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Natural Selection
A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits
Taxonomy
A scientific discipline concerned with naming and classifying the diverse forms of life
Catastrophism
The principle that events in the past occurred suddenly and were caused by different mechanisms than those operating today.
Gradualism
Geologists Hutton & Lyell suggested that geological changes resulted from gradual processes and Lyell proposed that these processes continued to operate today, at the same rate as in the past
Uniformitarianism
The principle stating that mechanisms of change are constant over time
Descent with modification
Evolution can be defined by Darwin’s phrase: descent with modification
Artificial selection
The selective breeding of domesticated plants and animals to encourage the occurrence of desirable traits
Biogeography
The scientific study of the past and present geographic distributions of species (provides evidence of evolution)
Homologous structures
Structures in different species that are similar because of common ancestry
Vestigial organs
A feature of an organism that is a historical remnant of a structure that served a function in the organism’s ancestors
Gene pool
The aggregate of all copies of every type of allele at all loci in every individual in a population. The term is used in a more restricted sense as the aggregate of alleles for just one or a few loci in a population.
Hardy Weinberg equilibrium
The state of a population in which frequencies of alleles and genotypes remain constant from generation to generation, provided that only mendelian segregation and recombination of alleles are at work
Genetic drift
A process in which chance events cause unpredictable fluctuations from one generation to the next. (Effects of genetic drift are more pronounced in small populations.)
Bottleneck effect
Genetic drift that occurs when the size of a population is reduced, as by a natural disaster or human actions. Typically, the surviving population is no longer genetically representative of the original population.
Founder effect
Genetic drift that occurs when a few individuals become isolated from a larger population and form a new population whose gene pool composition is not reflective of that of the original population
Polymorphism
The coexistence of two or more distinct
forms of individuals in the same population.
Microevolution
Evolutionary change below the species level; change in the allele frequencies in a population over generations
Speciation
An evolutionary process in which one species splits into two or more species
Anagenisis
A pattern of evolutionary change
involving the transformation of an entire population, sometimes to a state
different enough from the ancestral population to justify renaming it as a
separate species
Cladogenisis
A pattern of evolutionary change that
produces biological diversity by budding one or more new species from a parent
species that continues to exist.
Allopatric speciation
The formation of new species in populations that are geographically isolated from one another
Sympatric speciation
The formation of new species in populations that live in the same geographic area
Adaptive radiation
Period of evolutionary change in which new groups of organisms form many new species whose adaptations allow them to fill different ecological roles in their communities
Hybrid zone
A geographic region in which members of different species meet and mate, producing at least some offspring of mixed ancestry
Fossils
A preserved remnant or impression of an organism that lived in the past
Macroevolution
Evolutionary change above the species level. EX include origins of a new group of organisms through a series of speciation events and the impact of mass extinctions on the diversity of life and its subsequent recovery.
What is the primary function of DNA in living organisms?
DNA carries genetic information necessary for the growth, development, and reproduction of organisms.
What are the building blocks of DNA?
The building blocks of DNA are nucleotides, which consist of a sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.
What are the four nitrogenous bases in DNA?
Adenine (A), Thymine (T), Cytosine (C), and Guanine (G).
What is the process of DNA replication?
DNA replication is the process by which a double-stranded DNA molecule is copied to produce two identical DNA molecules.
What is the role of helicase in DNA replication?
Helicase unwinds the double-stranded DNA at the origins of replication, creating single-stranded templates.
What is transcription in molecular biology?
Transcription is the process of synthesizing RNA from a DNA template.
What is the role of ribosomes in protein synthesis?
Ribosomes are the cellular machinery that facilitate the translation of messenger RNA (mRNA) into polypeptides or proteins.
What is the difference between DNA and RNA?
DNA is double-stranded and contains thymine, while RNA is single-stranded and contains uracil.
What are mutations?
Mutations are changes in the nucleotide sequence of DNA that can lead to alterations in gene function.
What is the significance of polymerase in DNA processes?
Polymerase is an enzyme that synthesizes new DNA strands or RNA molecules by adding nucleotides to a growing chain.
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