Darwin And Evolution L4

A series of vocabulary flashcards based on the key concepts from a lecture on Darwin and evolution.

Heritable change

Change in a population of organisms from one generation to the next.

Natural Selection

The process which eliminates individuals less likely to survive and reproduce in their environment.

Descent with modification

The principle that existing species result from modifications of pre-existing ones.

Mutation

Heritable changes in the genetic material that can lead to new traits and characteristics.

Fitness

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

Homologous structures

Structures that are similar due to common ancestry, such as the wing of a bat and the flipper of a dolphin.

Analogous structures

Structures that are similar due to convergent evolution, not common ancestry, such as the eye of a squid and the eye of a human.

Genetic material (DNA)

The blueprint for the organization, development, and function of living things, passed from parents to offspring.

Atavistic traits

Ancestral traits that reappear in a lineage after being lost through evolutionary change.

Vertical descent with modification

Transmission of genetic material from parent to offspring, leading to evolutionary change.