evoloution study guide

Adaption

The adjustment or changes in behavior, physiology, and structure of an organism to become more suited to an environment.

Adaptive radiation

the emergence of numerous species from a common ancestor introduced into an environment that presents a diversity of new opportunities and challenges.

Allopatric

Occurs when a new species evolves in geographic isolation from its ancestor.

Analogous structure

Structures of different species having similar or corresponding function but not from the same evolutionary origin.

Artificial Selection

Is the selective breeding carried out by humans to alter a population.

Biogeography

The science that seeks to explain the distribution of species and higher rank above species, on the surface of the Earth.

Biological species

A group of individuals, which can breed together but not with other groups.

Coevoloution

the evolution in 2 or more species in which the evolutionary changes of each species influence the evolution of the other species.

Common ancestor

How a group of organism share a most recent common ancestor.

Comparitive anatomy

The study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species.

Comparative embryology

by looking at organisms in early development can see the physical similarities.

Convergent evolution

Where organisms not closely related evolve similar traits as a result of having to adapt to similar environments.

Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

A British naturalist, and co-discoverer of the principle of evolution by natural select. Sought to explain why species change. Finches/Fittest

Founder Effect

The reduced genetic diversity that results when a population is descended from a small number of colonizing ancestors.

Gene pool

The set of all genes in any population

Gene flow

the transfer of alleles or genes from one population to another.

Genetic bottleneck

A sharp reduction in the size of the population due to environmental events.

Genetic drift

The change in the frequency of a gene variant in a population due to random sampling of organisms.

Genetic equilibrium

The condition of an allele or genotype in a gene pool where the frequency does not change between generations.

Genetic variation

Diversity in gene frequencies.

Gradualism

Theorizes that most speciation is slow, uniform and gradual.

Natural selection

The differential survival and reproduction of individuals that differ in the phenotype. A key mechanism of evolution.

Hugo de Vries

In the late 1800s, scientists working to figure out how species evolve overtime. Presented information from evening primrose plants and developed mutation theory to help answer this question.

Thomas Malthus

lived from 1766-1798. He published the principle of population where he made the observations that the human race would be likely to over reproduce if the population size was not kept under control.