Darwin and Evolution Lecture Review

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers Charles Darwin's voyage, the theory of natural selection, biological evidence for evolution, and key anatomical structures.

Charles Darwin

Born 2-12-1809; joined the HMS Beagle in 1831 for a five-year trip to the southern tip of South America to draw the border.

Evolution

The change in life over time; a theory developed by Darwin to explain the unity and diversity of life.

Descent with Modification

The process Darwin proposed for how modern organisms evolved, where species change over time.

"On the Origin of the Species"

The title of Darwin's book, which used his study of finches and their different beaks as its basis.

Adaptation

An inherited characteristic that increases an organism's chance of survival.

Overproduction

A tendency where every species produces more individuals than can survive to maturity.

Variation

The many differing characteristics found among individuals within a population.

Selection

A process where some individuals survive longer and reproduce more than others do.

Natural Selection

Commonly known as "Survival of the Fittest," where those with variations best suited for their environment survive and change over time.

Common Ancestors

Organisms that share similar bone structures found in fossils, suggesting they were similar to species that died out.

Homologous Structures

Features with similar anatomy but dissimilar functions, such as those in a whale, human, and cat.

Analogous Structures

Features that are anatomically different but serve similar functions, such as those in a shark, penguin, and dolphin.

Artificial Selection

A process where humans choose the changes in a species rather than nature.

Vestigial Structures

Anatomical features or behaviors inherited from ancestors that no longer seem to have a purpose in the current form, such as wisdom teeth or the appendix.

Fitness

According to Darwin, the ability of an organism to reproduce and have offspring.

Embryology

The study of similar developmental stages in most species used as evidence to prove evolution.

Four Evidences of Evolution

Similar Embryology, Homologous Structures (comparative anatomy), Fossils, and the Distribution of species.

Route of Evolution

The progression from Natural Selection to Adaptation, followed by Descent with Modification, resulting in Evolution.