Essays on Cladogenesis

Nursing:

Purpose The aim of the lab was to investigate what happens when a natural physical barrier suddenly splits a species within a given population.

Introduction

A species is a group of organisms within a population that can interbreed under natural conditions to produce fertile and viable offspring (The University of Miami, n.d.). In this context, a species exhibits reproductive isolation, in which physical and behavioral traits allow them to reproduce only with organisms that possess similar traits (Howard & Berlocher, 1998). Speciation describes how new sets of species are created and occurs when a group of organisms within a species separates ...

Abstract

Theory of evolution as proposed by Darwin has for long hinged on the fossil records to prove the process of evolution. However, the prevalent gaps in the fossils led way to the development of the punctuated equilibrium theory that was proposed by Eldredge and Gould as an alternative to Darwin’s phyletic gradualism theory. The punctuated equilibrium postulated that speciation occurs in an isolated peripheral subsect of population as a rapid change after a period of stasis. Unlike the anagenetic speciation of phyletic gradualism, punctuated equilibrium promotes the concept of cladogenetic speciation. However, punctuated equilibrium does consider rapid anagenetic speciation as a ...

The inherited characteristics in a species population change over time through genetic drift, mutation, and natural selection. Natural selection was first proposed by Charles Darwin and it explains the emergence of species that are best fitted (adapted) to certain environments in which they live. The mechanism of evolution is explained by the theories of phyletic gradualism and punctuated equilibrium. In this paper, both phyletic gradualism and punctuated equilibrium are evaluated. Phyletic gradualism and punctuated equilibrium seek to explain then rate of evolution.

Phyletic Gradualism

Gradualism is a model of evolution that suggests that speciation is a slow, constant and consistent process. It is not ...