Descent with Modification /

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts from the chapter on Descent with Modification, focusing on the evolution, natural selection, and historical theories in biology.

Antimicrobial Resistance

The ability of bacteria to resist the effects of drugs that once killed them or inhibited their growth.

Darwinian Evolution

A theory proposing that species evolve over time through natural selection and adaptation to their environments.

Scala Naturae

A hierarchical structure proposed by Aristotle that places species in a fixed order from simplest to most complex.

Catastrophism

A theory developed by Georges Cuvier positing that Earth has been shaped by a series of sudden, short-lived, and catastrophic events.

Gradualism

The theory that profound change can occur through the cumulative effect of slow but continual processes.

Homology

The existence of shared ancestry between a pair of structures, or genes, in different species.

Convergent Evolution

The independent evolution of similar traits in different lineages, often due to similar environmental pressures.

Descent with Modification

The principle that species evolve from common ancestors, with changes occurring over generations.

Natural Selection

The process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.

Artificial Selection

The human practice of breeding animals or plants for desired traits.

Aristotle

Proposed the Scala Naturae, a hierarchical structure that places species in a fixed order from simplest to most complex.

Georges Cuvier

Developed the theory of Catastrophism, which posits that Earth has been shaped by a series of sudden, short-lived, and catastrophic events.

Carolus Linnaeus

Developed binomial nomenclature and the hierarchical system for classifying organisms.

James Hutton

Known as the Father of Modern Geology; proposed the theory of uniformitarianism, suggesting that geological processes are slow and continuous.

Charles Lyell

Popularized James Hutton's uniformitarianism through his work 'Principles of Geology,' influencing Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory.

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

Proposed an early theory of evolution based on the inheritance of acquired characteristics, often called Lamarckism.

Charles Darwin

Authored 'On the Origin of Species' and developed the theory of evolution by natural selection and descent with modification.