Bio Vocab for Final

Natural Selection

The process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.

Homologous Structures

Bones or structures in different species that are similar due to shared ancestry, but may have different functions.

Vestigial Structures

Body parts that have lost their original function through evolution, such as the human appendix.

Embryology

The study of embryos and their development, used to show evolutionary relationships through similar early developmental stages.

Evolutionary Relationships

Connections between species based on common ancestry, evidenced by DNA, morphology, and embryology.

Mutations

Random changes in DNA that can introduce new traits into a population.

Gene Expression

The process by which the information in a gene is used to produce a functional product, often a protein.

Epigenetics

The study of changes in gene expression caused by environmental factors that do not alter the DNA sequence.

Carrying Capacity

The maximum population size that an environment can sustain indefinitely based on available resources.

Invasive Species

Non-native species that disrupt local ecosystems, often leading to decreased biodiversity.

Biomass

The total mass of living matter within a given area or volume, which decreases as you move up trophic levels in a food web.

Photosynthesis

The process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods with the help of chlorophyll.

Cellular Respiration

The metabolic processes in which cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy, producing carbon dioxide and water as byproducts.

Negative Feedback Mechanism

A regulatory mechanism in which a change in a physiological variable triggers a response that counteracts the initial change.

Positive Feedback Mechanism

A process by which a change in a physiological variable leads to an even greater change, promoting rapid responses.

Biodiversity

The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem; high biodiversity contributes to ecosystem stability.

Genetic Variation

The diversity in gene frequencies within a population, essential for evolution and adaptation.

Trophic Levels

The hierarchical levels in an ecosystem, comprising different stages of energy transfer from producers to various levels of consumers.

Abiotic Factors

Non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems.

Biotic Factors

Living components of an ecosystem that affect the survival and reproduction of organisms.