Darwinism and Evolutionary Concepts

These flashcards cover key vocabulary terms and concepts related to Darwinism and evolutionary biology.

Adaptations

Traits that help organisms survive and reproduce in a given environment.

Artificial selection

Humans modify other species for desired traits.

Natural selection

The environment selects traits; individuals better suited to their environment produce more offspring.

Homology

Similarity resulting from common ancestry.

Vestigial structure

Remnants of features that served important functions in an organism’s ancestors but not anymore.

Phylogeny

The evolutionary history of a species or related species.

Taxonomy

The ordered division and naming of organisms.

Genetic variation

Differences in genes within a population, essential for evolution.

Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium

A population where mating is random and there are no mechanisms of evolution happening.

Genetic drift

Unpredictable fluctuations in allele frequencies in a population.

Founder effect

Occurs when a few individuals become isolated from a larger population, affecting allele frequencies.

Bottleneck effect

Drastic reduction in population size due to environmental changes, impacting the gene pool.

Gene flow

Movement of alleles among populations, which can influence allele frequencies.

Microevolution

Changes in allele frequencies in a population over time.

Reproductive isolation

Biological barriers that prevent different species from mating and producing viable offspring.

Allopatric speciation

Speciation occurring due to geographic isolation.

Sympatric speciation

Speciation occurring within the same habitat.

Circadian rhythm

An internal clock that responds to environmental changes such as light.

Cooperative behavior

Behavior where animals work together, increasing individual and population survival chances.

Imprinting

Establishment of a long-lasting behavioral response to a particular individual or object.

p in hardy weinberg

frequency of dominant allele

q in hardy weinnberg

frequency of recessive allele

directional selection

selection that favors phenotypes at one end of the spectrum of variation

disruptive selection

selection that favors extreme phenotypes over intermediate phenotypes

stabilizing selection

selection that favors intermediate phenotypes over extreme phenotypes

prezygotic barriers

features that prevent mating/fertilization between species

postzygotic barriers

features that prevent hybrid offspring from being viable/fertile

Shared derived character

 evolutionary trait unique to a certain group 

Polyploidy

extra sets of chromosomes

Habitat differentiation

new species from a common ancestor evolve in new habitats

Migration

long distance change in location due to environment

Cooperative behavior

animals working together increase individual and population survival