Diversity of Life Part 1 Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering organizing life on earth, Linnaean classification, phylogenetic trees, homologous and analogous structures, and evolutionary relationships.

Phylogeny

The evolutionary history and relationships among species or groups of organisms.

Taxonomy

The science of naming and classifying organisms.

Linnaean System

A hierarchical taxonomic classification system organized from broadest to most specific levels: Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species.

Tree of Life

The central metaphor of evolution representing the evolutionary relationships among organisms across the three domains: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.

Topology

The specific order of branching in a phylogenetic tree, which represents its most important structural feature.

Node

A point on a phylogenetic tree representing a hypothetical common ancestor.

Branch

The portion of an organism's lineage on a phylogenetic tree extending from a node to a terminal tip, which can rotate around a node.

Terminal Tip

Also referred to as a leaf or taxa, representing the specific organism or group at the end of a lineage in a phylogenetic tree.

Phylogenetic Tree Components

The structural features of a phylogenetic diagram including nodes, branches, uninformative bends, and terminal tips (taxa).

Rooted Phylogenetic Tree

A phylogenetic tree showing how different organisms evolved from a single common ancestor.

Homologous Structures

Physical or genetic features in different organisms that overlap because they stem from common evolutionary paths.

Analogous Structures

Characteristics that are similar due to adaptive convergence in response to similar environmental pressures, possessing similar morphology but different genetic origins.

Convergent Evolution

The process by which organisms independently evolve similar traits (analogous structures) as an adaptation to similar environments.

Clade

A group of organisms that includes a common ancestor and all of its descendants, such as Amniota or Vertebrata.

Limitations of Phylogenetic Trees

Constraints in interpreting phylogenetic trees, including potential errors when relying solely on physical appearance and the fact that branch lengths do not show the duration of time.