Animal Diversity and Evolution Lecture Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture notes covering animal diversity, cell types, scientific principles, classification, mechanisms of natural selection, evidence for evolution, microevolution, macroevolution, and speciation.

Evolution

The process of genetic change within a population across generations.

Adaptation

An instance where an individual organism uses its existing traits or behaviors to survive in its environment.

Prokaryotic Cell vs. Eukaryotic Cell

Prokaryotic cells are smaller, simpler, lack a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles, and are found in Bacteria and Archaea; eukaryotic cells contain a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles, are more complex, and are found in plants, animals, fungi, and protists.

Main function of DNA?

DNA stores an organism’s genetic information and contains instructions for an organism’s inherited and physical traits.

Main function of RNA

RNA helps the cell use the genetic information stored in DNA and may act as a messenger carrying genetic instructions for the organism’s inherited and physical traits.

How can DNA from one organism function in another organism?

The genetic code is fundamentally the same among living organisms. Therefore, the cells from one organism can read and use a gene taken from another organism.

4. Why could a jellyfish gene function inside a cat?

• The genetic code is fundamentally the same among living organisms

  -Scientists inserted a jellyfish gene into a cat egg.

  -The jellyfish gene contained instructions for fluorescence.

  Because the cat’s cells could read the gene, the cat glowed green under certain light.

Compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.

Prokaryotic cells are smaller and simpler and lack a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles. Eukaryotic cells are larger and more complex and contain a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles.

Asexual Reproduction

Asexual reproduction involves one parent and does not require the joining of sex cells. The offspring are usually genetically identical or very similar to the parent. Most common in bacteria, but some plants and animals can also reproduce asexually.

Sexual Reproduction

Sexual reproduction combines reproductive cells and genetic information from two parents. It produces genetically varied offspring, producing greater genetic variation.

Compare sexual and asexual reproduction.

Asexual reproduction involves one parent and produces genetically similar offspring. Sexual reproduction combines genetic material from two parents and produces greater genetic variation.

Why are offspring from asexual reproduction usually similar to the parent?

Asexual reproduction involves only one parent, so the offspring receive all their genetic material from that single parent and are usually genetically identical.

Scientific Method Theory

A general principle about nature that has been repeatedly tested and has not yet been disproven.

Describe the scientific method.

The scientific method begins with an observation, followed by a question. Next is hypothesis formation, which is an educated answer to a question that is testable, not just an opinion. A prediction is then made based on the hypothesis. Next, an empirical test is performed, followed by a conclusion that supports or rejects the hypothesis.

What is the difference between a hypothesis and a prediction?

A hypothesis is an educated answer to a question that is testable, not just an opinion. A prediction is based on the hypothesis and states what is expected to happen when the hypothesis is tested.

Describe an empirical test and explain what happens during the conclusion.

An empirical test should be a controlled experiment, if possible. It includes at least two groups: a test group and a control group. During the conclusion, the results are used to support or reject the hypothesis.

What are the five principles of science?

1. Science is guided by the natural law.

2. Science has to be explained by natural law.

3. Science is testable against the observable world.

4. Science is falsifiable; able to be proven false.

5. The conclusions of science are tentative and therefore not necessarily the final word.

What is the class definition of science theory?

A theory is a general principle about nature that has been repeated tested and has not yet been disproven.

Taxonomy

The formal system for naming and classifying species.

Systematics

classifies organisms and determines their evolutionary relationships.

Phylogeny

The actual evolutionary history of a species or related group.

Why should organisms not be classified based only on their appearance?

What an animal looks like does not determine its phylogeny. For example, a legless lizard is genetically about 99% lizard. Phylogenetic trees are based on DNA and genetics rather than appearance alone

Define and distinguish taxonomy, systematics, and phylogeny.

Taxonomy is the formal system for naming and classifying species. Systematics classifies organisms and determines their evolutionary relationships. Phylogeny is the evolutionary history of a species or group of related species.

Binomial Nomenclature

A classification system developed by Carolus Linnaeus in 1735 where every organism is given a two-part scientific name consisting of its capitalized genus name and lowercase species name.

What is binomial nomenclature?

Binomial nomenclature is a naming system in which every organism has two scientific names: its genus and species name

Give two examples of binomial nomenclature

Quercus alba is the scientific name for white oak, and Urus Maritimes is the scientific name for the polar bear.

What does phylogeny mean?

Phylogeny is the evolutionary history of a species or group of related species

What are the three domains, and what are their major characteristics?

The three domains are Archaea, Bacteria, and Eurkarya Archaea are considered .

Three Domains of Life

Archaea (ancient bacteria in harsh environments), Bacteria (more recent bacteria), and Eukarya (organisms composed of eukaryotic cells).

Biological Fitness

The property of an individual organism that reproduces the most reproducing offspring.

Natural Selection

The process in which individuals with advantageous inherited traits survive and reproduce more successfully, causing those traits to become more common in future generations.

Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics

A hypothesis proposed by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1801 asserting that changes acquired during an organism's life through use, disuse, or desire are passed on to offspring.

Transitional Fossils

Fossilized remains that contain anatomical traits connecting major evolutionary groups, such as dinosaurs and birds.

Artificial Selection

The selective breeding of organisms by humans to encourage specific desired inherited traits.

Homologous Structures

Anatomical structures in different species that share the same basic internal framework and common ancestry, though they may perform different functions.

Analogous Structures

Anatomical structures that perform similar functions but have different internal frameworks, having evolved independently due to similar environmental pressures.

Vestigial Structures

Reduced anatomical structures that have lost most or all of their original ancestral function.

Biogeography

The study of where species are distributed across Earth and how evolutionary history, geological events, and time produced those distributions.

Microevolution

A change in the frequency of alleles within a population across generations.

Mutation

A change in DNA that can create a new allele.

Gene Flow

The movement and exchange of alleles between populations resulting from immigration or emigration of individuals or reproductive cells.

Genetic Drift

A random change in allele frequencies from one generation to the next, which exerts its strongest effect on small populations.

Founder Effect

A form of genetic drift that occurs when a small group leaves a larger population, colonizes a new habitat, and establishes a new population with reduced genetic diversity.

Bottleneck Effect

A form of genetic drift caused by a severe and sudden reduction in population size, resulting in a loss of genetic variation in surviving generations.

Inbreeding

Reproduction between closely related individuals, which increases homozygous genotypes and elevates the expression of harmful recessive alleles.

Stabilizing Selection

A mode of natural selection that favors individuals with intermediate trait values while selecting against both phenotypic extremes.

Directional Selection

A mode of natural selection that favors individuals displaying one extreme phenotype, causing allele frequencies to shift in a single direction.

Disruptive Selection

A mode of natural selection that favors individuals at both phenotypic extremes while selecting against individuals with intermediate traits.

Sexual Dimorphism

Noticeable physical differences in appearance, size, or traits between males and females of the same species.

Balanced Genetic Polymorphism

A state in which two or more distinct phenotypic forms of a trait are maintained in a population over many generations because each form possesses an advantage under specific conditions.

Macroevolution

Large-scale genetic change or evolution occurring over long periods, encompassing speciation and the origin of higher taxonomic groups.

Species

A group of individuals that can interbreed and produce viable, fertile offspring, and are reproductively isolated from other groups.

Reproductive Isolation

The prevention of gene flow between populations, categorized into prezygotic and postzygotic mechanisms.

Prezygotic Isolation

Reproductive barriers that act prior to fertilization to prevent the formation of a zygote, including behavioral, ecological, temporal, mechanical, and gametic isolation.

Postzygotic Isolation

Reproductive barriers that act after fertilization occurs, such as reduced hybrid viability or hybrid sterility.

Allopatric vs. Sympatric Speciation

Allopatric speciation involves physical or geographic separation dividing a population, whereas sympatric speciation occurs when a new species develops within the same geographic environment without physical isolation.

Gradualism

A model of speciation asserting that evolution occurs through slow, continuous, and steady genetic changes over long spans of time.

Punctuated Equilibrium

A model of speciation characterized by long periods of evolutionary stability (stasis) interrupted by brief bursts of rapid change.

Adaptive Radiation

A rapid diversification event in which a single ancestral species develops into many new species adapted to distinct ecological niches.

Mass Extinction

An event in which large numbers of species worldwide become extinct within a relatively short geological time frame.