Overview
The progressive change in the anatomy of organisms from water to land. Adaptive colouration and their functions. Examples of structural adaptations in the following organisms that aid their survival: (i) mosquitoes feeding (Ii) securing of mates in agama lizards. Behavioural adaptation as regards the castes in termites. Law of use and disuse according to Jean Baptist de Lamar. Important features that support the evidence of evolution Occurrences apart from natural selection that may bring about evolution.
What you'll learn
- The progressive change in structures and anatomy of organisms using examples of features of organism from water to land.
- Structural adaptation: Adaptive colouration and their functions (e.g. camouflage in chameleons, Green snakes in green grasses, Bright colours of flowers to attract pollinations, etc).
- Structural adaptation
- (i) for obtaining food e.g. proboscis for sucking sap in insects.
- (ii) Protection. and defense e.g. tortoise in shell,
- (iii) Mimicry colours for securing mates for regulating body temperature etc.
- Different castes of termites and their roles.
- Different castes of bees and the roles they play in their social life. Theories of Evolution
- The theories of evolution according to Charles Darwin, Jean Baptist de Lamar - law of use and disuse -law of inheritance or acquired characteristics (related to the work of August Weisman using his experiment of mating of mice).
- Evidence of evolution:
- (i) Fossil records.
- (ii) Embryology.
- Forces responsible for evolution: mutation, gene flow, genetic drift.