Evolution Practice Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering the history of evolutionary thought, Darwin's theory of natural selection, and evidence for evolution including fossil, biogeographical, anatomical, and biochemical data.

Evolution

The process where species change through time, encompassing unity (shared basic features like DNA and cells) and diversity (the existence of many different species).

Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's proposed mechanism where changes an organism develops in its body parts through use or disuse during its life are passed to its offspring.

Natural Selection

The process by which organisms with helpful traits survive, reproduce, and pass those traits on, causing species to change over time.

Fitness

The reproductive success of an individual relative to other members of a population, determined by the ability to obtain resources and produce viable offspring.

Adaptation

Any evolved trait that helps an organism be more suited to its environment; it is the result of natural selection.

Differential Reproductive Success

Darwin's observation that individuals with favorable traits acquire more resources and devote more energy to producing more offspring than others.

Convergent Evolution

A phenomenon where unrelated organisms living in similar environments display similar characteristics, such as manatees, penguins, and sea turtles all having flippers.

Artificial Selection

Human-controlled breeding to increase the frequency of desired traits in plants and animals; also known as selective breeding.

Transitional Fossils

The remains or traces of past life that represent a common ancestor for two different groups of organisms, allowing scientists to trace the descent of species.

Biogeography

The study of the distribution of related life forms across different locales, explaining how geography, continental drift, and isolation affect evolution.

Marsupials

Mammals endemic to South America and Australia in which females have an external body pouch where young complete their development.

Homologous Structures

Anatomical structures that are similar because they are inherited from a common ancestor, such as the bone arrangement in a human arm and a whale flipper.

Analogous Structures

Structures that serve the same function but are not constructed similarly and do not share a common ancestor, such as rose thorns and cactus spines.

Cytochrome c

A small protein essential for the electron transport chain in mitochondria that is used as biochemical evidence for evolution because it is highly conserved.

Homeobox (Hox) Genes

Genes that orchestrate the development of the body plan in all animals; variations in their number and expression affect developmental outcomes.

$$HbAA$$

A genotype that is resistant to Sickle Cell Disease but highly susceptible to malaria.

$$HbAS$$

A heterozygous genotype that provides mild symptoms of Sickle Cell Disease while offering resistance to malaria.

$mecA$ gene

A gene found in MRSA that undergoes transcription and translation to produce PBP2a, making the bacteria resistant to $\beta$-lactam antibiotics.

Xylem

Specialized vascular tissue in plants used for the transport of water.

Phloem

Specialized vascular tissue in plants used for the transport of food (nutrients).

Lignin

A chemical compound that provides strong support structures in the vascular tissues of later plants like ferns and gymnosperms.

Medium Ground Finch

A species on Daphne Major observed by Peter and Rosemary Grant whose beak size adapts to weather conditions from generation to generation.