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Evolution
The scientific theory according to which populations change gradually through a process of natural selection.
5,264 Questions
Why does evolution acts on populations and not individuals?
it's better to explain it using an example. say there are two types of moths - black and white. the black allele and the white allele together make up the gene pool (all of the alleles together) for the moth species. then say that there are only black trees in the habitat of these moths. in the eyes of a predator, it is much easier to see the white moths on the black trees than the black ones, so they continually get eaten. therefore, the allele frequency of the white moths goes down. because the moths are being eaten and there are less and less of them, we say they are being selected against and eventually the white moths die off, because they are not adapted to their environment
What is the proof for macro evolution?
Specifically regarding humans, Chromosome 2 proves that we do in fact share a common ancestor with the Great Apes. All of the Great Apes have 48 chromosomes (24 pairs), we have 46 chromosomes (23 pairs). Where did that pair go? We believed that a chromosome had gotten fused, but we weren't sure. If there was no fused chromosome, then evolution had a huge problem. Then we found Chromosome 2. Chromosomes have a telomere on each end and a centromere in the middle. Each chromosome has two telomeres and one centromere. So if a chromosome had been fused, it would have three telomeres (one on each end and one in the middle) and two centromeres (one should be inactive). Guess what...we found it. Chromosome 2 has three telomeres and two centromeres (unlike any other chromosome). Somewhere along the line, we broke off and took our own evolutionary route, although we still belong in the family of Great Apes.
On a side note, Endogenous Retroviruses (ERVs) exist in DNA. They are essentially viruses that are "good," and they exchange information. If they land on a body cell of an organism, their information is forever lost. However if they land on a sperm or an egg, their information will be passed to that organism's offspring. Chimpanzees and humans have over 60 ERVs in the exact same places in our genome. The chances of even one ERV landing in the same spot in our genomes (if we weren't related) is .00000000016% (since our genome is about 3 billion base pairs long). Think of the likelihood that over 60 ERVs would land in the exact same spots.
Things to study to improve your understanding:
- Summation
- Atavisms
- ERVs
- Vestigial Structures
- Pseudogenes (relates to atavisms)
- Speciation (very important)
- Allele Frequencies
- Genetic Drift
Hope this helps,
Dr. J
AnswerAlthough many examples are produced, when examined closely, they often could be interpreted differently under another paradigm. Some of the evolutionary arguments for vestigial organs and embryonic recapitulation have turned out to be either fallacious or fraudulent (in the case of the latter). Answer">Answer">AnswerYou believe in micro evolution do you not? If so then you must accept macro evolution as it is micro evolution on a grander scale AnswerThe evidence does not support it... case in point: antibacterial soap... the bacteria are microevolving, but the whole time, they remain bacteria. The DNA information is so specific, (according to Richard Dawkins, equal to 30 sets of the Encyclopedia Brittanica) and ordered in such a way, it has never been observed or proven to occur, in any single celled creature or multi-celled creature.What do you call the protein shell of a virus?
A capsid is the protein shell of a virus. It consists of several oligomeric structural subunits made of protein called protomers. The observable 3-dimensional morphological subunits, which may or may not correspond to individual proteins, are called capsomeres. The capsid encloses the genetic material of the virus.
Why is the fossil record important for evolutionary theory?
Fossil records date back to the time when 1st life forms were found on this earth. Hence in order to know about the information of what happened there and many other queries, fossil records are a must.
What is the difference between sexual and natural selection?
Natural selection is survival of the fittest, while sexual selection is a preference for a given trait made by the limiting sex. It is strangely, but usually in opposition to natural selection (E.G., male peacock's tail feathers that garner attention from predators and prevent the peacock from fleeing well).
What concept of evolution is based from De Lamarck?
His two main concepts were acquired characteristics. That what an organism experienced in life could be passed on to offspring. Lamarck's take on this concept was " hard " acquired characteristics and had really nothing to do with epigenetic phenomenon, such as repeated through the generations imprinting. His concept was as if a muscular body built through hard work could be passed on to progeny. This is refuted.
Also he posited that an organism could " desire " to evolve the adaption needed; a giraffe desiring higher leaves leading to an adaption for a longer neck. Variation and natural selection put and end to this.
Lamarck was a good naturalist and knew that evolution was taking place before many of his contemporaries and he do much to advance the science of naturalism, even calling it biology.
How does the existence of homologous structures support the theory of evolution?
When comparing earlier and later developments, homologous structures become more refined through time. When comparing common ancestors, we can compare the derivations of a homologous structure between two successors and also between the ancestor and each successor. We thus see several relationships between this and that, from 'right now', 'a little before now' and 'way back then'.
For example, we see two species whose legs are very similarly structured, and then we find an ancestor that also possessed such a leg, except it was simpler or shorter or in a different ratio between sections. We can draw conclusions that the later species developed both from this earlier one, and that this earlier one died out, after its successors (which eventually became the newer species) could survive more often because they had better structured legs.
What organism do scientists believe are plants' ancestors?
The dinosaur is thought to be the ancestor of all things today.
Phenotype variation is slight variations in a phenotype that are caused by the expression of an organism's genes or the influence of environmental factors. A species can have several different phenotypes within it.
Describe conditions that could make a new island a likely place for adaptive radiation?
Conditions that could make a new island a likely place for adaptive radiation would include being near a mainland so organisms can migrate as well as geographic isolation which prevents the splinter populations from breeding with the parent population on the mainland.
Which process produces the most variation within a species?
Variations occurs in species due to the process of "Crossing over"
the ones which have mutations which would help them to survive
Simple put, let us say that color was a better camouflage coloration in any environment the lizard found itself. Then that better camouflage hid the lizard better from its predators. Then those lizards possessing this new mutation would survive longer, have greater reproductive success and drive a larger frequency of these mutant alleles that conferred this advantage into the populations gene pool.
What role do mutations play in natural selection?
Mutations may introduce novel phenotypes due to a change in DNA. If beneficial to the organism, the environment will continue to select that trait in future generations. However, most mutations are harmful to the organism, usually preventing the trait from passing to offspring.
5 stages of the marketing evolution process?
The Simple Trade Era Prior to the Industrial Revolution, people made most of what they consumed. Any excess household production could be brought to town and sold or traded for other goods. This type of economy is commonly referred to as a pure subsistence economy. In a pure subsistence economy, there is little need for marketing (to facilitate exchanges), since each household produces what it consumes.
However, with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, businesses rather than households became the producers of many types of goods. When the producers of products are not also the consumers of those products, exchanges must
take place. Thus serious thinking about the exchange process-that is, marketing-began in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. The evolution of marketing into the most important business function in many firms was first recognized by Robert Keith (1960), an executive at Pillsbury, and was substantiated by other business leaders at other firms. According to Keith, marketing evolved into its present-day prominence within Pillsbury during four distinct periods beginning after the simple trade era in American history. Keith called these periods the production era, the sales era, the marketing era, and the marketing company era.
The Production Era The production era is so named because many companies' main priority was the reduction of the cost of production. Companies felt that exchanges could be facilitated merely by lowering manufacturing costs and, in turn, passing along the cost savings to customers in the form of lower prices.
This focus on production (which lasted from just after the Civil War until the 1920s) was fueled by such milestones as Henry Ford's invention of the assembly line and the more efficient work principles advanced by Fredrick W. Taylor's scientific management movement (Haber, 1964). These two innovations made business managers aware that mass production resulted in steeply declining unit costs of production. In turn, the declining unit costs of production made profit possibilities look fabulous.
The rationale for mass production seemed sound at the time. According to Michael Porter(1980), reduced production costs can lead to reduced selling prices, which appeal to the largest segment of customers. Unfortunately, turbulent economic conditions associated with the late 1920s through the 1940s caused many companies to fail even though they had adopted this production-oriented philosophy. As a result, companies looked for other ways to facilitate the exchange process.
The Sales Era The next era of marketing evolution is called the sales era because many companies' main priority was to move their products out of the factory using a variety of selling techniques. During The sales era, companies felt that they could enhance their sales by using a variety of promotional techniques designed to inform potential customers about and/or persuade them to buy their products. This type of thinking was initiated by the economic climate of the time.
When Herbert Hoover was elected president in 1928, the mood of the general public was one of optimism and confidence in the U.S. economy. Few people had any reason to believe that prosperity would not continue. In his acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination, Hoover said: "We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land. The poor-house is vanishing from among us."
However October 29, 1929-"Black Tuesday"-marked the beginning of the Great Depression. This was the single most devastating financial day in the history of the New York Stock Exchange. Within the first few hours that the stock market was open, prices fell so far as to wipe out all the gains that had been made in the previous year. Since the stock market was viewed as the chief indicator of the American economy, public confidence was shattered. Between October 29 and November 13 (when stock prices hit their lowest point), more than $30 billion disappeared from the American economy- comparable to the total amount the United States had spent on its involvement in World War I (Schultz, 1999).
The amount of disposable and discretionary income that consumers had to spend on necessities and luxuries also decreased dramatically as the unemployment rate approached 25 percent. Companies found that they could no longer sell all the products that they produced, even though prices had been lowered via mass production. Firms now had to get rid of their excess products in order to convert those products into cash. In order to get rid of products, many firms developed sales forces and relied on personal selling, advertising signs, and singing commercials on the radio to "move" the product. Theodore Levitt(1960), a prominent marketing scholar, has noted that these firms were not necessarily concerned with satisfying the customer, but rather with selling the product. This sales orientation dominated business practice through the 1930s until World War II, when most firms' manufacturing facilities were adapted to making machinery and equipment for the war effort. Of course, the war dramatically changed the environment within which business was conducted. This also changed companies' philosophies of doing business.
The Marketing Department Era The manufacturing capability of most industrialized countries-except the United States-had been destroyed during World War II. Therefore U.S. firms once again found it relatively easy to sell the products they manufactured because there was little competition from abroad. Armed with sales concepts developed during the sales era, as well as new manufacturing capabilities and large research and development (R & D) departments developed during the war, firms realized that they could produce hundreds of new and different products.
Firms realized that they needed a set of criteria to determine which products would be manufactured and which would not, as well as a new management function that would incorporate many related functions such as procurement, advertising, and sales into one department, the marketing department. It was also at this time that many firms realized that the company's purpose was no longer to manufacture a variety of products, but to satisfy their customers.
The change in company thinking or purpose from that of manufacturing products to that of satisfying customers was truly revolutionary and had many implications. Firms that see themselves as manufacturers of products use selling techniques that are preoccupied with converting products into cash. Firms that see themselves as marketers focus on satisfying the needs of buyers through the products that are sold, as well as all those functions associated with developing the product, delivering the product, and consuming the product. In short, selling focuses on the needs of the seller; marketing focuses on the needs of the buyer.
Theodore Levitt (1960) has pointed out that Henry Ford's development of the assembly line illustrates the difference between firms that focus on production (a production orientation) and those that focus on customers (a customer orientation). Ford is widely known as a production genius for developing the assembly line. Many incorrectly believe that the reduced manufacturing cost made possible by the assembly line allowed Ford to sell millions of $500 cars (a production orientation). However, Ford's thinking was actually the reverse. He invented the assembly line because he concluded that millions of buyers would be willing to pay $500 for an automobile (a customer orientation). His main task was to reduce manufacturing costs (in whatever way possible) so that he could sell cars at $500 and still make a profit. The assembly line was the result, not the cause, of his low price. As Ford himself put it:
We first reduce the price to the point where we believe that more sales will result. Then we go ahead and try to make the prices. We do not bother about the costs. The new price forces the cost down … because what earthly use is it to know the cost if it tells you that you cannot manufacture at a price at which an article can be sold? But more to the point is the fact that, although one may calculate what a cost is, and of course all of our costs are carefully calculated, no one knows what a cost ought to be. One way of discovering … is to name a price so low as to force everybody in the place to the highest point of efficiency.(Ford, 1923)
In short, during the marketing department era, many companies changed their thinking or purpose from that of manufacturing products to that of satisfying customers. Firms with a customer orientation attempt to create satisfying products that customers will want to buy. Beginning in the 1960's some firms had implemented this customer-oriented philosophy to the point where the marketing department set the agenda for the entire company. These types of firms are referred to as marketing companies.
The Marketing Company Era Firms that have moved from simply having a marketing department that follows a customer orientation to having the marketing department guide the company's direction are called marketing companies. In marketing companies, the marketing department sets company operating policy, including technical research, procurement, production, advertising, and sales. A press release from Two-Ten News Network (1998) exemplifies the strategy of a marketing-driven firm:
Atlanta-AGCO Corporation, a leading worldwide designer, manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment, today announced management appointments to strengthen and expand its global marketing and sales functions. According to Robert J. Ratliff, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of AGCO, "These appointments will strengthen AGCO's position as a marketing-driven company. Marketing is the key function that has been the basis of AGCO's worldwide profitable growth. AGCO's strategy is to vigorously expand our sales and marketing strength around the world while implementing aggressive reductions to manufacturing costs to adjust to industry conditions. These appointments reflect AGCO's commitment to further expand AGCO's market leadership around the world and to maintain profitability."
As can be seen with AGCO, marketing is the basic motivating force for all activities within the corporation, from finance to sales to production, with the objective of satisfying the needs of the customer. Firms that practice this philosophy of bringing all departments together with the objective of satisfying their customers are practicing the marketing concept.
The marketing concept states that if all of the organization's functions are focused on customer needs, profits can be achieved by satisfying those needs. The satisfaction of customer needs can be accomplished through product changes, pricing adjustments, increased customer service, distribution changes, and the like.
Today, some firms take the marketing concept one step further by establishing long-term relationships with their customers, as discussed in the next section.
The Relationship Marketing Era Relationship marketing is the process whereby a firm builds long-term satisfying relations with its customers in order to retain the customers' loyalty in buying the firm's products. Philip Kotler (1997), a noted author of several books on marketing, has pointed out that the need for customer retention is demonstrated by the fact that the cost of attracting a new customer is estimated to be five times the cost of keeping a current customer happy.
One example of a firm that practices relationship marketing to retain customer loyalty is Saturn. Saturn has been able to retain 60 percent of their customers-meaning that 60 percent are repeat buyers. Melissa Herron (1996) explained that Saturn accomplishes relationship marketing by taking a different view of what it sells. Traditionally, car manufacturers have sold cars, but Saturn expanded its product to include the entire experience-the shopping experience, the buying experience, and the ownership experience. Even if its cars were no better than competitors', the company decided, the entire buying and consumption experience would be better.
This philosophy is made clear in the company's values and mission statement. Saturn's values include commitment to customer enthusiasm, commitment to excel, teamwork, trust and respect to the individual, and continuous improvement. Their mission statement also supports their relationship building philosophy:
"Earn the loyalty of Saturn owners and grow our family by developing and marketing U.S. manufactured vehicles that are world leaders in quality, cost and customer enthusiasm through the integration of people, technology and business systems."
This relationship-oriented strategy is most obvious in the company's advertising and in its pricing philosophy. For example, most car ads highlight the car's features: it's sexy and it's fast or it's comfortable and it's safe. In Saturn ads however, the car is secondary. Greg Martin, a Saturn official, explained that most car companies zero in on the four wheels and the engine, while Saturn's ads tell you you're going to get a good car and you're going to get treated well. The company-customer relationship is enhanced through trust, respect, and quality products (Herron, 1996).
In summary, relationship marketing takes the marketing concept one step further by establishing long-term, trusting, win-win relations with customers in order to satisfy the customer, foster customer loyalty and encourage repeat buying.
CONCLUSIONThis article has presented a historical overview of the evolution of marketing in the United States, from just after the Civil War until the present. In general, companies have determined that, in order to be successful, they must become less internally focused and more externally focused (on the customer). This trend in company thought has extended to the point where many firms now see themselves as long-term partners with their customers. As information technology becomes more advanced, marketers will be able to become more acutely aware of their customers' needs and more quickly able to provide goods and services to satisfy those needs.What are the strengths and weaknesses of the theory of evolution?
the strengths are that living things do come from other living things, dogs come from dogs, people come from people,
weaknesses are that there had to be a first living thing, but it wuldnt esist because there was nothing before it
Is evolution a law or theory or a hypothesis?
Answer 1
A theory. Just as E=Mc2 is the theory of relativity.
Answer 2
Evolution is both a fact and a theory, although the fact and the theory of evolution are - at least in my book - two different things:
The fact of evolution is the observation that lifeforms evolve over time.
The theory of evolution is the model that explains how they evolve, and how that applies to our findings in genetics and palaeontology. The theory of evolution incorporates a number of well-tested hypotheses, laws, and facts.
What happens in the process of natural selection?
Evolution means natural change over time. Natural selection means that we humans do not make the environment change. Just let nature take its' course. For millions of years, changes were made naturally that benefited the organism. The genes that it had were passed on. Other organisms were not as fit and their genes died with them.
But we have made changes by inferring; this includes having milk cows that produce more and more milk over the generations. Wild cattle do not have the large udders that dairy cows do. Even pulling weeds makes "unnatural" changes. There are many more examples.
Is the jellyfish a colony of single celled organisms?
No, theyre many celled. They are classified as animals.
Natural Variation is decreased versions, of these organs adapted to reinforce a particular individual's place in a niche, (like a bat having enhanced hearing to locate food)
Explain Charles Darwin's theory of evolution?
The nonrandom survival and reproductive success of randomly varying organisms.
That is, The Theory of Evolution By Means Of Natural Section, and it is no longer Darwin's theory.
What concept is not a part of the theory of evolution?
Natural selection is part of the theory of evolution. The answer is transmission of acquired characteristics.
Characteristics acquired but which are not genetic are not transmitted. For example, just because a person is a muscle builder, that doesn't mean his children will be really strong. Hope I helped!!
When is variation most important in evolution?
When the immediate environment changes and stress is put on organisms. Then those who have the variation that will become beneficial in this environment will be reproductively more successful.
