Evolution (Honors Level)

What evidence would show that we could be recently related to a whale?

Whale fin and human hand have similar bone structure

What is Evolution?

A change in a population of organisms over time (changes in gene frequency)

What are Homologies?

Common Ancestry

What evidence did Darwin not have?

DNA

Why did horses initially get larger over time?

Genetic Drift Occured

Is Evolution a Linear Process?

No

What is similar between a human, pigeon, dog and whale?

Bone Structure of an Arm Appendage

What is a Vestigial Structure?

Body part that used to be useful to an organism’s ancestors but has little or no function now.

What is NOT an example of vestigial structure?

Opposable Thumbs

Mutations have accumulated over time, what do they tell us?

Who is related

What is the biggest evidence for evolution?

DNA

How does the fossil record show change in horses due to a changing environment?

Teeth become flatter for grazing and Legs become one-toed for running

What are Homologous Structures?

Evidence of a single common ancestor

What is a Pentadactyl Limb?

A Limb with 5 Fingers or Toes with the bones arranged in a specific pattern

What is Bioinformatics?

It involves the collection, analysis, and storage of biochemical information

What does “p²” stand for in the Hardy-Weinberg Equation?

The Frequency of Homozygous Dominant Individuals

What does “q²” stand for in the Hardy-Weinberg Equation?

The Frequency of Homozygous Recessive Individuals

What does “2pq” stand for in the Hardy-Weinberg Equation?

Heterozygous

What best describes a gene pool?

All of the alleles for a gene in the population

If you are asked for the allele frequency for the recessive allele you would look at what value?

“q”

If you are asked to find the number of individuals in a population that are heterozygous, which value would be important?

“2pq”

What is Phylogeny or “Cladistics”?

The study of how organisms are related, often uses cladograms to show relationships

What is Cladogram?

Organizes organisms based on evolutionary relationships

What are Analogous Structures?

(Homoplasy) - Two organisms sharing similar but non-related characteristics

What are Derived Characteristics?

“Derived” means a new or special trait that separates an organism from it’s ancestors

DNA/RNA/Proteins

Organisms with the most shared sequences or amino acids are assumed to be more related

What is Morphology?

The study of the form and structure of organisms

What do Cladograms show?

They do NOT show time, BUT how they are related

What is the Hardy-Weinberg Equation used for?

To measure the frequency of genes in a population

What is a Phenotype?

Appearance based on genes

What is an Adaptation?

A trait or characteristic that helps an organism survive and reproduce better in its environment.

What is Coevolution?

When two or more species evolve together because they affect each other’s survival.

What is Convergent Evolution?

When different species that are not closely related develop similar traits because they live in similar environments.

What are the three types of selection?

Stabilizing, Directional, and Disruptive

Do individuals evolve in their lifespan?

No

What is Biological Fitness?

How many offspring are produced

Will organisms of the same population have different traits?

Yes

What are genes that move between populations by migration?

Gene Flow

Mutations can change the genes in a population in what three ways?

They can be beneficial, neutral, or harmful

How is genetic drift caused?

It happens randomly by chance

What does Natural Selection say?

Organisms that are better adapted will survive, reproduce, and pass their traits on

What are Human and Dog bone patterns examples of?

Shared Common Ancestry

What is Embryology?

The study of similarities in development that are supported by common ancestry

What can be found in Fossils?

Evidence of organisms that once lived and how they changed

What is Biogeography?

The study of how organisms are distributed on earth

What is a Bottleneck Effect?

When a population’s size is suddenly reduced by a disaster

What is a Founder Effect?

Happens when a small group breaks off from a larger population and starts a new population in a different place.

What is Monophyletic evolution?

A group that has a common ancestor and descendants that also have a certain derived trait

What is Paraphyletic evolution?

Leaves out at least one group that should be included based on ancestry.

What is Polyphyletic evolution?

A group that shares some trait but lacks a common ancestor that has that trait

How does Phylogeny help us build cladograms?

helps us to use both morphology and/or molecular (DNA/RNA/protein) data

What is the smallest unit in biology that can evolve?

Population

What is “fitness” as a biological term?

ability to be able to survive and reproduce

What does “selection” create?

Two brand new, separate populations

What is another definition of natural selection?

Diferential Reproductive Success

What is Allopatric Speciation?

Organisms are geographically separated, so no gene flow can occur