Unit 5: Theories of Evolution

Lesson 5.3
Unified Theory of Evolution
Contents
Introduction 1

Learning Objectives 2

Warm Up 2

Learn about It! 3

The Unified Theory of Evolution 3
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution 4
Genetics and Evolution 4
Modern Integration of Genetics to Darwin’s Evolutionary Theory 5
Other Concepts in the Unified Theory of Evolution 7
Adaptation 7
Genetic Drift 8
Phylogeny and Systematics 8
Phylogenetic Change 9
Comparative Anatomy 11
Biogeography 12
Misconceptions about Evolution 13
Evolution Is a Theory 13
Evolution Has a Goal 13
Survival of the Fittest 13
Humans Evolved from Chimps 14

Key Points 14

Check Your Understanding 15

Challenge Yourself 16

Photo Credits 17

Bibliography 17
Unit 5: Theories of Evolution

Lesson 5.3

Unified Theory of Evolution

Introduction
Our understanding of evolution today is greatly influenced by Charles Darwin’s On the
Origin of Species. Though Darwin’s groundbreaking understanding of evolution was sound
and was able to elaborate on many accurate concepts, some mechanisms were still absent
and unexplained. Were you able to identify what these missing mechanisms are? Were
there missing puzzle pieces in Darwin’s theory of evolution? One very notable unexplained
concept was how the inheritance of characteristics occurred. Still, Darwin’s achievements
are made even more impressive, knowing that many concepts in genetics were still not
well-established and well-understood during his time. This lesson will discuss the
development of the theory of evolution after Darwin’s time and what concepts have been
established in the unified theory of evolution.

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Unit 5: Theories of Evolution

Learning Objectives DepEd Competency

In this lesson, you should be able to do the

Trace the development of
following: evolutionary thought
● Explain the concepts of the unified theory (STEM_BIO11/12-IIIc-g-11).

of evolution.
● Describe how the unified theory of
evolution deals with determining the
evolutionary relationships between
organisms.

Warm Up

Unifying Theories 20 minutes

There are many concepts that have been developed before and after Darwin’s publication in
relation to the theory of evolution. This activity will allow you to integrate these
evolution-related concepts into one theory.

Materials
● cartolina sheet
● drawing and coloring materials

Procedure
1. Divide yourselves into groups of four for this activity.
2. Create random paper lots containing the following names:
● Aristotle ● Comte de Buffon
● Jean-Baptiste Lamarck ● St. Thomas Aquinas
● Al-Jahiz ● Charles Bonnet
● Ibn Khaldun ● Robert Chambers
3. Randomly draw three names of individuals from the paper lots that you made.

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Unit 5: Theories of Evolution

4. Incorporate the most important ideas of the individuals that you picked regarding
evolution. You have to be able to come up with one theory regardless of whether
their ideas have already been disproved or not.
5. Make sure that the theory you formulate includes only the ideas by the people in the
lots that you picked.
6. Create an illustration of your theory on a sheet of cartolina. Also, prepare a brief
description of your theory.
7. Once done, present your output to the rest of the class.
8. Answer the guide questions below afterward.

Guide Questions
1. What is the vernacular definition of a theory?
2. Do you think the one that you formulated is a scientific theory? Explain.
3. Which among the concepts in the activity has been disproven? Why were they
debunked?

Learn about It!

What were Charles Darwin’s contributions to the

modern theory of evolution?

The Unified Theory of Evolution

As was mentioned in the previous lesson, Charles Darwin’s contributions, even without the
ideas of Gregor Mendel’s experiments, were significant enough to revolutionize the
understanding of evolution. This remains true until today, although many other concepts
that have been discovered since the publication of On the Origin of Species have been
incorporated into the modern evolutionary theory.

The inclusion of these concepts unites several fields of biology together, and these provide a
more comprehensive understanding of the evolutionary process. Thus, the modern

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Unit 5: Theories of Evolution

evolutionary theory is also known as the unified theory of evolution, which is sometimes
also referred to as the modern synthesis or neo-Darwinism.

Darwin’s Theory of Evolution

Darwin’s theory of evolution was discussed thoroughly in the previous unit. We can review
the main points he made, which include the following.
● Common descent describes how species share a common ancestry.
● Speciation refers to the process by which organisms change and evolve to form new
species.
● Gradualism describes the small incremental changes that may happen during the
process of evolution.
● Natural selection describes how organisms with favorable traits are more likely to
survive and pass on their traits to their offspring.

Genetics and Evolution

While Darwin already had an idea of the concept of the
inheritance of biological traits, he had no clear idea of
the mechanisms of heredity. These concepts were
clearly demonstrated in Gregor Mendel’s experiments.
Gregor Mendel was a Moravian scientist and friar, who
was born in 1822. You have learned in a previous unit
how Mendel contributed to our understanding of
heredity.

While Mendel and Darwin were both alive and actively

conducting their studies at the same time period, it was
not until the 1900s that Mendel’s work became
well-known. This means that Mendel’s findings only
became widespread and accepted by the public years
after both he and Darwin had passed away.

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Unit 5: Theories of Evolution

Modern Integration of Genetics to Darwin’s Evolutionary Theory

The integration of the field of genetics to Darwin’s evolutionary theory provided many of the
concepts that were previously unexplained.

First, it gives a mechanism as to how the traits of

organisms are coded for. Recall that the sequences of
bases in DNA comprise the genetic makeup of an
organism, and the genetic code dictates the expression
or manifestation of characteristics that organisms have.
While the DNA molecule was discovered in the late 1860s
by Friedrich Miescher, its structure and importance
were not discovered until many decades later. Thus, it
was only at a much later time that the significance of
DNA to evolution was determined.

Second, genetics provides a solid basis for explaining

how traits can be passed on from one generation to
another. The mechanisms of inheritance were described
by Gregor Mendel but were only fully understood
decades later. The field of modern genetics provides a thorough explanation of how genes
are passed on from parents to offspring, consequently allowing traits to be inherited by
many individuals in a population.

Third, genetics provides an explanation of how traits can change from one generation
to another over time. Specifically, the mechanisms of how traits can change due to genetic
changes can be explained by modern genetics. For example, mutations, or alterations in
the DNA sequence, in individual genes can lead to noticeable changes in organisms. Should
these mutations not become detrimental to the survival of an organism, then the trait may
be passed onto the offspring if it successfully survives and reproduces.

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Unit 5: Theories of Evolution

Mutations can greatly impact the traits of organisms, depending on which genes are
affected. This photo shows some examples of chromosomal mutations that can occur.

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Unit 5: Theories of Evolution

Other Concepts in the Unified Theory of Evolution

The concepts of the unified theory of evolution are not just limited to the ones that are
outright stated in Darwin’s theory and modern genetic findings. Other concepts that are
incorporated within the unified theory include the following.

Adaptation
The concept of natural selection was discussed in the previous lesson. Recall that natural
selection refers to when organisms tend to have higher chances of survival and
reproduction if they possess traits that are favorable for survival in their current
environment. The concept of natural selection is closely tied to adaptation. Adaptation
refers to both the mechanism of adjusting to environmental changes and the features
that organisms have or use to survive in their habitats. These concepts are important to
the unified theory of evolution because they provide an explanation for what drives
changes to occur and how organisms acquire these changes for survival.

Take note that adaptations are not universal. They can only provide advantages for
organisms within certain habitats or conditions but not in all of them. For example, the fur
of woolly mammoths was only advantageous in cold climates, but it can be detrimental to
the survival of these organisms when placed in a warm climate. Thus, this also explains why
mammoths were only found in areas with freezing temperatures.

Woolly mammoth fur was only advantageous in cold climates.

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Unit 5: Theories of Evolution

Genetic Drift
Contrary to what some people believe, not all of the traits that organisms have are products
of adaptations. Some of them are results of random chance or event, which is the focus of
the concept of genetic drift. Genetic drift refers to the change in the allele frequencies that
occur in a population as a result of chance. This also operates on the fact that there are
indeed random factors or events in nature that can affect organisms regardless of how
adaptive the characteristics that they have.

Imagine a population of birds with different colorations. An example of a genetic drift would
be when a typhoon randomly wipes out one color variant of that bird population, which
shifts the allele frequency to that of the remaining color variants. This is an example of a
genetic drift because the coloration of the birds does not have anything to do with their
survival or death, and the changes in their respective frequencies are brought about by
chance.

Did You Know?

A drastic reduction in a population due to the occurrence of natural
events is known as a population bottleneck. This occurrence also
reduces the genetic diversity of that population and may be
detrimental as a result. Some of the known causes of bottlenecks in
history include severe storms or typhoons, volcanic eruptions, and
disease outbreaks.

Phylogeny and Systematics

The fields of phylogeny and systematics are closely tied with the modern theory of
evolution. These fields are primarily concerned with studying the evolutionary
relationships among organisms in order to construct a comprehensive view of how life
diversified on Earth. As such, these fields primarily deal with deciphering how species are
related to each other and how lineages have diverged in order to form new species.

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Unit 5: Theories of Evolution

It has been mentioned earlier that DNA is passed on across generations. As such, through
the use of DNA, the lineage of organisms can be traced from one species to the next in
order to provide a view as to how these have diversified. One of the most significant
methods in this field is the use of molecular methods in order to analyze the DNA
sequences of organisms and compare them with each other. The degree of similarity
between the sequences of DNA can provide a glimpse of evolutionary relationships and
provide evidence of how these species have evolved and changed over time. As such, these
fields depend on tracing phylogenetic changes.

Phylogenetic Change
Phylogeny and systematics, and
consequently the field of evolution,
deal with tracing phylogenetic
changes. A phylogenetic change
refers to the changes that occur
during a species’ evolutionary history.
This means that phylogenetic changes
are those that occur across
generations, which is in contrast with
the ontogenetic change, which deals
with those that occur in the lifespan
of one organism.

Tracing phylogenetic changes is one of

the major ways by which the unified
theory of evolution accounts for the
evolutionary relationships between
organisms. An example can be seen in
Fig. 5.3.1, which shows the
phylogenetic changes that occurred
between modern whales and their
mammalian ancestors.

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Unit 5: Theories of Evolution

Fig. 5.3.1. This photo shows the phylogeny of whales, in relation to their closest
mammalian relatives, the hippopotamuses. Different morphological changes took place
during their evolution.

Why is tracing phylogenetic changes important to

the study of evolution?

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Unit 5: Theories of Evolution

Comparative Anatomy
As can be seen in the photos above, changes in the anatomy and morphology of
organisms can also be indicative of their evolutionary histories. You learned about how
some naturalists that came before Darwin had studied the relationship of organisms based
on the similarities in their structures. Naturally, this field was much more studied before
molecular techniques were invented to determine the accurate degree of evolutionary
relationships. The field that studies the comparisons between the structures of organisms
to establish their evolutionary relationships is comparative anatomy. This will be discussed
in greater detail in the next unit.

Vertebrate limbs can be used to establish evolutionary relationships. Comparative anatomy

studies the comparisons between the structures of these organisms.

In the modern studies of evolution, both molecular and morphological data (from
comparative anatomy) are utilized for determining the evolutionary relationships among
biological species.

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Unit 5: Theories of Evolution

Biogeography
Biogeography is a branch of biology that deals with the distribution of species across the
world. A branch of biogeography, the historical biogeography, concerns itself with the past
and present distribution of organisms. These fields are extremely important to the unified
theory of evolution because knowing the distribution patterns of organisms, as well as how
they came to be, can provide clues regarding how they evolved and diversified from their
ancestors. The relationship between biogeography and evolution will be discussed in
greater detail in the next unit.

Did You Know?

Studying the distribution of the
diversity of organisms in the
Philippines is covered by historical
biogeography. Scientists have found
out that most of the Philippine
islands rose from under the ocean
millions of years ago. The island of
Palawan, however, was not one of
these islands that arose from under
the ocean.

Palawan was once part of what was

mainland Asia and has broken off
from the continent. This explains
why the island of Palawan has
different organisms compared with
the rest of the Philippines.

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Unit 5: Theories of Evolution

Misconceptions about Evolution

While the knowledge about the unified theory is widespread today, many people still
outright reject the concept of evolution itself. For others who believe that evolution is
indeed real, many misconceptions abound. This section will discuss and provide clarification
to some of the misconceptions about evolution.

Evolution Is a Theory
The common definition for a theory, in the vernacular sense, is that it is mostly grounded on
guesses. The definition of a scientific theory is different. A scientific theory is one that is
grounded on facts and laws and incorporates rigorous scientific testing or
experimentations.

The name “theory of evolution” has then led many people to believe that evolution is not yet
considered a fact and is merely a supposition for how life diversified. However, in truth,
there are already many pieces of irrefutable evidence that evolution is indeed real and
continuously occurring. While it is true that evolution is, indeed, a theory, scientists also
consider evolution to be a fact.

Evolution Has a Goal

Some people believe that evolution produces organisms that are better than their ancestors
and that evolution has a goal of making organisms better over generations. This is untrue.
Evolution does not have a goal. As you have learned earlier in this lesson, many of the
processes driving evolution are random. Also, these processes operate on environmental
factors, which may be quite hard to predict in the long-term. There is no driving force that
dictates organisms to become subsequently better or superior over generations.

Survival of the Fittest

Natural selection is often termed as “survival of the fittest.” This is inaccurate as the
statement implies that only the fittest will survive in their environments. The more accurate
statement would be that natural selection is closer to “survival of the fit” (or “survival of
the fit enough”), wherein organisms that meet the requirements of their environment have
higher chances of survival and passing on their genes to their offspring.

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Unit 5: Theories of Evolution

Humans Evolved from Chimps

It is true that humans are very closely related to the great apes, like chimpanzees,
orangutans, gorillas, and bonobos. In fact, chimpanzees are the closest living relatives of
humans. Many people incorrectly believe, however, that humans have directly descended
from chimpanzees. While humans are closely related to the apes, we are not direct
descendants of the great apes. What we do know is that we share common ancestors, and
our lineages diverged and produced the extant species that are present on Earth today.

Gorillas and the other grape apes are among the closest living relatives of modern humans.

Key Points
______________________________________________________________________________________________
● The unified theory of evolution combines Darwin’s concepts with many others to
explain the modern concept of evolution.
● Among the most important concepts included in the unified theory of evolution are
the ones that deal with inheritance and genetics.
● Phylogenetic changes refer to those that happen across generations, whereas
ontogenetic changes refer to those that happen within an organism’s lifespan.
● Biogeography is the field that deals with the distribution of organisms. Historical
biogeography adds the factor of time in the study of the distribution of organisms.

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● Adaptation refers to both the mechanism of adjusting to different forms of

environmental changes and the features that organisms utilize to improve their
chances of survival in particular habitats.

Concepts covered by the unified theory of evolution

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Check Your Understanding

A. Identify the terms or phrases being described by the statements

below.

1. This concept describes how species have a common ancestry.

2. This process refers to the formation of new species.
3. This scientist did experiments on garden peas and determined many concepts
related to the mechanisms of inheritance.
4. This scientist was able to isolate DNA in the 1860s.
5. These alterations in the DNA sequence result in modified amino acid sequences.
6. This general mechanism refers to when organisms adjust to the changes in their
environment.
7. This mechanism of change in the allele frequencies in populations is brought about
by random events.
8. This is an example of item no. 7, which is coupled with a drastic reduction in a
population.
9. These changes occur within a lifespan of an organism.

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Unit 5: Theories of Evolution

10. These changes occur across lineages and generations of species.

11. This branch of biology deals with the common structures and their functions
between organisms.
12. This branch of biology deals with the distribution of organisms across time and
space.
13. These organisms are the closest living relatives of humans.
14. This island of the Philippines broke off from what was mainland Asia millions of
years ago.
15. This theory describes Darwin’s findings and other concepts that have been
established about evolution since On the Origin of Species.

B. Each of the statements below corresponds to a concept discussed in

this lesson. Identify what concept each statement describes.

1. A scientist attempted to compare the distribution of birds in Luzon 200 years ago
and in modern times.
2. You are studying the changes that occur to a butterfly from egg to imago.
3. The population of an insect species was greatly reduced because of a forest fire.
4. Mammoths developed thick fur that helped them withstand the cold.
5. A scientist is studying the eyes of different animals to see how they have common
functions.

Challenge Yourself

Answer the following questions.

1. How does historical biogeography allow tracing of lineages of organisms?

2. Why is speciation central to the theory of evolution?
3. Why is “survival of the fittest” an inaccurate term for describing natural selection?
4. Did humans descend from chimpanzees? Explain your answer.
5. How does adaptation play a role in natural selection?

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Unit 5: Theories of Evolution

Photo Credits
Fishapod_evolution.jpg by Maija Karala is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia
Commons.

Palawan Island Red by JL 09 is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Bibliography
“Early Concepts of Evolution: Jean Baptiste Lamarck.” Understanding Evolution.
Berkeley.edu. Last accessed on May 17, 2020.
https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/history_09.

Miller, Stephen A., and John P. Harley. Zoology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2010.

Pavid, Katie. “The Giant Fossil Mammals That Inspired Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution.”
Natural History Museum. Last accessed on May 17, 2020.
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2018/april/giant-fossil-mammals-inspired-cha
rles-darwin-theory-evolution.html.

Russell, Peter J. Biology: The Dynamic Science. Student Ed. Belmont, CA:
Thomson/Brooks/Cole, 2008.

Starr, Cecie, Ralph Taggart, Christine A. Evers, and Lisa Starr. Biology: the Unity and Diversity
of Life. Boston, MA: Cengage, 2019.

Zirkle, Conway. "Natural Selection before the "Origin of Species"." Proceedings of the
American Philosophical Society 84, no. 1 (1941): 71-123. Last accessed on May 17,
2020. www.jstor.org/stable/984852.

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