BIOL2040: Evolution Lecture Notes Review

Flashcards summarizing key concepts from the BIOL2040 Evolution lecture notes.

Phylogenetics

The study of evolutionary relationships among biological entities.

Hypothesis

A proposed explanation based on limited evidence, providing a basis for further investigation.

Sister Taxa

Groups of organisms that share a common ancestor and are each other's closest relatives.

Clade

A group of organisms that includes an ancestor and all its descendants.

Monophyletic

A group that contains a common ancestor and all its descendants.

Paraphyletic

A group that includes a common ancestor but not all its descendants.

Polyphyletic

A group that does not include the most recent common ancestor of all members.

Node

A point on a phylogenetic tree where a branch splits, representing common ancestry.

Vestigial Trait

A trait that has lost most or all of its original function through evolution.

Analogy

Similar traits due to convergent evolution, not inherited from a common ancestor.

Homoplasy

Similar traits resulting from evolution in separate lineages.

Homology

Similar traits inherited from a common ancestor.

Apomorphy

A derived trait that is unique to a particular clade.

Plesiomorphy

An ancestral trait that has not significantly changed.

Synapomorphy

A shared derived trait that is evidence of evolutionary relationships.

Outgroup

A taxon used to help infer the evolutionary relationships of the ingroup.

Rooted Tree

A phylogenetic tree with a single ancestral lineage at its base.

Unrooted Tree

A phylogenetic tree that does not show direct lineage and evolutionary paths.

Maximum Likelihood

A statistical method for estimating the likelihood of a tree given certain data.

Bootstrap Resampling

A statistical method that involves repeatedly sampling with replacement to evaluate the reliability of a tree.

Molecular Clock

The concept that genetic mutations accumulate at a constant rate, allowing dating of evolutionary events.

Convergent Evolution

The independent evolution of similar traits in different lineages due to similar selective pressures.

Divergent Evolution

The accumulation of differences between groups, leading to speciation.

Taxon

A group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms.

Phylogeny

The evolutionary history of a group of organisms.

Character

A feature or characteristic of an organism that can be used in phylogenetic studies.

Trait

A distinguishing quality or characteristic of an organism.

Reversal

The reappearance of a trait in a lineage that had lost it.

Polytomy

An unresolved relationship in a phylogenetic tree where a node leads to three or more descendants.