Natural and Artificial Selection Lecture Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering the fundamental concepts of natural and artificial selection as presented in the lecture.

Population

A group of organisms of the same species living in the same area at the same time.

Natural Selection

The process that results when the characteristics of a population of organisms change over many generations because individuals with certain inherited traits survive specific local environmental conditions and pass on their alleles to their offspring.

Variation

Structural, functional, or physiological differences between individuals that must be present within a species for natural selection to occur.

Adaptation

A structure, behaviour, or physiological process that helps an organism survive and reproduce in a particular environment, such as camouflage or hibernation.

Hibernation

An adaptation that allows animals to survive harsh winters by saving their energy until food is available.

Mimicry

A type of structural adaptation where a harmless species represents a harmful species, such as the edible Viceroy butterfly resembling the inedible Monarch butterfly.

Survival of the Fittest

A phrase used to explain Natural Selection, relating to how organisms that are the fittest leave the most offspring and win the struggle for survival.

Mutations

Random changes in the DNA of an organism that provide new alleles and serve as the only source of new genetic information.

Selective Advantage

A genetic advantage that improves an organism’s chances of survival, usually within a changing environment.

Selective Pressure

An environmental condition, such as predators, parasites, or competition, that selects for certain characteristics in individuals and against others.

Fitness

The relative contribution an individual makes to the next generation by producing offspring that will survive long enough to reproduce.

Artificial Selection

A process where selective pressure is exerted by humans on a population to improve or modify certain desirable characteristics, such as in dog breeding, crops, or livestock.