Life on Earth: Unifying Principles – Darwin & Evolution (Vocabulary)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key Darwinian concepts and historical ideas from the lecture notes.

Evolution

Change in heritable traits of populations over generations; the core idea behind Darwin's theory.

Natural selection

Process by which heritable variation leads to differential survival and reproduction, shaping evolution.

Descent with modification

Idea that species share common ancestors and accumulate changes over time.

Variation

Differences among individuals within a population; raw material for evolution.

Fitness

Relative success of an individual at surviving and reproducing, contributing to gene frequencies.

Fossils

Remains or traces of past organisms used as evidence for evolution and extinction.

Stratification

Layering of sedimentary rocks; study of layers reveals historical sequence of life.

Paleobiology

Study of ancient life through fossils and ancient life processes.

Vestigial structures

Anatomical features with little or no current use, indicating past forms.

Biogeography

Geographic distribution of species and the historical factors shaping it.

Comparative morphology

Comparing body structures across organisms to infer evolutionary relationships.

Taxonomy

Biological classification and naming of organisms.

Natural theology

Historical idea that nature reveals God’s creation; early approach to biology.

HMS Beagle

Darwin's voyage ship (1831–1836) that provided crucial observations.

Galápagos Islands

Islands that inspired ideas about adaptive radiation and variation among species.

Alfred Russel Wallace

Naturalist who independently formulated a theory of natural selection; prompted Darwin to publish.

The Origin of Species

Darwin's 1859 book proposing natural selection and common descent.

Malthus

Economist whose ideas about population growth and resource limits influenced Darwin.

Artificial selection

Humans breeding plants or animals for desired traits.

Sexual selection

A form of natural selection acting on mating success; can produce ornamentation.

Lamarckian inheritance

Use and disuse; inheritance of acquired characteristics—an incorrect mechanism of evolution.

Monogenism

Belief that humanity has a single origin.

Polygenism

Belief that human races have multiple origins.

Speciation

Process by which one lineage splits into two or more distinct species.