Macroevolution
refers to large-scale evolutionary patterns and processes that occur over long periods of time
Six Important Topics in Macroevolution
extinction, adaptive radiation, convergent evolution, coevolution, punctuated equilibrium, and changes in developmental genes
more than 99%
What percentage of all species that have ever lived are now extinct?
Mass Extinctions
one pattern of macroevolution
Adaptive Radiation
the process by which a single species or a small group of species has evolved, through natural selection and other processes, into diverse forms that live in different ways
Convergent Evolution
the process by which unrelated organisms come to resemble one another
Coevolution
the process by which to species evolve in response to changes in each other over time
The species that survive have more opportunities
What effects have mass extinctions had on the history of life?
Species compete for resources, environments change, natural selection, food webs collapse, huge asteroid, volcano eruptions
What are possible causes of mass extinction?
The dinosaurs' extinction/disappearance
What led to the adaptive radiation of mammals?
Bird's wing and fish's fin
an example of convergent evolution
Plants have evolved poisonous compounds to keep insects from feeding on them, but the herbivorous insects begin to favor variants that could alter, inactivate, or eliminate the poison
How have plants and plant-eating insects coevolved?
