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Evolution
the process of biological change in populations over time that makes descendants genetically different from their ancestors (microevolution, macroevolution)
Population
number of individuals in a group/species
Species
animals in the same group that have similar morphology, mating behavior, environment/habitat, and can produce fertile and viable offspring with each other
Natural Selection
organisms with the best traits for their environment will live longer and reproduce more causing a change in the population of a species in a certain environment
Artificial Selection / Selective Breeding
variation exists in domesticated plants and animals, humans take advantage of these differences, we select which traits are more favorable to be passed onto the next generation
Homologous Structures
similar in structure but have different functions (ex: arm of human and wing of bird have similar bones but have different functions)
Analogous structures
structures are different but have similar functions (ex: wing of bee and wing of a bat)
Vestigial Structures
Structures that have no purpose and are an evolutionary remnant of an ancestor
Fitness
Ability to survive and reproduce in a given environment
Adaptation
An inheritable characteristic that enhances an individual's fitness
Microevolution
Evolutionary change WITHIN a species (same species), change in allele frequency in a population
Macroevolution
Evolutionary change across species
Speciation
the evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species
Coevolution
When two or more species evolve in response to changes in one another (ie snake and newt)
Gene pool
All the genes (alleles) in a population
Allele frequency
Frequency of an allele in a population IMPORTANT: Each organism has 2 alleles for each trait
Disruptive selection
splits the population into two groups, favoring the extremes
Directional selection
when a single extreme phenotype is favored over other phenotypes
Stabilizing selection
natural selection favors the average phenotype, selecting against the extremes. The average expression leads to higher fitness
Sexual selection
occurs when certain traits increase mating success, females are choosy about their masters because their investment in offspring is higher (in most cases) (competition between males) (males display certain traits that attract the female)
Sexual Dimorphism
a trait that differs between males and females
Adaptive Radiation
same as divergent evolution, is when new environments cause differences to evolve in populations (one common ancestor evolving into many different species)
Reproductive Isolation (with speciation)
the inability of a species to breed successfully with related species due to geographical, behavioral, physiological, or genetic barriers or differences
Prezygotic barriers
Temporal, geographic/habitat/ecological, behavioral, mechanical, gamete isolation
Postzygotic barriers
Hybrid inviability, hybrid infertility, hybrid breakdown
Conditions for Genetic Equilibrium
Population is large
Random mating
No migration
No mutations
No natural selection
(IF AT LEAST ONE OF THESE CONDITIONS IS NOT MET THEN THE POPULATION IS EVOLVING)
Genetic Drift
Changes in frequency of genotypes through random events, especially in small populations, ie randomly a tree falls on and kills 3 of the 4 animals with red spots, drastically reducing their share of the gene pool
Bottle Neck
When population is drastically reduced in size, limiting genetic diversity
Founder Effect
a loss of genetic diversity when a small group of individuals establish a new population (a few individuals from a population start a new population with a different allele frequency than the original population)
Non-random mating
also known as sexual selection, occurs when certain traits increase mating success, females are choosy about their mates because their investment in offspring is higher (in most cases) (ex: competition between male bighorn sheep, the winner gets to mate with the female)(ex: males display certain traits that attract the female, male peacock fan out their tails)
Mutations
Random changes in DNA that can cause changes in phenotype, one of the drivers of evolution
Gene flow
movement of genes into/out of a population (migration)
Allopatric speciation
a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from each other to an extent that prevents or interferes with gene flow
Sympatric speciation
evolution of a new species from a surviving ancestral species while both continue to inhabit the same geographic region.
Balanced Polymorphism
a situation in which two different versions of a gene are maintained in a population of organisms because individuals carrying both versions are better able to survive than those who have two copies of either version alone (think malaria and sickle cell)
Stasis
Relative lack of evolutionary change in a species over a long period of time.
Exaptations
When a trait evolves for one purpose but then gets used for an additional purpose later on ie feathers evolving to control body temperature then becoming used for flight
Phylogeny
evolutionary history of a species
Phylogenetic tree
a diagram used to predict evolutionary relationships among groups of organisms (branch points show a new species diverging from the common ancestor, hypothesis are based upon ana;yzing shared morphology, genes, and behaviors)
Patterns of evolution
speciations (reproductive isolation), adaptive radiation/divergent evolution, extinction, convergent evolution, coevolution
Extinction
elimination of a species, background extinctions (slow and steady extinctions that would be expected to occur over time due to non
Convergent evolution
Similar environments select for similar traits so organisms that are not related/not closely related evolve to have similarities
Divergent evolution
Different species evolve from one common ancestor, evidence for this is homologous structures
Endemic species
species that exist only in one geographic region (galapagos tortoises)