Looks like no one added any tags here yet for you.
Evolution
The gradual change in a species over time
natural selection
the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations
selection pressure
the environmental factors that favour certain phenotypes
artificial selection
Selection by humans for breeding of useful traits from the natural variation among different organisms
survival of the fittest
Process by which individuals that are better suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully
gene pool
Combined genetic information of all the members of a particular population
Allele Frequencies
the relative abundances of alleles of a given gene among all individuals of a population
Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
condition that occurs when the frequency of alleles in a particular gene pool remain constant over time
Gene flow
movement of alleles/individuals from one population to another
genetic drift
A change in the allele frequency of a population as a result of chance events rather than natural selection.
bottleneck effect
A change in allele frequency following a dramatic reduction in the size of a population
founder effect
change in allele frequencies as a result of the migration of a small subgroup of a population
Mutation
A change in a gene or chromosome.
frameshift mutation
mutation that shifts the "reading" frame of the genetic message by inserting or deleting a nucleotide
Deletion (point mutation)
nucleotide is removed from the DNA sequence
Insertion (point mutation)
when one nucleotide is added to the DNA sequence
substitute (point mutation)
when one nucleotide is changed to another in a DNA sequence
Inversion (block mutation)
reversal of a section of DNA on a chromosome
Insertion (block mutation)
A section of DNA is added to a chromosome
deletion (block mutation)
removal of a section of DNA to a chromosome
Translocation (block mutation)
switching of two sections of DNA on different chromosomes
Fossilisation process
1. Organism dies quickly, covered and undisturbed
2. Sediments cover the body to decrease oxygen to stop bacterial decompositions
3. Bones start disintegrating but minerals replace hard tissue
4. Erosion occurs exposing the fossil, and someone finds the fossil
Fossilisation requirements
die in water, covered quickly by sediment, hard body parts, left undisturbed, lack of oxygen
trace fossil
a fossil of a footprint, trail, burrow, or other trace of an organism rather than of the organism itself.
Physical fossils
Remains of all or part of the structures of an organism
transitional fossils
fossils that show links in traits between groups of organisms used to document intermediate stages in the evolution of a species.
Biosignatures
Chemical or physical traces that can be inferred to have resulted from the action of life forms; indirect evidence of life.
relative dating
Method of determining the age of a fossil by comparing its placement with that of fossils in other layers of rock
Index fossils
Distinctive fossils used to establish and compare the relative ages of rock layers and the fossils they contain
stratigraphic method
the method of obtaining the relative age of an object by its position within a given sequence of rock strata
Absolute dating
A technique used to determine the actual age of a fossil
half-life
length of time required for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay
Parent isotope
Daughter isotope
- isotope that undergoes decay
- Product of this decay
missense mutation
A base-pair substitution that results in a codon that codes for a different amino acid.
nonsense mutation
A mutation that changes an amino acid codon to one of the three stop codons, resulting in a shorter and usually nonfunctional protein.
silent mutation
A mutation that changes a single nucleotide, but does not change the amino acid created.
homologous structures
structures that are similar in different species of common ancestry but have different functions
vestigial structures
remnant of a structure that may have had an important function in a species' ancestors, but has no clear function in the modern species.
analogous structures
Body parts that share a common function, but not structure
comparative embryology
the study of the similarities and differences in the embryos of different species
molecular homology
similar amino acid sequences or DNA sequences among different species from a common ancestor; evidence of common ancestry
phylogenetic tree
A family tree that shows the evolutionary relationships thought to exist among groups of organisms
Relatedness
The probability that two people share the same genetic information from a common ancestor.
common ancestor
An ancestral species from which later species evolved
speciation
Formation of new species
allopatric speciation
The formation of new species in populations that are geographically isolated from one another.
Galapagos finches
-The 19 islands served as a geographical barrier preventing gene flow; there are 18 known species of the finches;
- they have a vast array of beak shapes and sizes tailored towards species food sources on the different islands
- it is hypothesised changes have occurred largely due to allopatric speciation
- Often food source selection pressure
- Prevents gene flow
adaptive radiation
the diversification of a group of organisms into forms filling different ecological niches.
sympatric speciation
The formation of new species in populations that live in the same geographic area through reproductive isolation
Howea Palms
the two species H. forsteriana (lives in both soils) and H. belmoreana (only grows in volcanic soil). The palms have different flowering times; the difference in soil acidification is hypothesised to be the catalyst for the speciation
A difference in flowering times occurred; becoming a reproductive isolating mechanism; as the differences accumulated, the two species of palm could no longer interbreed to produce viable and fertile offspring