A simple Conclusion

A deeper understanding of evolution

We know that evolution is the change of heritable traits over successive generations as stated last post, however, an individual organism’s phenotype results from both its genotype as well as the influence from the environment it has lived in. You see there are a range of factors that influence an organism’s evolution as will be explored in today’s post.

Variation results from mutations in the genome, the reshuffling of genes from sexual reproduction and gene flow through the migration between populations. The relatively small differences in genotype can lead to dramatic differences in phenotype. Wetterbom et al (2006) state that the genome difference between chimpanzees and humans only differ by 5% in terms of genomes.

Evolution occurs through a range of mechanisms as well as influences explored above. These mechanisms that can lead to changes in allele frequencies include natural selection, genetic drift, genetic hitchhiking, mutation and gene flow. Natural selection was touched on last post, it is the evolution by which traits that enhance survival and reproduction become more common in successive generations by population. Genetic drift is the change in allele frequency from one generation to the next due to sampling error. And lastly Gene flow involves the exchange of genes between populations and between species, as seen above, it can lead to variation.

Variation can allow visual, among others, differences in a species which may give the organism a higher survival chance. An example below shows that variations among finches due to natural selection. This variation occurred due to the resources available in the environment of the species. The change in beak morphology allowed them to access specific resources.

Figure 1: Natural selection resulting in different beak morphology. Image: NHGRI (2014).

To put it simply; evolution is the change in heritable traits of biological populations over successful generations. It is the processes that give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation. The process by which different kinds of organisms are believed to have developed from earlier forms during the history of earth. The science behind evolution is so vast and deep in understanding. I have done it now justice but hope that I have done enough to get you, the reader, interested in the fascinating world of mimicry, deception and evolution. 

References

National Human Genome Research Institute. (2014). Natural selection resulting in different beak morphology. http://www.genome.gov/glossary/. retrieved: 30/05/2015.

WETTERBOM, A., SEVOV, M., CAVELIER, L., & BERGSTRÖM, T. (2006). Comparative Genomic Analysis of Human and Chimpanzee Indicates a Key Role for Indels in Primate Evolution. Journal of Molecular Evolution. 63, 682-690.