Chapter 16: Darwin’s Theory of Evolution

Darwin

________ named his method of evolution natural selection- the process by which organisms that are most suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully (also known as survival of the fittest)

Radioactive dating

________ suggests that Earth is about 4.5 billion years old.

Lamarck

________ made a connection between an organisms body and its environment.

Natural selection

________ occurs when more individuals are born than can survive (the struggle for existence), there is heritable variation (variation and adaptation), and individuals have different fitness rates (survival of the fittest)

Malthus

________ reasoned that if the human population were to grow without control, then there would not be enough space and food for everyone to live.

Hutton

________ introduced a concept called deep time, the idea that Earths history is so long that it is difficult to imagine, to explain his ideas.

sharp claws

Any heritable trait that helps an organism survive in its environment is called an adaptation and can include body parts, such as ________ or strong wings, as well as behaviors, such as avoiding predators.

Evolutionary theory

Explains that homologous structures adapted to different purposes are the result of descent with modification from a common ancestor

Lyell

________ argued that the laws of nature do not change over time and concluded that geological processes in the past worked like the geological processes of today.

Peter

________ and Rosemary Grant studied finches on the Galápagos Islands.

Fossil

The preserved remains or traces of ancient organisms

Darwin thought

________ could be a key part of evolution and wondered which individuals survive and why.

high fitness

The difference in success between organisms with ________ and low fitness is called "survival of the fittest.

Darwin

________ noticed that some fossils of extinct animals were similar to living species.

Malthus

________ thought that overcrowding led to conditions such as war, disease, and starvation, that would slow down population growth.

Lamarck

________ suggested that individual organisms could change during their lifetimes by using or not using parts of their bodies.

Hutton

________ described how geological processes shape the land, suggesting that great forces under Earths surface push mountains upward.

Darwin

________ knew that differences in adaptations affect fitness- how well an organism can survive and reproduce in its environment.

Malthus

________ was an English economist who noticed that people were being born faster than people were dying, leading to overcrowding.

Darwin

________ was not the first scientist to say that species evolve over time, though earlier scientists disagreed on how evolution happened.

Darwin

________ also hypothesized that some heritable traits make survival easier.

Darwin

________ proposed that species living today are descended from older species that survived and reproduced and that over time, those older species evolved into new species in a process he called "descent with modification.

Darwin

________ used the science of biogeography, the study of where organisms live and where their ancestors lived in the past, to support his theory.

Darwin

________ used the idea that species change over time to explain the great variety of life on Earth.

Darwin

________ noted two important patterns: (1) closely related organisms that live in different environments often show great differences, and (2) distantly related organisms that live in similar environments are often similar.

Darwin

________ suggested that animals with similar structures are related and that their structures are inherited from a common ancestor.

Darwin

________ also studied the work of farmers who bred plants and animals.

Darwin

________ drew the first evolutionary tree to show how organisms share ancient ancestors, an idea called "common descent.

Darwin knew that differences in adaptations affect fitness

how well an organism can survive and reproduce in its environment

Darwin named his method of evolution natural selection

the process by which organisms that are most suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully (also known as survival of the fittest)

Darwin noted two important patterns

(1) closely related organisms that live in different environments often show great differences, and (2) distantly related organisms that live in similar environments are often similar

Evolution

Change over time; the process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient organisms

Artificial selection

The selective breeding of plants and animals to promote desirable traits in offspring

Adaptation

A heritable characteristic that increases an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce in an environment

Fitness

How well an organism can survive and reproduce in its environment

Natural selection

The process by which organisms that are most suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully; also called survival of the fittest

Biogeography

The study of past and present distribution of organisms

Homologous structures

Structures that are similar in different species of common ancestry

Analogous structures

Structures that are similar in function but not structure; they do not suggest common ancestry

Vestigial structure

A structure that is reduced in size and has little or no function