Evolution 2021

Do you think mutation rates evolve? - We discussed this in class today, but when I first answered this question I immediately thought of the mutation rates of pathogens. I figured pathogens have pretty high mutation rates and are very adaptable. Thinking back to the video from chapter 2 from the "Primer to Evolution" textbook ( The Evolution of Bacteria ), I figured since bacteria form new generations in a short amount of time and pathogens have high mutation rates and compromise bacteria, then it must be true that mutation rates evolve.    Explain your answer in the context of Darwin's postulates about natural selection! Individuals in a population vary in their traits. Some of that trait variation is inherited from parents to their offspring. More offspring are produced in every generation than can possibly survive. Successful survival and reproduction of those offspring is not random but dependent on the traits they inherited from their parents.   -  If there are ...

How do you define fitness? Also, how would you measure fitness in a natural population? - I would define fitness as being a state in which an organism is best fit or best equipped for their particular environment. This is in terms of their ability to pass on their desirable traits. These desirable traits will be traits that are best fit to ensure survival in a their particular environment.  - I would say it would be very difficult to measure the fitness of an organism directly. In a natural environment, I think the phenotype of the organism would be the sole way of measuring an organism's fitness. Due to gene variation in a natural environment, it is impossible to look at an organism and know for certain that they have fully dominant or recessive alleles for a specific trait.  Provide a concrete example; i.e., be specific what organism you have in mind and describe the concrete steps you would take to quantify fitness. - Just by looking at the picture of a platypus b...

  Pick your favorite prediction Darwin's idea of descent with modification makes: Species change through time (microevolution). Lineages split and diverge (speciation). Novel forms derive from earlier forms (macroevolution). Species are not independent, but are connected by descent from common ancestors (common ancestry and homology). Earth and life are old. Speciation in the belly of a bug According to the Science Magazine News article, "Speciation in the Belly of a Bug" by Elizabeth Pennisi, scientists catch the cicada's gut bacteria in the process of divergence. Cicada's and other insects closely related are unable to naturally obtain a substantial amount of protein. Due to this, they 've been teaming up for millions of years with the bacteria within their belly that are responsible for manufacturing protein, a.k.a amino acids. In the latest Cell report, scientists observed that a bacterial partner within a cicada independently split, forming two separate s...