Evolution and Its Processes

Flashcards covering vocabulary related to evolution and its mechanisms.

Evolution

A genetic change in a population; a change in allele frequency in a population.

Starvation Resistance

The ability of fruit flies to survive without food; selected through natural selection over generations.

Allele Frequency

The proportion of a specific allele among all alleles for a given gene in a population.

Natural Selection

The process where individuals with favorable inherited characteristics are more likely to survive and reproduce.

Mutation

A change in the nucleotide sequence of DNA; a source of new alleles in a population.

Genetic Drift

Random changes in allele frequencies in a population due to chance events, more pronounced in small populations.

Bottleneck Effect

A severe reduction in population size due to an environmental event, leading to decreased genetic diversity.

Allopatric Speciation

Speciation that occurs when populations are geographically isolated from each other.

Sympatric Speciation

Speciation that occurs without geographic isolation, often through mechanisms like polyploidy in plants.

Reproductive Isolation

Barriers that prevent members of different species from interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.

Differential Reproductive Success

The concept that those individuals best suited to their environment are more likely to reproduce and contribute to the next generation.

Taxon

A group of organisms at a particular level in a classification system.