Maintenance of Genetic Variation and Species Definitions

Flashcards covering key concepts related to genetic variation and species definitions.

Diploidy

The state of having two sets of chromosomes, one from each parent.

Heterozygote Advantage

A situation in which heterozygous individuals have a higher fitness than homozygous individuals, leading to the maintenance of genetic diversity.

Negative Frequency-Dependent Selection

A form of selection where the fitness of a phenotype decreases as it becomes more common, allowing rare phenotypes to thrive.

Biological Species Concept

Defines species as groups of actually or potentially interbreeding populations that are reproductively isolated from other such groups.

Morphological Species Concept

Defines species based on physical characteristics and structural features.

Ecological Species Concept

Defines species based on their ecological niche and the role they play in an environment.

Phylogenetic Species Concept

Defines species based on their evolutionary history and relatedness.

Genetic Variation

The diversity of alleles and genotypes within a population.

Natural Selection

A mechanism of evolution where individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to survive and reproduce.

Genetic Drift

A mechanism of evolution that causes allele frequencies to change due to chance events, particularly in small populations.

Gene Flow

The transfer of genetic variation from one population to another, which can homogenize allele frequencies.

Mutation

A change in the DNA sequence that can introduce new alleles into a population.