Introduction to Evolution

Flashcards covering key concepts related to evolution, natural selection, and their implications.

Evolution

The change in the genetic makeup of a population over time.

Significance of Evolution

Explains how species adapt to their environments, develop new traits, and sometimes give rise to new species.

Fossils

Evidence of changes in species over time and documents extinct organisms.

Homologies

Similar structures with different functions that suggest common ancestry.

Biogeography

The study of the geographic distribution of species, revealing patterns supporting evolutionary history.

Microevolution

Small changes within a population over short time scales.

Macroevolution

Larger-scale changes that occur over long periods, leading to new species.

Darwin’s Four Postulates

1. Variation: Individuals in a population vary. 2. Inheritance: Some variations are heritable. 3. Overproduction: More offspring are produced than survive. 4. Differential survival and reproduction: Individuals with advantageous traits survive and reproduce more.

Fitness

An organism's ability to survive and reproduce.

Adaptations

Traits that improve an organism's fitness.

Trade-offs

When a beneficial trait has a cost; for example, bright feathers attracting mates but also predators.

Homology

Similar structures inherited from a common ancestor.

Analogy

Similar functions without common ancestry.

Natural Selection

A process driving evolution through variation, heritability, and differential reproduction.

Environmental Factors in Evolution

Changes like climate shifts can alter advantageous traits in populations.

Pesticide Resistance

Insects evolve resistance as individuals with resistant genes survive and reproduce.

Artificial Selection

Humans breed organisms for specific traits, shaping species based on desired characteristics.

Charles Darwin

Proposed Natural Selection

Alfred Russel Wallace

conceived natural selection

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

Inheritance of acquired traits

Gregor Mendel

geentics and heredity