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Biogeography is a synthetic science, related to geography, biology, soil science, geology, climatology, ecology and evolution. Some fundamental concepts in biogeography include: allopatric speciation – the splitting of a species by evolution of geographically isolated populations
Evolution is the principal scientific theory that biologists use to understand life and is used in many disciplines, including medicine, psychology, conservation biology, anthropology, forensics, agriculture and other social-cultural applications.
The basic mechanisms of evolution are applied directly or indirectly to come up with novel designs or solve problems that are difficult to solve otherwise. The research generated in these applied fields, contribute towards progress, especially from work on evolution in computer science and engineering fields such as mechanical engineering. [6]
Professor of biology Jerry Coyne sums up biological evolution succinctly: [3]. Life on Earth evolved gradually beginning with one primitive species – perhaps a self-replicating molecule – that lived more than 3.5 billion years ago; it then branched out over time, throwing off many new and diverse species; and the mechanism for most (but not all) of evolutionary change is natural selection.
The evolution of venom is thought to be responsible for the enormous expansion of snakes across the globe. The evolutionary history of snake venom is a matter of debate. Historically, snake venom was believed to have evolved once, at the base of the Caenophidia , or derived snakes.
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 – Mathematical guess about inbreeding; Fitness – Expected reproductive success
Phylogenetic trees of species and higher taxa are used to study the evolution of traits (e.g., anatomical or molecular characteristics) and the distribution of organisms (biogeography). Systematics, in other words, is used to understand the evolutionary history of life on Earth.
Evolutionary biology, in particular the understanding of how organisms evolve through natural selection, is an area of science with many practical applications. [1] [2] Creationists often claim that the theory of evolution lacks any practical applications; however, this claim has been refuted by scientists.