Outline of evolution

Overview of and topical guide to change in the heritable characteristics of organisms

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to evolution:

A diagram showing the relationships among various groups of organisms
Part of a series on
Evolutionary biology
Darwin's finches by John Gould
  • Index
  • Introduction
  • Main
  • Outline
Processes and outcomes
  • icon Evolutionary biology portal
  •  Category
  • v
  • t
  • e

In biology, evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological organisms over generations due to natural selection, mutation, gene flow, and genetic drift. Also known as descent with modification. Over time these evolutionary processes lead to formation of new species (speciation), changes within lineages (anagenesis), and loss of species (extinction). "Evolution" is also another name for evolutionary biology, the subfield of biology concerned with studying evolutionary processes that produced the diversity of life on Earth.

Fundamentals about evolution


Introduction

Basic principles

  • Macroevolution – Evolution on a scale at or above the level of species
    • Speciation – Evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species
    • Despeciation – Loss of a species of animal due to its combining with another species
    • Anagenesis – Gradual evolutionary change in a species without splitting
    • Extinction – Termination of a taxon by the death of its last member
  • Microevolution – Change in allele frequencies that occurs over time within a population
    • Artificial selection – Breeding used to develop desired characteristics
    • Natural selection – Mechanism of evolution by differential survival and reproduction of individuals
      • Sexual selection – Mode of natural selection involving the choosing of and competition for mates
    • Mutation – Alteration in the nucleotide sequence of a genome
    • Gene flow – Transfer of genetic variation from one population to another
    • Genetic drift – Concept in genetics

Subfields

History

Evolutionary theory and modelling

See also Basic principles (above)

Population genetics

  • Population genetics – Subfield of genetics
  • Process
    • Mutation – Alteration in the nucleotide sequence of a genome
    • Selection – Mechanism of evolution by differential survival and reproduction of individualsPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
    • Gene flow – Transfer of genetic variation from one population to another
    • Genetic drift – Concept in genetics
  • Variation
    • Genetic variation – Difference in DNA among individuals or populations
      • Genetic diversity – Total number of genetic characteristics in a species
      • Gene frequency – The relative frequency of a variant of a gene at a particular locus in a population
      • Polymorphism (biology) – Occurrence of two or more clearly different morphs or forms in the population of a species
  • Key concepts
  • Effects of selection
    • Genetic hitchhiking – Incidental selection of non-harmful genes which are close to a beneficial gene on the same DNA chain
    • Negative selection (natural selection) – Selective removal of alleles that are deleterious
  • Related topics

Evolutionary phenomena

  • Adaptation – Process that fits organisms to their environment
  • Adaptive radiation – A process in which organisms diversify rapidly from an ancestral species
  • Coevolution – Two or more species influencing each other's evolution
  • Concerted evolution
  • Convergent evolution – Independent evolution of similar features
  • Divergent evolution – Accumulation of differences between closely related species populations, leading to speciation
    • Divergent evolution in animals – Accumulation of differences between closely related species populations, leading to speciationPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Evolution of ageing – Study of the evolutionary development of ageing processes
  • Evolution of biological complexity – Tendency for maximum complexity to increase over time, though without any overall direction
  • Evolution of multicellularity – The development of organisms that consists of more than one cell from unicellular ancestors
  • Evolution of photosynthesis – Origin and subsequent evolution of the process by which light energy is used to synthesize sugars
  • Evolution of sexual reproduction – How sexually reproducing multicellular organisms could have evolved from a common ancestor species
  • Evolutionary arms race – Competition of sets of genes, traits, or species, that develop adaptations against each other
  • Evolutionary capacitance – Evolutionary biology hypothesis
  • Evolutionary fauna
  • Evolutionary pressure – Any cause that reduces reproductive success in a proportion of a population
  • Evolutionary radiation – Increase in taxonomic diversity or morphological disparity
  • Evolutionary trap – Cases in which an evolved, and presumably adaptive, trait has suddenly become maladaptive
  • Evolvability – Capacity of a system for adaptive evolution
  • Exaptation – Function of trait, shifted by evolution
  • Extinction – Termination of a taxon by the death of its last member
  • Fitness (biology) – Expected reproductive success
    • Inclusive fitness – Measure of evolutionary success based on the number of offspring the individual supports
    • Reproductive success – Passing of genes on to the next generation in a way that they too can pass on those genes
  • Genetic recombination – Production of offspring with combinations of traits that differ from those found in either parent
  • Horizontal gene transfer in evolution – Evolutionary consequences of transfer of genetic material between organisms of different taxa
  • Human evolution (origins of society and culture) – Transition of human species to anthropologically modern behaviorPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Inversion (evolutionary biology) – Hypothesis in developmental biology
  • Mosaic evolution – Evolution of characters at various rates both within and between species
  • Parallel evolution – Similar evolution in distinct species
  • Quantum evolution – Evolution where transitional forms are particularly unstable and do not last long
  • Recurrent evolution – The repeated evolution of a particular character
  • Robustness (evolution) – Persistence of a biological trait under uncertain conditions
  • Speciation – Evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species

Modelling

Taxonomy, systematics, and phylogeny

Fundamentals

Basic concepts of phylogenetics

  • Phylogenetic tree – Branching diagram of evolutionary relationships between organisms
  • Phylogenetic network – Graph used to visualize evolutionary relationships, including reticulation events
  • Long branch attraction – Systematic error in phylogenetics
  • Clade – Group of a common ancestor and all descendants
  • Grade – Non-monophyletic grouping of organisms united by morphological or physiological characteristics
  • Ghost lineage – Phylogenetic lineage that is inferred to exist but has no fossil record

Inference methods

Current topics

Group Traits

  • Symplesiomorphy – An ancestral character or trait state shared by two or more taxa
  • Apomorphy – Two concepts on heritable traitsPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Synapomorphy – Two concepts on heritable traitsPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Autapomorphy – Distinctive feature, known as a derived trait, that is unique to a given taxon

Group Types

  • Monophyly – Property of a group of including all taxa descendant from a common ancestral species
  • Paraphyly – Type of taxonomic group
  • Polyphyly – Property of a group not united by common ancestry

Evolution of biodiversity

Origin and evolutionary history of life

Evolution of organisms

Evolution of tetrapods

Evolution of other animals

Evolution of plants

Evolution of other taxa

Evolution of cells, organs, and systems

Evolution of molecules and genes

Evolution of behaviour

  • Co-operation (evolution) – Evolutionary process where groups of organisms work or act together for common or mutual benefitsPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Evolution of biparental care in tropical frogs – The evolution of the behaviour in frogs in which both the mother and father raise their offspring
  • Evolution of emotion – Study of the evolution of emotions
  • Evolution of empathy – Capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing
  • Evolution of eusociality – Origins of cooperative brood care
  • Monogamy in animals – Natural history of mating systems in which species pair bond to raise offspring
  • Reciprocal altruism – Form of behaviour between organisms
  • Reciprocity (evolution) – Mechanism favouring cooperative traits

Evolution of other processes

Applications in other disciplines

Evolutionary issues

Controversy about evolution

Religious and philosophical views of evolution

Influence of evolutionary theory

Publications and organizations concerning evolution

Books

Journals

  • Evolution – Monthly journal in the science of evolutionary biology
  • Evolutionary Anthropology – Bimonthly review journal
  • Evolutionary Bioinformatics – Peer-reviewed scientific journal focusing on computational biology in the study of evolution
  • Evolutionary Psychology – Peer-reviewed open access academic journal
  • Journal of Evolutionary Biology – Bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal
  • Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research – Quarterly, peer reviewed, scientific journal
  • Trends in Ecology & Evolution (TREE) – Series of review journals

Organizations

Evolution scholars and researchers

Prominent evolutionary biologists

See also

  • iconEvolutionary biology portal

External links

Evolution at Wikipedia's sister projects
  • Definitions from Wiktionary
  • Media from Commons
  • News from Wikinews
  • Quotations from Wikiquote
  • Texts from Wikisource
  • Textbooks from Wikibooks
  • Resources from Wikiversity
General information
  • Evolution on In Our Time at the BBC
  • "Evolution". New Scientist. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  • "Evolution Resources from the National Academies". U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  • "Understanding Evolution: your one-stop resource for information on Evolution". University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  • "Evolution of Evolution – 150 Years of Darwin's "On the Origin of Species"". National Science Foundation. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  • Human Timeline (Interactive) – Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History (August 2016).
Experiments concerning the process of biological evolution
  • Lenski RE. "Experimental Evolution – Michigan State University". Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  • Algorithms, games, and evolution, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA
Online lectures
  • Carroll SB. "The Making of the Fittest". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  • Stearns SC. "Principles of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior". Archived from the original on March 23, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
  • v
  • t
  • e
Wikipedia outlines
General reference
  • Culture and the arts
  • Geography and places
  • Health and fitness
  • History and events
  • Mathematics and logic
  • Natural and physical sciences
  • People and self
  • Philosophy and thinking
  • Religion and belief systems
  • Society and social sciences
  • Technology and applied sciences