Year 12 Bio 2025

Clade

A group of organisms that consists of a common ancestor and all of its lineal descendants.

Ecological Niche

The role and space that an organism fills in an ecosystem, including all its interactions with the biotic and abiotic factors of its environment.

Keystone Species

A plant or animal that plays a unique and crucial role in the way an ecosystem functions.

Carrying Capacity

The size of the population that can be supported indefinitely on the available resources and services of that ecosystem.

Genome

All the genetic material in the chromosomes of an organism, including its genes and DNA sequences.

Gene

Region/s of DNA that are made up of nucleotides; the molecular unit of heredity.

Polygenic Inheritance

When one characteristic is controlled by two or more genes.

Evolution

Change in the genetic composition of a population during successive generations, which may result in the development of new species.

Microevolution

Small-scale variation of allele frequencies within a species or population, in which the descendant is of the same taxonomic group as the ancestor.

Macroevolution

The variation of allele frequencies at or above the level of species over geological time, resulting in the divergence of taxonomic groups, in which the descendant is in a different taxonomic group to the ancestor.