Road Map
Evolution:
variation + selection = adaptation
example: LDH in killifish
Evolved behaviors
Tropisms in bacteria & fruit flies
Gibbon songs
Instinctive learning
Zebra finches, humpback whales
Culture as evolution
"memetics" vs. genetics
arguments pro and con
Evolution of group behavior
Genetic
Cultural
Genetic variation and adaptation
Genetic variation is ubiquitous
Is a variant worse, neutral or better
often this depends on the environment
Including the attitudes of conspecifics
In a given environment:
some variants may be "selected for"
i.e. produce more offspring
Result: the population adapts to the environment
(though much variation is selectively neutral
The population is (part of) the environment
so the population adapts to interact with itself
especially
in social species
mating behavior
Adaptation in Fundulus Heteroclitus (Mummichog)
Also known as "killifish"
5-7 inches, olive green to blue back, white belly
Lives in salt marshes and tidal creeks
from Labrador to Mexico
LDH
Lactate dehydrogenase
Enzyme that catalyzes conversion of lactate to pyruvate
A key step in energy production in living things
Often the limiting factor in speed or endurance
LDH variants

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