Understanding Evolution and Natural Selection

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to evolution and natural selection as outlined in the lecture notes.

Natural Selection

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

Adaptation

A change in an organism that makes it better suited to its environment.

Darwin's Postulates

1. Struggle for existence; 2. Variation related to survival and reproduction; 3. Heritability of variation leading to natural selection.

Fitness

The potential for an individual to survive and reproduce.

Reproductive Success

The number of offspring produced by an individual that survive to reproductive age.

Microevolution

Genetic changes in a population or species over a few generations without speciation.

Macroevolution

Larger-scale genetic changes in a population or species over a longer time period, resulting in speciation.

Fecundity

The ability to produce offspring.

Stabilizing Selection

Selection that favors intermediate variants over extremes.

Directional Selection

Selection that favors one extreme phenotype over the other.

Disruptive Selection

Selection that favors extreme phenotypes at both ends of the spectrum.

Blending Inheritance

The hypothesis that offspring are a blend of parental traits, which would deplete variation over time.

Cultural Adaptation

Human adaptations developed through cultural practices and innovations.

Biological Adaptation

Evolutionary changes in organisms that enhance their survival and reproduction.

Natural Theology

The belief that complex traits are designed by an intelligent creator, as argued by William Paley.

Catastrophism

The idea that Earth's geological features were shaped by sudden, short-lived, and violent events.

Gradualism

The theory that evolution occurs slowly and steadily over long periods of time.

Heritability

The ability of a trait to be passed down from one generation to the next.

Variation

The differences in traits among individuals in a population that can affect survival and reproduction.

Differential Survival

The unequal chance of survival of individuals within a species based on their traits.