency in the population
p2= proportionof individualsthe population homozygouz for the first allele
B
p=
B+ b

b
q=
B+b
18. Natural selection and adaptation
a. Fitness: a measurement of the ability of a trait to increase or decrease
the relative contribution of offspring by an individual to the next
generation; a phenotype which improves fitness of an individual will
improve its viability relative to other individuals in the population
b. Variation within a population provides the genetic variability
for improvements to the population.
c. Adaptation a trait that enhances the reproductive and survival
success of an organis
d. Homologous structure: structure shared between different organism
that came from a common ancestor
e. Analogous trait: a trait similar in appearance or purpose but evolved
independently in the 2 organisms in question
f. Convergent evolution: When selective pressure results in the
independent evolution of similar traits in two or more organisms

19. Types of natural selection

a. Directional selection: selection in which individuals with a trait at
one of the spectrum are most fit
b. Disruptive selection: selection in which individuals at either end of a
phenotypic spectrum are most fit (left and right); moth color

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 c. Stabilizing selection: selection in which individuals at middle of a
phenotypic spectrum are most fit; birth rate
d. Heterozygote advantage: a case in which the heterozygous
genotypes has a higher relative fitness than either
homozygous genotype
i. Example 1 - Sickle-shape cells: - sickle cell; + malaria
resistance
e. Balance polymorphism: two alleles of a gene maintained in a
population because heterozygotes are more fit than homozygous
counterpart
f. Polymorphism: alternate versions of a trait

20. Speciation
a. Species: an independent evolutionary unit of organisms
i. Member could mate with other members
b. Speciation process by which an ancestor splits into two or more
species
i. Population gene pool must be divided caused by either physical
or biological barrier
c. Allopatric speciation geographic speciation; the dominant one,
when population is separated by physical barrier (allo different; patris
country)
d. Sympatric speciation occurs without physical separation of
members of the population
i. Played role in evolution of plant species
ii. Polyploidy common means; characteristic of a cell or
organism with more than 2 complete sets of
chromosomes
1. Haploid instead of a diploid
2. Mating of haploid and diploid triploid, causes problem
with fertility; hence they are sterile

21. Prezygotic barriers

a. Zygote sperm and egg
b. Viability ability to avoid dying
c. Hybrid mixed origin
d. Prezygotic reproduction barrier mechanism that prevents
fertilization from occurring
i. Spatial isolation diff species are isolated geographically
ii. Temporal isolation species are reproductive isolated by
different mating seasons
1. Ratio of light and dark hamsters experience during the
day to investigate if it really is temporal isolation
iii. Mechanical isolation incompatible reproductive organs
iv. Gametic isolation species are reproductively isolated
because the sperm cannot find, attach, or fuse with the egg of
the other species
v. Behavioral isolation species are reproductively isolated
because individuals in one species reject individuals of another
species as possible mates

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 vi. Other organisms may also affect speciation (example:
pollinators are picky)

22. Postzygotic reproductive barrier mechanism that reduces

viability or reproductive capacity of hybrid offspring more than one
mechanism for reproductive isolation affects the separation of a population
into two species; occurs after the sperm meets the egg
a. Hybrid zygote abnormality hybrid zygotes fail to mature normally;
hybrid dies or suffers from abnormality
b. Hybrid infertility hybrids are incapable of producing offspring
i. Call diff species since you cannot share genetic information
between them
ii. Examples: mule 63 chromosomes; suffer from aneuploidy
(presence of an abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell)
c. Low hybrid viability the viability of hybrid offspring is lower than
offspring in either population; die at an alarmingly fast rate

23. Genetic variation individuals in a population have variations of the

same trait; naturally occurring genetic differences among individuals
a. Evolution editing process, not creating process
b. Genetic variability how much the trait will vary and how well the
population adapts to environmental changes; the potential for a
characteristic to vary within a population
i. High adapt
ii. Low - extinct
c. Random mutations changes in the nucleotide of DNA
i. Mutation creates variation
ii. Unfavorable mutations selected against
iii. Reproduction and mutation occur
iv. Favorable mutations more likely to survive
v. And reproduce
d. Example of evolution of peppered moths
i. Natural selection process in which organisms best suited to
their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce

24. An artificial selection in evolution

a. Artificial selection humans deliberately select for or against certain
traits; selective breeding; force by humans
i. Example: Wild mustard Brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauli
flower, broccoli, etc.
b. Problem: decrease of genetic variety, reduces gene pool, more
susceptible to disease and may not adapt to the problems
c. Inbreeding closely related organisms mate

25. TAXONOMY
a. Binomial nomenclature two names to identify organism (by
Carolus Linnaeus)
b. First letter capital
c. Others italicized

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 d. Based on morphology and genetics: taxonomy naming and
classifying organisms
i. Domain
1. Bacteria
2. Archaea
3. Eukarya
ii. Kingdom cell type, number, how to get food
1. archaebacteria, prokaryotic, unicellular
2. eubacteria, prokaryotic, unicellular, different genetic
composition than archaebacteria
3. Protista, eukaryotic, unicellular, plant-like and animal-
like
4. Animals, largest
5. Plants,
6. Fungi, eukaryotic, heterotrophic, plant-like but they
cannot make their own food
iii. Phylum
iv. Class
v. Order
vi. Family
vii. Genus
viii. Species

26. Cladograms and phylogenetic trees illustrate relationships

among organisms and evolutionary relationships for organisms with a
common ancestor
a. Cladogram: Derived from common ancestor but branches are not
representative of evolutionary time; not show relationship between
ancestor and descendant
b. Phylogenetic tree: show how species change over time; evolutionary
history;
c. Clade: klados branch; group of species that share a common
ancestor
i. Monophyletic one ancestor and all descendants
ii. Paraphyletic All descendants minus one group
iii. Polyphyletic characterized by homoplasies
1. Homoplasies - characteristics which appear similar,
giving the impression that they were inherited from the
same common ancestor even though they werent
a. Example: pachyderm (thick skin)
iv. Each branch show evolutionary difference
v. Take inventory of characteristic of each species

27. Prokaryotes small, prokaryotic, unicellular

a. Nucleoid: contains genetic information
b. Classification
i. Spherical: cocci
ii. Rod-shaped: baccili
iii. Spiral: spirochetes (lyme disease)
c. Autotrophic: Photo or chemo

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 d. Archaeabacteria extreme environment
i. Thermophiles
ii. Halophiles salt lover
iii. Methanogens carbon dioxide and hydrogen to produce
methane
e. Eubacteria decomposition and digestion, usually symbiotic
relationships, responsible for some diseases
i. Killed by antibiotics

28. Protists small, eukaryotic, unicellular, aquatic usually, some are

multicellular
a. Animal-like heterotrophs, get their nutrients by ingesting food, also
called protozoa (first animals)
b. Plant-like autotrophs, get nutrients through photosynthesis,
protophyta (first plants) , diatoms (glass-like cell walls, used
nanotechnology)
c. Fungus-like - heterotrophs, get nutrients by absorbing,
d. Dinoflagellates, euglena
e. Endosymbiosis cyanobacteria involved in production of chloroplasts

29. Fungi have nucleus and cellwalls

a. Plants non-motile that uses photosynthesis to get energy
i. Moss, hornworts, liverworts
ii. Vascular tissues
iii. 360 MYA: plants developed seeds
b. Fungus non-motile, heterotrophic, chitin cell wall
i. More similar to animals
ii. Evolved from fungus-like protists
iii. Types
1. Small simple in lakes and soils
2. Molds
3. Sac fungi with distinctive parts
4. Mushroom

30. Characteristics of animals

a. Symmetry radian and bilateral
b. Body tissue complexity = ore tissue
i. Ectoderm
ii. Mesoderm
iii. Endoderm
c. Vertebral column vertebrates and invertebrates (more simple)
i. Invertebrates
1. mollusks soft bodies with protective shells
2. nematodes simple worms
3. arthropods hard exoskeleton and joint appendages
4. echinoderms spiny skin
ii. Vertebrates
1. Lampreys simple body like parasites
2. Cartilaginous fish cartilage (shark and manta ray) with
jaws

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 3. Bony fish with skeleton and bone
4. Amphibians first to develop legs
5. Reptiles eggs to be laid out of water
6. Birds
7. Mammals produce milk, fur or hair, efficient respiratory
and circulatory systems, warm-blooded (more than 5000
different species on Earth)
iii. Body cavity
31. Humans
a. Primates mammals with forward-looking eyes, hands and feet
capable of grasping, large brains, complex social behaviors, care for
the young, nails not claws, fingerprints, lived in trees, tails for balance;
mostly quadrupedal
b. Separation
i. Old world Asia, Africa
ii. New world South America
c. Groups
i. Hominoids gibbon, orangutan, gorilla, chimpanzee, bonobo,
human
ii. Long arms, short legs from new world
iii. Humans bipedal primates capable of language, symbolic
thought, and both the creation and use of complex tools; shorter
digestive tract, smaller jaw
iv. Hominins hominoids related to humans dating back 6 to 7
million years ago
v. Australopithecus bipedal with small bite, Lucy
vi. Homo habilis handy man, advanced tools
vii. Homo erectus
viii. Neanderthals evolutionary dead end
ix. Homo sapiens 160 000 195 000 years ago
32. Four major characteristics that drive evolution
a. Natural selection
b. Gene flow
c. Genetic drift

33. Underlying principles of evolution

a. Perpetual change
b. Nature the combine influences of physical and biological limiting
factors
c. Limiting factor any trait that is physical or biological which regulates
the welfare of an organism

34. Darwinian natural selection three conditions

a. Natural variability trait must be inheritable
b. Differential reproduction
c. Inheritable trait

35. 3 conservation methods

a. Eco-regions approach: identify biodiversity hotspot and identify
conservation ecosystem

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 b. Umbrella species conservation: keystone species concept; conserve
species and you conserve other species
c. Species survival plan population genetics in wild populations; captive
breeding programs

36. Federal and international legislation

a. Endangered species act of 1973
b. Cites 1970 which prohibits the trade and commerce of endangered
species

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