week 1 evolution (textbook ch 22)

Bombardier Beetle

An insect known for its defensive adaptation that includes releasing a hot, noxious chemical spray to deter predators.

Defensive adaptation

A trait or mechanism that an organism possesses to protect itself from predators.

Hot, noxious chemical spray

A type of chemical defense used by the bombardier beetle when threatened.

Hydroquinones

Chemicals stored in the bombardier beetle's abdomen that are crucial for its defensive mechanism.

Hydrogen peroxide

A chemical stored in the bombardier beetle's abdomen that, when combined with enzymes, produces a hot spray.

Pygidial glands

Specialized structures in the bombardier beetle where defensive chemicals are stored.

Reaction chamber

The area inside the bombardier beetle where the chemical reaction occurs to produce its defensive spray.

Catalase

An enzyme that helps catalyze the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide in the bombardier beetle's reaction chamber.

Peroxidase

An enzyme involved in the bombardier beetle's chemical reaction to enhance its defensive spray.

Exothermic reaction

A chemical reaction that releases heat, as seen in the bombardier beetle's defense mechanism.

Pulsating spray

The rapid expulsion of the chemical spray produced by the bombardier beetle as a defense.

Natural selection

The process by which individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to survive and reproduce.

Adaptive traits

Inherited characteristics that enhance an organism's fitness in its environment.

Darwin's observations

Three key features he identified: adaptation, unity of life, and diversity of life.

Descent with modification

Darwin's concept that species evolve from ancestral forms with changes over time.

Dual view of evolution

Evolution can be viewed as both a pattern and a process.

Scala Naturae

A hierarchical classification system proposed by Aristotle, suggesting species are fixed and unchanging.

Binomial nomenclature

A system developed by Carl Linnaeus for naming species using two names, genus and species.

Catastrophism

Georges Cuvier's theory that explains extinction through sudden disasters and subsequent migrations.

Gradualism

The principle that geological features are the result of slow, continuous processes over time.

Uniformitarianism

The idea that the same geological processes operating in the present have always operated in the past.

Use and disuse

Lamarck's principle that traits used frequently become stronger while unused traits weaken.

Inheritance of acquired characteristics

Lamarck's idea that traits acquired in an organism's lifetime could be passed to offspring.

Adaptation

An inherited trait that enhances an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in its environment.

Variation

Differences among individuals in a population that contribute to evolution.

Overproduction of offspring

A concept stating organisms tend to produce more offspring than can survive due to limited resources.

Species diversity

The variety of different species within a given area or ecosystem.

Extinction

The complete disappearance of a species.

Common ancestor

A species from which multiple different species have evolved.

Artificial selection

Selective breeding of organisms by humans to enhance desired traits.

Direct observation of evolution

Empirical evidence of evolutionary change observed in species over time.

Homologies

Similarities between organisms due to shared ancestry, including anatomical, embryological, and molecular traits.

Analogous traits

Traits that have similar functions but arise from different evolutionary origins.

Fossil record

Historical evidence that documents the existence and changes of species over time.

Biogeography

The study of the geographic distribution of species and its implications for evolutionary history.

Scientific theory

A well-supported explanation for a broad range of phenomena, such as evolution.

Evolutionary trees

Diagrams that represent the relationships among different species and their common ancestors.

Endemic species

Species that are native to and found nowhere else in a particular area.

Geological processes

Natural activities like erosion and sedimentation that shape the Earth's landscape and influence evolution.

MRSA

A strain of bacteria known for its rapid evolution and antibiotic resistance as a result of natural selection.