EVOLUTION
PATTERNS OF EVOLUTION
|
Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
|
|
|
Macroevolutionary patterns:The emergence, growth, and extinction of larger clades. Ex. as dinosaurs, mammals, or flowering plants
|
|
|
Gradualism-slow change over time. Ex. Snakes slowly evolved from reptiles with shorter and shorter legs
|
|
|
Punctuated Equilibrium:periods of rapid change followed by long periods of little to no change. Ex:Sudden color changes in animals
|
Detailed explanation-1: -One pattern in the fossil record is the presence of forms with transitional characteristics, arranged in sequential stratigraphic order. This means that the fossil record provides evidence for evolution and it shows tiny changes in the structures of organisms as time moved forward.
Detailed explanation-2: -You can think of patterns as “what happened when.” All of the changes, diversifications, and extinctions that happened over the course of life’s history are the patterns of macroevolution.
Detailed explanation-3: -Macroevolution is term for evolutionary changes recognized above the species level. One major macroevolutionary pattern testable in the fossil record is whether species-level change is mostly gradual (phyletic gradualism) or in short bursts separated by long period of stasis (punctuated equilibrium).
Detailed explanation-4: -Example of macroevolutionary patterns as they would appear in a phylogenetic tree, including extinctions, adaptive radiations, and stasis.