KK1. causes of changing allele frequencies in a population’s gene pool, including environmental selection pressures, genetic drift and gene flow; and mutations as the source of new alleles
KK2. biological consequences of changing allele frequencies in terms of increased and decreased genetic diversity
KK3. manipulation of gene pools through selective breeding programs
KK4. consequences of bacterial resistance and viral antigenic drift and shift in terms of ongoing challenges for treatment strategies and vaccination against pathogens
KK5. changes in species over geological time as evidenced from the fossil record: faunal (fossil) succession, index and transitional fossils, relative and absolute dating of fossils
KK6. evidence of speciation as a consequence of isolation and genetic divergence, including Galapagos finches as an example of allopatric speciation and Howea palms on Lord Howe Island as an example of sympatric speciation
KK7. evidence of relatedness between species: structural morphology – homologous and vestigial structures; and molecular homology – DNA and amino acid sequences
KK8. the use and interpretation of phylogenetic trees as evidence for the relatedness between species
KK9. the shared characteristics that define mammals, primates, hominoids and hominins
KK10. evidence for major trends in hominin evolution from the genus Australopithecus to the genus Homo: changes in brain size and limb structure
KK11. the human fossil record as an example of a classification scheme that is open to differing interpretations that are contested, refined or replaced when challenged by new evidence, including evidence for interbreeding between Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis and evidence of new putative Homo species
KK12. ways of using fossil and DNA evidence (mtDNA and whole genomes) to explain the migration of modern human populations around the world, including the migration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations and their connection to Country and Place.
