BI DI O

R D
B OI VI ES R
T SI YI ET V
Y
BASIC CONCEPT OF
BIODIVERSITY AND
SPECIATION

Regina Mae N. Nazareno LPT

 WHAT IS BIODIVERSITY?

• It is the variety of life on the Earth’s Bioshphere.

Three Major Components:

A. SPECIES DIVERSITY
B. GENETIC DIVERSITY
C. ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY
SPECIES DIVERSITY
- Refers to the variation of different types of organisms
GENETIC DIVERSITY
- Denotes the variety of genes that a species has, including the
genetic composition of an individual under a particular
species.
ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY
- Signifies the variation of ecosystems, including the terrestrial
and aquatic ecologies.
WHAT IS SPECIES?

- A group of closely related organisms that are very similar to

each other and are usually capable of interbreeding and
producing fertile offspring.
- The species is the fundamental category of taxonomic
classification, ranking below a genus or subgenus.

- Ex. Homo Sapiens

VARIATION AND ADAPTATION

• VARIATION
- This makes an individual distinct from
the rest of the population.
- The prevalent among different species.
- Example: Different species of frogs
that are physically unique from each
other, although they come from only
one group.
 VARIATION AND ADAPTATION
• ADAPTATION
- The variation in both structure and function determines the organism’s ability to
tolerate and survive environmental changes.
- From generation to generation, species passed on their traits with an alteration
of those traits through time due to environmental pressures.
- The traits that these organisms inherited from their ancestors enabled them to
increase their chance of survival and proliferation in a specific environment.
- The organisms that successfully survived because of their inherited traits are
well adapted.
 HOMOLOGOUS AND ANALOGOUS

- Organisms may have been evolved through time and developed

structures that enabled them to survive.
- The development of a similar trait in two different species because of a
common ancestor is referred to as HOMOLOGOUS STRUCTURE.
- Structures with similarities in a function that developed from distantly
related species are called ANALOGOUS STRUCTURE.
THEORIES OF EVOLUTION
• In early History, Greek Philosophers theorized that forms
of species relate to their function.
• In 1769, Charles Bonnet observed that fossils do not
resemble modern organisms, leading to his conclusion
that at the end of previous era, life began again. He is the
first to use the term evolution– changes that take place
over time.
 Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

• Challenged this idea of Bonnet in 1809.

• Lamarck deduced that simple organisms emerged spontaneously and
evolved to become more complex and that organisms strived to
improve themselves.
• According to him, organisms or their parts gradually tend to increase
in size as evolution takes place through time.
• If the organisms needs an organ, eventually it will emerge.
PRINCIPLE OF USE AND DISUSE
• The constant use of an organ enhances its
efficiency while the lack of use deteriorates it.
The Inheritance of Acquired Character
• Lamarck thought that the organism’s offspring would
inherit the structure that has undergone modifications
following the principle of use and disuse.
 AUGUST WEISMANN

• He disapproved the Lamarckian principle in his experiment on rats.

• He observed that after cutting the tail of rats for the next 20
generations, no tailless condition arose from the offspring.
• He concludes that the principle of use and disuse and inheritance of
acquired character is untrue and that changes in the body do not affect
the germplasm of that organism.
• This led him to formulate his theory – the GERMPLASM THEORY.
THEORY OF EVOLUTION
BY NATURAL SELECTION
 Charles Darwin

• Father of Evolution
• He studied finches and beetles that he found on Galapagos
Islands.
• From the work of his friend, Charles Lyell, he learned that the
gradual geological changes that took place over time
influenced all life forms.
 Charles Darwin

• He also studied SELECTIVE BREEDING by interbreeding

animals with desirable characteristics.
• THOMAS MALTHUS- an economist who stated that
increase in population is proportional to the increase in
demand. Since resources are limited that it can no
longer sustain the demand- famine, starvation, and
widespread diseases stymied population growth.
• SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST- only those having
suitable inherent variations can survive as the
fittest organism in a frequently changing
environment.
• The forces of NATURAL SELECTION will encourage
only those that have ADAPTIVE features for
survival, eliminating the unfit.
 NATURAL SELECTION

• Affects variation in a population as the better adapted (more fit) individuals to

their environment survive and reproduce, passing on their genes to the
successive generations increasing the frequency of favourable alleles in the
population.
• Nature “selects” which organisms will be successful
Imagine that green beetles are
easier for birds to spot (and
hence, eat). Brown beetles are a
little more likely to survive to
produce offspring. They pass
their genes for brown coloration
on to their offspring. So in the
next generation, brown beetles
are more common than in the
previous generation.
DARK PEPPER MOTH
 4 Steps of Natural Selection:

• 1. In nature , more offspring are produced than can survive.

• 2. In any population, individuals have variation.

• 3. Individuals with advantageous variations survive and pass on

their variations to the next generation.

• 4. Overtime, offspring with certain advantageous variations make up

most of the population
ORIGIN OF SPECIES

• As the process of evolution takes place in response to

environmental pressures, remarkable variation among
members of a species also takes place.
• Sometimes, members of the same species are constantly
changing, disabling them to interbreed with other members of
the same species that remain unchanged. As such, the
population of the species that have undergone changes
become NEW SPECIES.
 SPECIATION

• SPECIATION- The process of evolution of ancestral species splitting into different

species.
• ALLOPATRIC SPECIATION
- also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier
name, the dumbbell model, is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological
populations of the same species become isolated from each other to an extent
that prevents or interferes with gene flow.
• SYMPATRIC SPECIATION
- Sympatric speciation is the evolution of a new species from a surviving ancestral
species while both continue to inhabit the same geographic region
 CONVERGENT
VS.
DIVERGENT EVOLUTION
CONVERGENT EVOLUTION
• When two species evolved through time from different ancestries but
develop similar characteristics or analogous adaptive structures in
response to changes in the environment.

• Ex. A giant armadillo from North America and a spiny anteater in

Oceania have similar features because they inhabit a similar
environment although they are from different geographical locations.
DIVERGENT
EVOLUTION
• The process by which diversification occurs
from the evolution of an ancestral species
into different species having different
characteristics.

• For example: Darwnin’s observation among

finches (species of bird) in Galapagos Island
evolved from a common ancestor, but they
have different characteristics regarding their
beak because they have different sources of
food. They were adapted to evolve a trait so
they can use their available resources.
COEVOLUTION

• It takes place when two closely interacting species adapt to one another.

• For example: many species of plants have evolved to have characteristics

that favor their reproductive capability such as color and scent to attract
specific pollinators. Subsequently, the pollinator adapts to have a
specialized structure so it can reach the nectar from the flower. This
interaction benefits them both as it increases the chance of reproduction in
the plant and source of nourishment for the bird.