evolutionary mechanisms? (1 Viewer)

[richele.tucker]

i'm having trouble for an assesment task where i have to explain strong links between evolutionary mechanisms of past and present??
this isn't the only question.. and i've never even heard of these mechanisms b4.. bad teacher? yes.. i think so. No.. its probably both our faults. But all the same..
could someone please help me out?
even a simple explanation that i can go off.. i'm stuck big time!!

 

[zingerburger]

I don't get it. Could you post the actual question from the assignment?

 

[richele.tucker]

"demonstrate strong links between evolutionary mechanisms of the past and present."
it didn't make sense to me either.

 

[Undermyskin]

Yea, it's so vague and general.

I think we should talk about natural selection since it's the one that has been rather always true any time.

 

[richele.tucker]

Yea, it's so vague and general.

I think we should talk about natural selection since it's the one that has been rather always true any time.

so just natural selection?
thats the only one i could think of 2!!
so confusing.. thanks neways guys!! wish me luck

 

[Chrisssss]

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/IIIMechanisms.shtml
I think that should help.

 

[WantToDoBetter]

There are several mechanisms that are attributed to "Evolution". Natural selection, which is the survival of a species due to beneficial hereditary changes from environmental pressures over a long period of time or put plainly survival of the fittest, is definately the main mechanism but there are several other mechanisms which help this process.

Genetic drift explains the frequencies of certain allele's within a population. This means, an organisms gene mutates into an allele (a variation of that gene) in response to an environmental pressure or due to a random variation. This gene and the phenotype characteristic that accumpanies it is slowly cirulated throughout the population over many generations until it becomes common and a general phenotyical change is observed in the species.

Different ways that a gene can be circulated is through verticle gene transfer (which is just sexual reproducton- meosis and 23 chromosomes from each parent ect, the gene is passed on) and also horizontial gene transfer (which is the inhertitance of a genotype which is not from that organisms ancester through a virius, bacteria or other (mainly) procaryoatic organisms).

These concepts can be explained under the heading of gene flow which is the 'movement' of genes throughout populations of different organisms (affects speciation)

All this can be eloborated on and the genetics behind it is very interesting. I encourage you to take a look if you have time because if your teaching yourself it can take a while to grasp it .

Hope this helps. Have a good one.
Cheers.