Studied by 18 people
Evolution
A change in a population over time.
Natural selection
A process that occurs in terms of individuals but is defined in terms of populations.
Charles Darwin
A scientist whose work greatly contributed to our understanding of evolution.
Offspring competition
The competition among offspring for limited resources.
Variability
The existence of differences among organisms in a population.
Fitness
The measure of evolutionary success based on reproductive success.
Favorable traits
Traits that increase the likelihood of survival and reproduction.
Heritability
The likelihood of passing traits to subsequent generations.
Biotic factors
Living factors that can influence evolutionary fitness.
Abiotic factors
Non-living factors that can influence evolutionary fitness.
Paleontology
The study of fossils to reveal the various organisms and major lines of evolution.
Fossil Dating
The process of determining the age of a fossil by analyzing the age of the rocks where it was found, the rate of decay of isotopes, or geographical data.
Biogeography
The study of the distribution of flora and fauna in the environment, which has revealed related species in widely separated regions of the world.
Embryology
The study of the development of an organism, which has revealed that all vertebrates show fish-like features called gill slits.
Morphological Homologies
The study of the anatomy of various animals, which has revealed that some animals have similar structures that serve different functions. Homologous structures point to a common ancestor, while analogous structures evolved independently.
Molecular Biology
The study of biological molecules, which has provided the most compelling proof of evolution through the similarity at the molecular level.
Continuing Evolution
The ongoing process of evolution, which can be observed through small changes in DNA and changes in the fossil record over time.
Phylogenetic trees
Charts used to study relationships between organisms, built using data from the fossil record or molecular record.
Genetic variability
Differences in people, the foundation of evolution, allows for natural selection to occur.
Causes of evolution
Natural selection requires genetic variation and environmental pressure, biotic and abiotic factors can affect the direction of evolution.
Divergent evolution
When populations become reproductively isolated from each other due to different variation and environmental pressures, they could each change in different ways and no longer be able to mate.
Convergent evolution
The process by which two unrelated and dissimilar species come to have similar traits, often because they have been exposed to similar selective pressures.
Speciation
The process by which populations become different species, can occur through allopatric or sympatric speciation.
Pre-zygotic barriers
Prevent fertilization between individuals of different species.
Post-zygotic barriers
Related to the inability of a hybrid organism to produce offspring.
Directional selection
Occurs when natural selection favors one extreme of a trait, leading to a shift in the population towards that extreme.
Artificial selection
A type of selection where humans directly affect variation in other species.
RNA-world hypothesis
The hypothesis that the original life-forms were simply molecules of RNA.
Primitive Atmosphere
The atmosphere of Earth in its early stages, which contained mostly inorganic molecules and was rich in gases like methane, ammonia, hydrogen, and water.
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