Descent with Modification: A Darwinian View of Life

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the historical context, key figures, and fundamental concepts of Darwinian evolution and geological theories as presented in Chapter 22.

Evolution

The change over time of the genetic composition of a population, or the descent of modern organisms with modification from preexisting organisms.

Evolutionary adaptation

The accumulation of inherited characteristics that enhance an organism's ability to survive in specific environments.

Aristotle

A philosopher ($384-322$ BC) who believed species were fixed and unchanging, arranging organisms on a ladder of complexity.

Carolus Linnaeus

A physician and botanist ($1707-1778$) who developed the binomial system of nomenclature for naming plants and animals according to genus and species.

Creationism

The belief that species were designed by a creator for a specific purpose; a view common in western philosophy when the Earth was thought to be about $6,000$ years old.

Fossils

Remains or traces of organisms from the past embedded in sedimentary rocks formed from sand and mud.

Strata

Layers of sediment that cover older ones and are compressed into rock; erosion can carve through these to reveal older layers.

Paleontology

The study of fossils, a science founded by Cuvier ($1769-1832$).

Catastrophism

Cuvier's explanation that separate, sudden catastrophes caused the distinct layers of different species found in each stratum.

Gradualism

Proposed by Hutton in $1795$, it is the idea that Earth’s geological features result from the cumulative effects of slow, natural continuous processes.

Uniformitarianism

Lyell's ($1797-1895$) proposal that the same geological processes operating today are the same as in the past and occur at the same rate.

Lamarck's Theory of Evolution

Proposed in $1809$, it suggested life changes over time through the climb of 'ladders of evolution' toward greater complexity.

Use and disuse

Lamarck's principle that body parts used extensively become larger and stronger, while those not used deteriorate.

Inheritance of acquired characteristics

The incorrect idea proposed by Lamarck that modifications acquired by use and disuse during an organism's life are inherited by offspring.

HMS Beagle

The ship on which Darwin sailed from Dec. $1831$ to Oct. $1836$, leading to his observations of Galapagos Finches.

Natural Selection

A process where individuals with certain inherited traits survive and reproduce at higher rates than others because of those specific traits.

Artificial Selection

The selective breeding of organisms by humans to encourage the occurrence of desirable traits.

Homologous Structures

Structures or attributes in different species that resemble each other because of common ancestry, such as mammalian forelimbs.

Analogous Structures

Structures that are similar in function but differ in structure, developmental origin, and evolutionary origin.

Convergent evolution

The similarity between two organisms or structures due to independent evolution along similar lines rather than descent from a common ancestor.

Biogeography

The study of the geographical distribution of species, influenced by factors like migrations and continental drift.

Pangea

A supercontinent where all Earth's landmasses were joined $250$ million years ago; it began breaking up $200$ million years ago.