Outline of evolution

Introduction

• Introduction to evolution – Non-technical overview of the subject of biological evolution
• Evolution – Change in the heritable characteristics of populations
• Evolution as fact and theory – Discussion of the meaning and usage of the terms evolution, fact and theory

Basic principles

• Macroevolution – Evolution on a scale at or above the level of species
  • Speciation – Evolutionary process
    • Natural speciation
      • Allopatric speciation – Speciation that occurs between geographically isolated populations
        • Reinforcement (speciation) – Process of increasing reproductive isolation
      • Peripatric speciation – Mode of speciation in evolutionary biology
      • Parapatric speciation – Speciation within a population where subpopulations are reproductively isolated
      • Sympatric speciation – Evolution of a new species from an ancestor in the same location
    • Artificial speciation
      • Animal husbandry – Management of farm animals
      • Plant breeding – Science of changing the traits of plants
      • Genetic engineering – Manipulation of an organism's genome
    • Hybrid speciation – Form of speciation involving hybridization between two different 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 species' lineage
• 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 reproduction
    • 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

• Biology – Scientific study of life (outline)
  • Evolutionary biology – Study of the evolution of life
    • Evolutionary developmental biology – Comparison of organism developmental processes
  • Genetics – Science of genes, heredity and variation (outline)
• Biogeography – Study of distribution of species
• Ecological genetics – Study of genetics in natural populations
• Evolutionary biology – Study of the evolution of life
  • Evolutionary developmental biology – Comparison of organism developmental processes
• Evolutionary ecology – Interaction of biology and evolution
• Evolutionary physiology – Study of evolutionary changes in physiological characteristics
• Evolutionary taxonomy – Form of biological classification
• Experimental evolution – Use of laboratory and field experiments to explore evolutionary dynamics
• Molecular evolution – Study of changes in DNA and RNA over time
• Phylogenetics – Study of evolutionary relationships between organisms
• Population genetics – Subfield of genetics
• Paleontology – Study of past life through fossils
  • Paleovirology – Study of ancient viruses
  • Timeline of paleontology
• Systematics – Branch of biology

History

• Charles Darwin – English naturalist and biologist (1809–1882)
  • On the Origin of Species – 1859 book on evolution by Charles Darwin
  • Caricatures of Charles Darwin and his evolutionary theory in 19th-century England
  • Darwinism – Theory of biological evolution
• History of evolutionary thought
  • By period or event
    • Evolutionary ideas of the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment – Changes in evolutionary philosophies
    • Transmutation of species – 18th and 19th-century evolutionary ideas
    • 1860 Oxford evolution debate – Discussion about evolution in Oxford, England
    • Neo-Darwinism – Used to describe the combination of natural selection and genetics
    • The eclipse of Darwinism – Period when evolution was widely accepted, but natural selection was not
    • Evolutionary progress – Hypothesis that organisms have an innate tendency to evolve towards some goal
    • Scopes Trial – 1925 US legal case in TennesseePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
    • Modern synthesis – Fusion of natural selection with Mendelian inheritance
      • Extended evolutionary synthesis – Set of theoretical concepts concerning evolutionary biology
    • Current research – Study of the evolution of life
  • By field
    • Evolutionary developmental biology – Comparison of organism developmental processes
    • History of evolutionary psychology
    • History of molecular evolution – History of the field of study
    • History of paleontology
• Social effect of evolutionary theory – Effects on human societies of the scientific explanation of life's diversityPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets

Population genetics

• Population genetics – Subfield of genetics
• Process
  • Mutation – Alteration in the nucleotide sequence of a genome
  • Selection – Mechanism of evolution by differential reproductionPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
    • Natural selection – Mechanism of evolution by differential reproduction
      • Sexual selection – Mode of natural selection involving the choosing of and competition for mates
    • Artificial selection – Breeding used to develop desired characteristics
    • Ecological selection – Mechanism of evolution by differential reproductionPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Gene flow – Transfer of genetic variation from one population to another
  • Genetic drift – Concept in genetics
    • Small population size – Statistical effects of small numbers on a population
    • Population bottleneck – Sharp reduction in the size of a population
    • Founder effect – Loss of genetic variation in a new population
    • Coalescent theory – Model for tracing the history of genetic variation
• 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) – Species having two or more distinct forms
• Key concepts
  • Hardy-Weinberg law – Principle in genetics
  • Genetic linkage – Aspect of population genetics
  • Identity by descent – Concept in genealogy and genetics
  • Linkage disequilibrium – Allele association in population genetics
  • Fisher's fundamental theorem – Principle relating genetic variance to fitness
  • Neutral theory – Theory of evolution by changes at the molecular level
  • Shifting balance theory – One version of the theory of evolution
  • Price equation – Description of how a trait or gene changes in frequency over time
  • Coefficient of relationship – Measure of biological relationship between individuals
  • Fitness – Expected reproductive success
  • Heritability – Estimation of effect of genetic variation on phenotypic variation of a trait
• Effects of selection
  • Genetic hitchhiking – Phenomenon in biology
  • Negative selection (natural selection) – Selective removal of alleles that are deleterious
• Related topics
  • Microevolution – Change in allele frequencies that occurs over time within a population
  • Evolutionary game theory – Application of game theory to evolving populations in biology
  • Fitness landscape – Model used to visualise relationship between genotypes and reproductive success
  • Genetic genealogy – DNA testing to infer relationships
  • Quantitative genetics – Study of the inheritance of continuously variable traits

Evolutionary phenomena

• Adaptation – Evolutionary process
• Adaptive radiation – Process in which organisms diversify rapidly from an ancestral species
• Behavioral modernity – Transition of human species to anthropologically modern behavior
• Coevolution – Two or more species influencing each other's evolution
• Concerted evolution
• Convergent evolution – Independent evolution of similar features
  • List of examples of convergent evolution – Examples of separate lineages of organisms developing similar characteristics
• Divergent evolution – Accumulation of genetic differences
  • Divergent evolution in animals – Accumulation of genetic differencesPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Evolution of ageing – Study of the evolutionary development of ageing processes
• Evolution of biological complexity
• Evolution of multicellularity – Organism that consists of more than one cellPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Evolution of photosynthesis
• Evolution of sexual reproduction
• Evolutionary arms race – Concept in Evolution
• 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 – Case in which an evolved trait becomes maladaptive
• Evolvability – Capacity of a system for adaptive evolution
• Exaptation – Function of trait, shifted by evolution
• Extinction – Termination of a species' lineage
  • Pseudoextinction – Phenomenon where a species is perpetuated by a daughter species
  • Lazarus taxon – Species thought to be extinct that is later rediscovered
  • Extinction risk from climate change – Risk of plant or animal species becoming extinct due to climate change
• Fitness (biology) – Expected reproductive success
  • Inclusive fitness – Measure of evolutionary success
    • Kin selection – Evolutionary strategy favoring relatives
  • Reproductive success – Passing of genes on to the next generation in a way that they too can pass on those genes
• Genetic recombination – Shuffling of genetic material
• Horizontal gene transfer in evolution – Transfer of genes from unrelated organismsPages 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 – Repeated evolution of a particular trait
• Robustness (evolution) – Persistence of a biological trait under uncertain conditions
• Speciation – Evolutionary process

Modelling

• Emergent evolution – Evolutionary biology
• Epic of evolution – Mythological narrative inspired by evolution
• Evolution window – Narrow band of mutation step size that is conducive to significant evolutionary progress
• Evolutionary dynamics – Modelling evolution using differential equations
• Evolutionary game theory – Application of game theory to evolving populations in biology
• Evolutionary graph theory – Approach to studying how topology affects evolution of a population
• Evolutionary invasion analysis – Mathematical modelling of phenotypic evolution
• Largest-scale trends in evolution – Limits of increased complexity over time

Fundamentals

• Taxonomy – Science of classifying organisms
  • Alpha taxonomy – The discipline of finding, describing, and naming taxa, particularly species
  • Biological classification – The science of identifying, describing, defining and naming groups of biological organisms
  • Binomial nomenclature – Species naming system
  • Evolutionary taxonomy – Form of biological classification
  • Catalogue of life – Online database and index of taxa
  • Homonym (biology) – Scientific name that is identical in spelling to a name with a different type
  • Integrated Taxonomic Information System – Authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes
  • International Code of Zoological Nomenclature – Code of scientific nomenclature for animals
  • International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants – Code of scientific nomenclature
  • Linnaean taxonomy – Rank based classification system for organisms
  • Phenetics – Attempt to classify organisms based on overall similarity
  • Species 2000 – Federated taxonomic database system for species checklists
  • Taxon – Unit of biological populations
  • Taxonomic rank – Hierarchical level in biological classification
  • Type (biology) – Specimen(s) chosen to represent a newly described taxon
  • Species description – Formal description of a discovered species
• Systematics – Branch of biology
  • Cladogram – Diagram used to show relations among groups of organisms with common origins
  • Phylogenetic tree – Branching diagram of evolutionary relationships between organisms
• Phylogenetics – Study of evolutionary relationships between organisms
  • Cladistics – Method of biological systematics in evolutionary biology
  • Computational phylogenetics – Application of computational algorithms, methods and programs to phylogenetic analyses
  • Common descent – Characteristic of a group of organisms with a common ancestor
  • Evidence of common descent – Common ancestor evolutionary evidence
  • Evolutionary grade – Grouping of organisms
  • Lineage (evolution) – Sequence of populations, organisms, cells, or genes that form a line of descent
  • Molecular phylogenetics – Branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences
  • Most recent common ancestor – Most recent individual from which all organisms in a group are directly descended

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 of their descendants
• Grade – Grouping of organisms
• Ghost lineage – Phylogenetic lineage that is inferred to exist but has no fossil record

Inference methods

• Maximum parsimony (phylogenetics) – Optimality criterion in phylogenyPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Minimum evolution
• Probabilistic methods
  • Maximum likelihood estimation – Method of estimating the parameters of a statistical model, given observations
  • Bayesian inference – Statistical method for molecular phylogenetics
• Distance matrices in phylogeny – Matrices used in construction of phylogenetic trees
  • Neighbor joining – Bottom-up clustering method for creating phylogenetic trees
  • Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA) – Agglomerative hierarchical clustering method
  • Least squares inference in phylogeny – Method of studying evolutionary history
• Three-taxon analysis – Cladistic based method of phylogenetic reconstruction

Current topics

• PhyloCode, also known as International Code of Phylogenetic Nomenclature – Proposed code of nomenclature for clades
• DNA barcoding – Method of species identification using a short section of DNA
• Molecular phylogenetics – Branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences
• Phylogenetic comparative methods – Methods in evolutionary biology
• Phylogenetic network – Graph used to visualize evolutionary relationships, including reticulation events
• Phylogenetic niche conservatism – Tendency of lineage to retain ancestral traits
• List of phylogenetics software – Compilation of software used to produce phylogenetic trees
• Phylogenomics – Intersection of the fields of evolution and genomics
• Phylogeography – Subfield of genealogy
• DNA phylogeny

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 – Taxonomic concept
• Paraphyly – Type of taxonomic group
• Polyphyly – Property of a group not united by common ancestry

Origin and evolutionary history of life

• Abiogenesis – Life arising from non-living matter
• History of life
• Timeline of the evolutionary history of life

Evolution of organisms

Evolution of cells, organs, and systems

• Evolution of cells – Evolutionary origin and subsequent development of cells
• Evolution of flagella – Origin of three known varieties of flagella
• Evolution of mammalian auditory ossicles – Middle ear bones evolved from jaw bones
• Evolution of nervous systems – Origin and subsequent variation and development of neurons and neural tissues and organs
• Evolution of snake venom – Origin and diversification of snake venom through geologic time
• Evolution of the brain – Overview of animal and human brain evolution
• Evolution of the eye – Origins and diversification of the organs of sight through geologic time
  • Evolution of color vision – Origin and variation of colour vision across various lineages through geologic time
  • Evolution of color vision in primates – Loss and regain of color vision during the evolution of primates
• Immune system – Biological system protecting an organism against disease
• Evolution of metabolism – Set of chemical reactions in organisms

Evolution of molecules and genes

• Directed evolution – Protein engineering method
• Error threshold (evolution) – Theoretical limit on rate of mutation
• Gene-centered view of evolution – Theory of the "selfish gene"
• Genome evolution – Process by which a genome changes in structure or size over time
• Hologenome theory of evolution – Organism as host plus microbe community
• Models of DNA evolution – Mathematical models of changing DNA
• Molecular evolution – Study of changes in DNA and RNA over time
  • History of molecular evolution – History of the field of study
  • Neutral theory of molecular evolution – Theory of evolution by changes at the molecular level
  • Nearly neutral theory of molecular evolution – Variant of one theory of evolution
• Neutral network (evolution) – Set of genes all related by point mutations that have equivalent function or fitness
• RNA-based evolution – Theory that RNA plays an independent role in determining phenotype

Evolution of behaviour

• Co-operation (evolution) – Groups of organisms acting for mutual benefitPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Evolution of biparental care in tropical frogs – Change in behaviour in frogs for care of offspring
• Evolution of emotion – Study of the evolution of emotions
• Evolution of empathy – Ability to understand or feel what another is feeling
• 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

• Evolution of ageing – Study of the evolutionary development of ageing processes
  • Evolution of aging and mortality – End of an organism's life
  • Origin of programmed cell death – Death of a cell mediated by intracellular program, often as part of development
• Origin of avian flight – Evolution of birds from non-flying ancestors
• Evolution of biological complexity
• Mosaic evolution – Evolution of characters at various rates both within and between species
• Evolution of multicellularity – Organism that consists of more than one cellPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Evolution of sexual reproduction
  • Mating type – Term in reproductive biologys
  • Gamete differentiation/sexes – Sexual reproduction involving a large, female gamete and a small, male gamete
  • Sex-determination – Biological system that determines the development of an organism's sex
  • Life cycles/nuclear phases – Series of stages of an organism

Controversy about evolution

• Creation–evolution controversy – Religious rejection of evolutionPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Outline of the creation–evolution controversy – Overview of and topical guide to the creation–evolution controversy
• Criticism of evolutionary psychology – Controversy in psychology
• Evolutionary argument against naturalism – Philosophical argument
• Level of support for evolution – Variation in support for the theory of evolution
• Objections to evolution
• Social effects of evolutionary theory – Effects on human societies of the scientific explanation of life's diversity
• Theology of creationism and evolution – Topic in theology

Religious and philosophical views of evolution

• Acceptance of evolution by religious groups – General review of religious attitudes towards evolution
• Conscious evolution – Hypothetical ability of the human species to choose what they will become
• Buddhism and evolution – Buddhists' perspectives on the scientific theory of evolutionPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Catholic Church and evolution – Attitude of the Catholic Church to evolution theoryPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Hindu views on evolution
• Islamic views on evolution
  • Ahmadiyya views on evolution – Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam universally accepts a process of divinely guided evolution
• Jewish views on evolution – Jewish views on biological evolution
• Mormon views on evolution
• Theistic evolution – View that combines evolutionary science with theism

Influence of evolutionary theory

• Social effects of evolutionary theory – Effects on human societies of the scientific explanation of life's diversity
• See also Applications in other disciplines

Books

• Evolution: The Modern Synthesis – book by Julian Huxley (grandson of Thomas Henry Huxley); one of the most important books of modern evolutionary synthesis, published in 1942
• The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection – book by R.A. Fisher important in modern evolutionary synthesis, first published in 1930
• Genetics and the Origin of Species – 1937 book by Ukrainian-American evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky
• On the Origin of Species – seminal book by Charles Darwin concerning evolution by natural selection, first published in 1859
• Systematics and the Origin of Species from the Viewpoint of a Zoologist – book by zoologist and evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr, canonical publication of modern evolutionary synthesis, first published in 1942 by Columbia University Press
• The Structure of Evolutionary Theory – technical book on macroevolutionary theory by the Harvard paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould
• Evolutionary Biology – 1983 book by Eli C. MinkoffPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets

Journals

• Evolution – Monthly journal in the science of evolutionary biology
• Evolutionary Anthropology – Bimonthly review journal
• Evolutionary Bioinformatics – American scientific journal
• 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

• European Society for Evolutionary Biology – Organisation to support the study of organic evolution
• Society for the Study of Evolution – Professional organization of evolutionary biologists
• Evolutionary psychology research groups and centers
• I. M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry – Research facility in Saint Petersburg, Russia
• Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology – Research institute based in Leipzig, Germany
• Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology – Research institute located in Plön, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
• National Evolutionary Synthesis Center – Scientific research center in Durham, North Carolina
• Systematic and Evolutionary Biogeography Association
• Evolutionary Informatics Lab – American engineer and intelligent design advocate (born 1950)Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets

Prominent evolutionary biologists

• Charles Darwin – English naturalist and biologist (1809–1882)
• Theodosius Dobzhansky – Russian-American geneticist and evolutionary biologist (1900–1975)
• Richard Dawkins – British evolutionary biologist and author (born 1941)
• Stephen Jay Gould – American biologist and historian of science (1941–2002)
• J. B. S. Haldane – Geneticist and evolutionary biologist (1892–1964)
• Julian Huxley – English biologist and philosopher (1887–1975)
• Thomas Henry Huxley – English biologist (1825–1895)
• Ronald Fisher – British polymath (1890–1962)
• Ernst Mayr – German-American evolutionary biologist (1904–2005)
• Alfred Russel Wallace – English naturalist (1823–1913)
• Sewall Wright – American geneticist (1889–1988)