Evolution

It is defined as a gradual change over a long period of time as a species responds to its environment and has to adapt to be able to survive. The theory of evolution is that all life began as the same singled celled being and that over billions of years we evolved from fish to birds to reptiles to birds and mammals and finally to the humans we are today. We evolved over these years to a much more complex and better designed form adapted to the environment we live in and being able to make the most of it. Charles Darwin was the main founder of the theory of evolution. He believes that all life is related and that it all came from the same ancestor. He supports the process of natural selection and survival of the fittest where only the strongest genes would be passed on.

Evolution has several main components including:

• Natural Selection – When only the most adapted of a species will survive to reproduce and pass on their genetics.
• Micro-Evolution – When it is believed that similar species such as dogs, wolves, jackals and foxes all descended from the same original ancestors and over time the descendants developed an isolated gene pool.
• Macro-Evolution – This is when a series of genetic mutations occur over a period of time that cause a transition from one kind of animal to another.
• Adaptation – When an animals anatomy, behaviour or internal systems are changed to improve the animal in some way and increase its chances of surviving.
• Genetic Drift – This is when the genetic makeup of a species is changed but it is done by random and doesn’t therefore produce adaptations.
• Migration – When an animal changes its location during particular times of the year normally to breed or if there is a food shortage.
• Mutation – When there is a defect in the gene causing the animal to be mentally or physically different in some way. Mutation may not however always be bad.

Systematics: Biological Diversity

There are three main classification systems and these are:

• Binomial System
• Hierarchical System
• Dichotomous System

Binomial System

This is the system that gives each animal its scientific name consisting of two sometimes three Latin words. The first word is the genus also known as the generic name. It is shared with species that are though to be similar. For example the genus for wolves, coyotes, dingoes, jackals and the domestic dog are all Canis because they are similar in appearance and thought to have all come from the same original pair and become the way they are due to Micro-evolution. The second word is the species, which will be different to the first word. Examples of this are:

• Canis lupus (Grey Wolf)
• Canis latrans (Coyote)
• Canis aureus (Golden Jackal)

There can also be a third word in the scientific name and this shows the subspecies of the species the animal belongs to. As you can see with the Plains Coyotes (Canis latrans latrans) the subspecies is sometimes the same as the species. There can only be a maximum of three word stating the genus, species and subspecies. Examples of the subspecies are:

· Canis aureus (Golden Jackal)

o Canis aureus lupaster (Egyptian Jackal)

o Canis aureus anthus (Small Black Jackal)

· Canis lupus (Grey wolf)

o Canis lupus dingo (Dingo)

o Canis lupus familiaris (Domestic Dog)

o Canis lupus arctos (Arctic Wolf)

o Canis lupus nubilus (Great Plains Wolf)

o Canis lupus communis (Russian Wolf)

o Canis lupus beothucus (Newfoundland Wolf) EXTINCT

· Canis latrans (Coyote)

o Canis latrans frustor (South-eastern Coyote)

o Canis latrans latrans (Plains Coyote)

o Canis latrans meamsi (Mearns Coyote)

o Canis latrans lestes (Mountain Coyote)

Hierarchical System

The hierarchical system is the system that can break things down from the larger groups such as the kingdom right down to the species. The top group is the largest and the bottom group is the smallest. The groups go like this:

· Kingdom – There are 5 kingdom groups which include every living thing. These are:

o Monera (Bacteria)

o Protista (Single celled creatures invisible to the human eye)

o Fungi (e.g. mushrooms, yeast, mould, linchen etc.)

o Plantae (plants)

o Aimalia (animals)

· Phylum – These are the organisms which are constructed on a similar plan. Each kingdom has several different phylum. A few within the animal kingdom are:

o Chordata (Vertabraes)

o Mollusca (Snails, squid and fish)

o Arthropoda (Insects, spiders and crustaceans)

· Class – Within the phylum there is another group of orders. Examples for Chordata the vertebrae phylum are:

o Mammalian (Mammals)

o Reptilia (Reptiles)

o Amphibia (Amphibians)

o Aves (Aves)

· Order – The mammalian class can be further broken down into orders such as follows:

o Rodentia (Rodents e.g rats and mice)

o Chiroptera (Bats)

o Perissodactyla (Horses, Zebras)

o Carnivora (Carnivors e.g. cats, dogs and wesals etc.)

o Primates (Old and New world monkeys)

· Family – An order such as carnivora can be broken down into many families. Examples are:

o Mustelidae – (Weasels and wolverines)

o Felidae – (Felines e.g. cats)

o Canidae – (Canines e.g. dogs)

· Genus – These are the groups when a family is broken down. A few of the genus for Felidae are:

o Acinonyx (Cheetah)

o Panthera (Lion, tiger)

o Felis (Domestic cat)

o Neofelis (Leopard)

· Species – The genus is then broken down into species. Examples for panthera are:

o Panthera tigris (tiger)

o Panthera leo (Lion)

Dichotomous System

This is the system which involves classifying animals by the way they look physically, also known as the phenotype and grouping animals that are similar. There is then a key made which is used to classify the animals.