W13 L2 - Genetics and Evolution Flashcards

Flashcards about evolution and natural selection, covering key concepts, scientists, and evidence. Topics includes: Darwin's Theory, Descent with Modification, Microevolution, Macroevolution, Homology, HOX genes, Natural Selection, Alfred Russel Wallace's contribution

According to Darwin, what two concepts explain the unity and diversity of life?

Evolution as Descent With Modification, Natural Selection as the mechanism

What are the key components of Descent with Modification?

Species change over time (microevolution), Lineages split and diverge (speciation), New life-forms derive from older forms (macroevolution), All life-forms are related (common ancestory), Earth and life are old.

What evidence supports Microevolution?

From selective breeding or artificial selection, from living anatomy (Vestigial Structures), Natural Populations observations.

What are transitional forms in the context of macroevolution?

Fossils showing a mix of features, including traits typical of ancestral populations and novel traits seen later in descendants

What is Biogeography in terms of macroevolutionary evidence?

The geographic distribution of species that provides evidence of evolution

What is homology?

Similarity resulting from common ancestry.

What is anatomical homology?

Anatomical resemblances that represent variations on a structural theme present in a common ancestor.

What are HOX genes?

Regulatory genes that control the timing and route of development

What are the four postulates of Natural Selection?

The individuals within a population differ from one another, The differences are, at least in part, passed from parents to offspring, Some individuals are more successful at surviving and reproducing than others, The successful individuals are not merely lucky; instead, they succeed because of the variant traits they have inherited and will pass to their offspring

What was Alfred Russel Wallace's contribution to evolutionary theory?

Trip to the Malaysian Archipelago: "On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart Indefinitely From the Original Type” He became colleagues with Darwin, and Darwin supported Wallace ideas most of the time