pre-ap biology unit 6 vocab

natural selection

organisms with certain inherited characteristics are more likely to survive and reproduce

artificial selection

breeding organisms with specific traits in order to make more organisms with those traits

speciation

development of a new species

isolation

when something separates a species

adaptation

a characteristic that is helpful to survive and reproduce in a specific environment

homologous structures

structures that are similar due to common ancestry, they do NOT always have a common function

analogous structures

structures with similar function that do NOT have common ancestors or a common structure

coevolution

two or more organisms evolve together (usually some sort of relationship, not necessarily genetically related)

divergent evolution

accumulation of differences between populations which can lead to speciation (can be due to isolation/separation of two populations, migration, etc)

convergent evolution

UNRELATED organisms independently evolve similarities when adapting to similar environments/climates. (ex: possums and kangaroos both have pouches)

biogeography

the study of the geographic distribution of organisms

genetic drift

change in the allele frequency of a population due to chance rather than natural selection

cladogram

diagram that shows the evolutionary relationships among a group of organisms

species

a group of similar organisms that are able to breed and reproduce fertile offspring

classification

the process of grouping things based on their similarities