Evolution and Natural Selection Review

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to evolution and natural selection as outlined in the lecture notes.

Natural Selection

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

Fitness

The ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment.

Artificial Selection

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

Analogous Structures

Structures in different species that share a common function but not a common origin.

Homologous Structures

Structures in different species that are similar due to common ancestry.

Vestigial Structures

Body parts that have lost their original function through the course of evolution.

Convergent Evolution

The process where organisms from different ancestors develop similar traits due to similar environments.

Divergent Evolution

The process where two or more related species become more dissimilar due to different environments.

Modes of Selection - Directional

A mode of natural selection that favors one extreme phenotype over the mean or other extreme.

Modes of Selection - Disruptive

A mode of natural selection that favors extreme phenotypes over the average phenotype.

Modes of Selection - Stabilizing

A mode of natural selection that favors intermediate variants and acts against extreme phenotypes.

Speciation

The evolutionary process by which new biological species arise.

Biological Species Concept

Defines a species based on the ability to interbreed and produce viable, fertile offspring.

Prezygotic Barriers

Reproductive barriers that prevent mating or fertilization before it occurs.

Postzygotic Barriers

Reproductive barriers that occur after fertilization, affecting hybrid viability or fertility.

Gene Flow

The transfer of genetic variation from one population to another.

Genetic Drift

Random changes in allele frequencies in a population, which can lead to evolutionary change.

Founder Effect

Genetic drift that occurs when a small group from a population establishes a new population.

Bottleneck Effect

A sharp reduction in the size of a population due to environmental events, leading to a loss of genetic diversity.

Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium

A principle that describes the genetic variation in a population that is not evolving.

Trade-off

The balance between traits that enhance reproduction and those that enhance survival.