7.5 Biological Evolution

Evolution by natural selection, in a true sense would have started when cellular forms of life with differences in metabolic capability originated on earth.

Figure 7.7 Picture showing convergent evolution of Australian Marsupials and placental mammals

The essence of Darwinian theory about evolution is natural selection. The rate of appearance of new forms is linked to the life cycle or the life span. Microbes that divide fast have the ability to multiply and become millions of individuals within hours. A colony of bacteria (say A) growing on a given medium has built-in variation in terms of ability to utilise a feed component. A change in the medium composition would bring out only that part of the population (say B) that can survive under the new conditions. In due course of time this variant population outgrows the others and appears as new species. This would happen within days. For the same thing to happen in a fish or fowl would take million of years as life spans of these animals are in years. Here we say that fitness of B is better than that of A under the new conditions. Nature selects for fitness. One must remember that the so-called fitness is based on characteristics which are inherited. Hence, there must be a genetic basis for getting selected and to evolve. Another way of saying the same thing is that some organisms are better adapted to survive in an otherwise hostile environment. Adaptive ability is inherited. It has a genetic basis. Fitness is the end result of the ability to adapt and get selected by nature.

Branching descent and natural selection are the two key concepts of Darwinian Theory of Evolution (Figures 7.7 and 7.8).

Even before Darwin, a French naturalist Lamarck had said that evolution of life forms had occurred but driven by use and disuse of organs. He gave the examples of Giraffes who in an attempt to forage leaves on tall trees had to adapt by elongation of their necks. As they passed on this acquired character of elongated neck to succeeding generations, Giraffes, slowly, over the years, came to acquire long necks. Nobody believes this conjecture any more.

Is evolution a process or the result of a process? The world we see, inanimate and animate, is only the success stories of evolution. When we describe the story of this world we describe evolution as a process. On the other hand when we describe the story of life on earth, we treat evolution as a consequence of a process called natural selection. We are still not very clear whether to regard evolution and natural selection as processes or end result of unknown processes.

It is possible that the work of Thomas Malthus on populations influenced Darwin. Natural selection is based on certain observations which are factual. For example, natural resources are limited, populations are stable in size except for seasonal fluctuation, members of a population vary in characteristics (infact no two individuals are alike) even though they look superficially similar, most of variations are inherited etc. The fact that theoretically population size will grow exponentially if everybody reproduced maximally (this fact can be seen in a growing bacterial population) and the fact that population sizes in reality are limited, means that there had been competition for resources. Only some survived and grew at the cost of others that could not flourish. The novelty and brilliant insight of Darwin was this: he asserted that variations, which are heritable and which make resource utilisation better for few (adapted to habitat better) will enable only those to reproduce and leave more progeny. Hence for a period of time, over many generations, survivors will leave more progeny and there would be a change in population characteristic and hence new forms appear to arise.