CHAPTER: 24

EVOLUTION
 It is a process of gradual changes in which one species is converted into
another species during the period of millions of years.
 There are two schools of thoughts regarding evolution.

1. Theory of special creation

 The theory of special creation believes that living entities are created by
God.
 The supporters of special creation are called creationist.
 They were created either at the same time or at some intervals.
 However species do not have any inter-relationship with each other from
origin point of view.
 They were created in the same form as present today so are supposed to be
fixed and immutable.
 Father Saures (1548-1613) was one of the advocate of creationism.
 Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish botanist who wrote number of books describing
nature and is best known for his great scientific work on taxonomy.
 Initially he was also believer of fixity of species.
 Theory of evolution
 Theory of evolution believe that organisms are evolved through gradual
process of changes from simple to complex forms during the course of time.

 Thus plants and animals developed in continuous way under the guidance
of natural laws.

 George Buffon (1749-1788) was the first to implement the geological time
scale and developed the idea that living beings evolved constantly.

 The concept of evolution of living organisms contradicts clearly with the

concept of Devine creation.

 Gradually a number of evolutionary biologist contributed to the evolution

 The opposition became extremely strong regarding the evolution of man.

 The Holy book Quran says very clearly in many Surahs that Allah has created
man.
 Evidence of evolution
 From molecular level to gross structure of an organism, the process
of evolution is supported through evidences from different disciplines of
biology
1. Evolution from biogeography
 The distribution of different species on earth provide evidence of evolution
and it correlates the variation of species and movement of continents across
the globe via plate tectonics.

 Pouched mammals such as kangaroo, coala found in America, Australia and

New Guinea. These areas are separated by pacific oceans.

 This makes impossible for said mammals to swim through such large water
body to move to large distance.

 The scientist believe that existing continents were once a single piece of
land called Pangaea.
 About 200 million years ago, all the continents on Earth were actually
one huge "supercontinent" surrounded by one enormous ocean.
 Slowly and gradually it broke into other land masses and animal rode
through continents to their current position and diversified.
 Evidence From Paleontology
 Paleontology deals with study of fossils (old organism which were present in
past but are not present today).
 During the course of time, those organisms were preserved partly or
completely.
 Through such remains, paleontologists try to reconstruct them.
 Archaeopteryx, a fossil of bird being discovered in 1861 in Bavaria,
Germany.
 It is estimated that archaeopteryx lived about 150 million years ago.
 A careful study of this fossil revealed that it showed mixed character of
birds as well as reptiles.

 Just like birds, it has beak, wings, tail and body covered with feathers.
 However like reptiles, it posses teeth, fingers with claws in forelimbs,
vertebrae in tail and keel less sternum.

 The presence of mixed features suggest that some of ancestral reptiles

were turned into early birds which later completely lost the reptilian features
and transformed into modern bird.
 Evidence Of Comparative Anatomy (Homology)
 Different species may show number of internal and external organs similar
to each other.
 They may exhibit visibly different structures but involved in same function.
 Organs which are similar in structure but different in function are termed as
homologous organ.
For example: Arm of man, flippers of dolphin, fore limbs of horse and wings of
bat are homologous.
 All of these mammalian organs are same internally in skeleton plan having
same number and arrangement of bones; pentadactyl hand, suggesting
common origin.
 These all structures are
different in functions as per
requirement of habitat.
 Biologically this is termed
as divergent evolution since
two or more species share
common ancestry.
 Analogous organs often arise when different species face similar ecological
challenges and selective pressures, leading to the evolution of similar
adaptations.
For Example: wings of insects, birds and bat have common function for flight
but they have no anatomical resemblance.
 Analogous structures are evidence of convergent evolution, where different
species independently evolve similar traits due to similar environmental
conditions, rather than shared ancestry.
 This concept contrasts with homologous structures, which are similar due
to shared ancestry.
 Evidence from molecular biology
 Molecular biology is concerned with the study of molecules of cell and its
organelles .
 It provide evidence in favour of evolution.
 Genetic code may be considered in this case as good example.
 The translation between base triplet in RNA and amino acids in protein in
universal in all living organisms.
 It can be confirmed by isolating mRNA for haemoglobin from a mammal
and injecting it into bacterium E.coli, it will start producing mammalian
haemoglobin while it does not have haemoglobin normally.
 Thus this is evidence that the machinery for decoding the message must be
common from mammals to bacterium.
 Another example is antibiotic resistance developed by pathogenic bacteria.
 If they do not adapt to lethal effect of the antibiotics, they would have been
extinct.
 They undergo mutations in their genes to resist antibiotics.
 This on other hand put pharmaceutical companies into constant challenge
to develop and improve new much effective antibiotic.
 The Endosymbiotic Theory
 This theory describes how mitochondria and chloroplasts (cell organelles)
came to exist in eukaryotic organisms.
Explanation:
 The endosymbiotic theory explains the evolution of mitochondria and
chloroplasts.
 Before mitochondria and chloroplasts were organelles in a cell, they were
free prokaryotic cells that were absorbed by eukaryotic cells.
 The mitochondrion was originally a prokaryotic cell that could
undergo aerobic respiration. After being absorbed by a eukaryotic cell, it
developed a symbiotic relationship with its host cell.
 The chloroplast was originally a prokaryotic cell that could undergo
photosynthesis (eg. cyanobacteria).
 Like the mitochondria, the photosynthesizing bacteria became dependent
on the host cell after being engulfed.
 There is much evidence to support the endosymbiotic theory.
 Both prokaryotes and chloroplasts/mitochondria have circular DNA
 Both have their own ribosomes
 Both divide through binary fission (splitting into two)
 Both have their own cell membranes
 LAMARCKISM
 Jean Baptiste de Lamarck or simply known as Lamarck, a French biologist
(1744-1829) proposed ideas of evolution.
 His theory is known as Lamarckism or Inheritance of Acquired characters.
 His discussed in detail about his theory of evolution in his book Philosophie
zoologique in French in 1809.
 In view of Lamarck, the process of evolution is like a ladder of life
proceeding from simple to complex level of organisms with modification of
characters.
 He proposed theory on following postulates:
1. Use and disuse of organs
 Lamarckism is also known as ‘the theory of use and disuse’.
 Lamarck suggested that changing environments lead to changes in the use
or disuse of a body part/organ.
These changes would be inherited by the offspring.
He explained this theory using the example of giraffes, which were originally
short-necked animals, but through continuous attempts to reach out to higher
trees for leaves to eat, kept exerting pressure on their necks.
Over generations, the length of the neck kept increasing, eventually resulting
i. Aquatic birds develop webbed foot by stretching the skin between the toes.
ii. Limbs are absent in snakes, Proteus and some burrowing animals since
they were of no use in crawling and were a hindrance in movement.
iii. The long neck of the giraffe developed due to constant stretching to reach
food.
iv. The muscles of the external ear or pinna in man are reduced but functional
and well developed in animals like the dog, rabbit etc. to collect sound waves.
2. Inheritance of acquired character
 The inheritance of acquired characteristics is a theory that physiological
changes acquired during an organism's lifetime can be passed down to the
offspring.
 It is also known as adaptation theory.
 The elongated neck of the giraffe is
a classical example to explain the theory
of acquired characteristics.
 According to Lamarck's theory,
a giraffe's neck could elongate over a
lifetime of straining to reach high
branches.
 The elongated neck of the giraffe
which is an acquired trait is then
Inherited from one generation to
another.
Criticism of Lamarckism:
 Lamarck’s theory was subject to severe criticism.
 Two scientists Cuvier and Weismann were great critics of Lamarck while
Charles Leyll supported the idea of Lamarckism.
Some objections raised against Lamarckism are as follows:
A. If new organs were to develop in response to a new need, then man should
have developed wings by now.
B. Changes acquired during the lifetime of an organism cannot be inherited by
the offspring.
For example, if a man loses his arm in war, he does not produce children
without an arm.
According to August Weismann, somatic changes acquired during the lifetime
of the organisms are non- heritable, whereas, changes in the germ plasm or
reproductive cells are inheritable by the offspring.
 Weisman theory is known as the theory of continuity of germ plasm.
 August Weismann in 1904, removed the tail of mice for about 22
generations.
 The offspring of the 22nd generation also had a tail as long as in the original
parents.
 DARWINISM
 Charles Darwin(1809-1882) was born in England in a wealthy family.
 His father was a prominent physician.
 He joined Cambridge university to study theology (Nature) even though
attended many lectures in biology and geology.
 He was only 22 in 1831 when he accepted the position of naturalist abroad
on HMS Beagle, a British Naval ship about to sail around the world.
 His major mission was to expand the Navy’s knowledge of natural
resources. e.g water and food in foreign lands.

 Darwin’s Observation During His Voyage

 His voyage on HMS Beagle started in December 27, 1831 from Plymouth,
England and ended 2 October 1836.
 After crossing the Atlantic ocean, most of his trip was sailing around South
America where he collected and catalogued (detail list) thousands of plants
and animals specimens and kept notes of his observation.
 The Beagle spent almost 2 months at Galapagos island, 965 kilometers in
west of Ecuador.
 Here Darwin made observations that were most important in the development of
his ideas about evolution.
 Proceeding ahead, he crossed the Pacific ocean to reach and reached
Australia.

 The journey continued back through the Indian ocean up to the Cape town,
South Africa and then heading back to South America and finally back to
Plymouth, England.

 Most of his trip was sailing around the South America, where he collected
many specimens of plants and animals.

 He collected variety of finches on Galapagos island.

 From his observation, he thought that new species could have originated as
a consequences of gradual accumulation of such adaptations due to existing
geographical or other barriers.
 Darwin’s Theory Of Natural Selection
 Darwin theory of evolution based on following key points.

1. Descent with modification

 Darwin considered that living organisms are related to each other through
common ancestry.
 The existing diverse forms of organisms are descent of previous simpler
forms and gradually adapted to the changing condition.
 Thus history of life is like tree,
with number of branches coming
out from the trunk.
 The point of junction of twigs
is symbolically representing the
common ancestor of these
branches.
 Gradually moving down to
tree, main trunk is common
ancestor of all life forms.
2. Natural selection and Adaptation
 The process of natural selection actually operates to select the organisms
with better adjustment with their environment.
 Such organisms have better opportunity for survival and reproduction
than other ones.
 It is comprising of four stages
 Over Production: each individual species has power to reproduce to
increase its number.
 Due to limited life span, limited available resources etc.
 each species tries to over produce its number of offspring because not all
the offspring survive before reaching to sexual maturity.
 Struggle for existence
 During the life time, the individual of species have to struggle for available
resources of food, better living condition, predators, parasites, disease.
 Thus not all individuals survive through such struggle, a number of them are
vanished.
 In fact not all survivors would be able to reproduce. This cause some others
to decrease in number.
 The struggle within the individuals of same species is termed as intra-
specific struggle while with other species is called inter-specific struggle.
 Genetic variation
 The individuals of population differ slightly from each other to ensure their
survival and chance of reproduction.
 Otherwise an epidemic may sweep out the entire group.
 Thus difference in individuals of the species are termed as variations.
 It ensures the chance of survival and reproduction and ultimately longer
existence of species as whole.
 The characters of individuals are genetically termed as traits.
 The traits making better chances of survival are termed as adaptive trait.

 Survival of fittest
 The individuals of species having most favorable traits would have greater
chance of survival and reproduction than others.
 In term of genetics it can be said that organisms with better set of genes
would have greater chance of survival.
 Such organisms are considered as fittest.
 According to Darwin, they would have better chances of survival as they
pass their genes to their offspring.
 The whole process is termed as natural selection which provide opportunity
to fittest one to survive and reproduce.
 Natural selection increases the chance of inheritance of better alleles while
decreasing the less favorable alleles.
 According to Darwin, process of natural selection was a way of origin of
species through very slow process of accumulation of changes.
 Formation of new species is termed as speciation.
 Speciation
 It is an evolutionary process that results in the formation of a new species
from a pre-existing species
 It occurs when reproductive isolating mechanisms prevent two breeding
organisms from producing fertile, viable offspring.
 Allopatric speciation
 In this kind of speciation, the population become geographically separated
from each other so that they become reproductively isolated from rest of their
population.
 As a consequences gene flow stops among them stop and they change
depending upon environmental factors.
 Peripatric speciation
 When small group of individuals break off from larger group and form a
new species.
 It is like allopatric speciation but separated group is much smaller than the
original one.
 Parapatric speciation
 In this type of speciation, the populations are not geographically separated
from each other but they enter in a separate habitat within the same area of
parent species.
 Sympatric speciation
 In this type of speciation, one of the population occupying the same
geographical area become different from rest and unable to breed with them
due to polyploidy. It is common in plants.