BIO 234|Fundamental Evolutionary Biology Scottsdale Community College and 2 + 2 partnership with Northern Arizona University Lecture 1.3 Insights of Darwin and Wallace Dr. John D. Nagy Image: Charles Darwin (left) and Alfred Russel Wallace (right), co-discoverers, along with Patrick Matthew, of evolution by natural selection. From Kutschera(2017). Summary and Instructions Complete this lecture by performing the following exercises: 1. Read §2.4 through 2.7 of the textbook, pages 38-57. 2. Optional: Read the rest of chapter 2: §2.1 through 2.3 provides interesting historical context, and §2.8 and 2.9 are handled in detail later in the course. 3. Master the definitions of the terms in the vocabulary list below. 4. Answer the focus questions written below; you may submit your answers either through Canvas or via email as a pdf or jpeg. Nagy, 2021 1 Evol Lec 1.3 Insights Vocabulary Population Common descent Transformational process Inheritance of acquired characters Biogeography Variational process Focus Questions Answer the following questions in Canvas. Alternatively, you can answer them in your own media (for example, paper, OneNote, or Word) and submit them through Canvas via email. Please note: If you choose to submit via email, please submit a pdf or jpeg copy of your work. Use your own words and be thorough in all your free-response answers. Concepts 1. Compare and contrast|list and explain all similarities and differences in|the explana- tions of Paley, Lamark and Darwin on why organisms are so well suited to their environ- ments. 2. Describe, in your own words, Darwin's 2 fundamental insights published in his book, On the Origin of Species. 3. Explain why evolution by natural selection is, today, associated primarily with Darwin and not Wallace or Patrick Matthew, even though all 3 developed the same theory at the same time. 4. Explain why the following statement is contradicted by Darwin's argument, as described on page 47 of the textbook: \Natural selection may be able to produce varieties, but it cannot make new species." 5. Explain precisely what figures 2.19 and 2.20 on page 51 of the textbook show and how this is related to Darwin's concept of natural selection. 6. Is natural selection a transformational or variational process? Why is it on and not the other? Give an example of a process that is the type natural selection is not. 7. Explain the fundamental difference between Lamark's and Darwin's theories, as illustrated in figure 2.22 on page 53 of the textbook. Nagy, 2021 2 Evol Lec 1.3 Insights Synthesis Figure 1: Timber wolves illustrating the typical grey coat. 1. Consider a population of captive wolves. They were captured from a variety of populations in North America and held in a large enclosure on a farm. They are all grey, with some variation in coloration (Fig.1) Suppose a breeder wishes to produce, from this captive population, wolves with a jet-black coat and ice-blue eyes. Using the principles of artificial selection as described in your textbook, explain precisely how the breeder should proceed in order to achieve this goal. 2. Timber wolves on Isle Royale (Fig.1) feed almost exclusively on moose. In contrast, Mexican wolves in New Mexico prey mainly on deer. Moose on average weigh around 1000 lbs, whereas deer weigh around 150 lbs. Use this information and Darwin's concept of natural selection to explain why timber wolves weigh on average about 85 lbs, while Mexican wolves are tpyically only 70 lbs. 3. Use the concept of common descent to predict on which continent you should look for fossils of extinct kangaroos. Explain the reasoning behind your choice. Image Credits Page1: Figure 3 of(Kutschera, 2017). Page3: The Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale webpage. References Kutschera, U. (2017). Symbiogenesis and cell evolution: An anti-Darwinian research agenda? In R. G. Delisle (Ed.), The Darwinian Tradition in Context, pp. 309{331. Springer International. Nagy, 2021 3 Evol Lec 1.3 Insights.