Evolution & Ecology

Ecosystem

The study of the interaction of organisms with one another and with their environment, usually focused on individual organisms, populations, communities, or ecosystems.

Ecology

The study of the interaction of organisms with one another and with their environment.

Environment

Everything that affects an organism and everything an organism affects, including abiotic (non-living) factors like water, air, and land, and biotic (living) factors like organisms of its own species or other species.

Individual Organism

Members of one specific species that can breed with each other and produce fertile offspring.

Population

A group of individuals of the same species living in a specific area at the same time, with dynamics studied including abundance, change in size, male/female/young ratios, and factors affecting changes.

Community

All individuals of interacting populations in a given area, with dynamics studied including species diversity and interactions between communities.

Biosphere

All ecosystems in the world and their interactions, comprising all parts of Earth inhabited by some form of life where population distributions are not random.

Biodiversity

The variety of species in an area and their range of adaptations, including behavioral, ecological, and physiological traits.

Equilibrium

A dynamic state where all components of the biosphere are constantly changing and adjusting to environmental changes.

Threatened Species

Species likely to become endangered if factors making them vulnerable are not changed.

Extinct Species

Species that no longer exist globally.

Indicator Species

Species sensitive to small environmental changes, such as amphibians.

Ecotone

A transition area between ecosystems with greater biodiversity than individual ecosystems, strengthening ecosystems.

Habitat

An area within a biome or ecosystem with specific biotic and abiotic characteristics.

Ecological Niche

The functional role or position of an organism in its environment, including habitat, activity pattern, resources needed, and position on the food web.

Invasive Species

Species introduced by humans that disrupt ecosystems, often causing species depletion and extinction.

Climate

Average weather conditions in a particular region over a specific time, influencing the types and population sizes of organisms.

Biomes

General types of large ecosystems with specific climatic conditions and a particular mix of plants, animals, and other organisms adapted to those conditions.

Terrestrial Ecosystems

Ecosystems found on earth not covered by water, including taiga, grassland, and deciduous forest.

Muskeg

A type of terrestrial ecosystem found in northernmost Alberta, characterized by soil above permafrost that is soggy and swampy.

Littoral Zone

The shoreline area of a lake where aquatic plant growth stops, known as the most productive part of the lake.

Limnetic Zone

The open water area of a lake extending up to where photosynthesis stops.

Biotic Potential

The maximum number of offspring a species could produce with unlimited resources, influenced by birth potential, capacity for survival, breeding frequency, and length of reproductive life.

Limiting Factors

Abiotic or biotic elements that control the number of individuals in a population, including competition, predation, and availability of resources.

Carrying Capacity

The maximum number of individuals of a species that can be supported by an ecosystem.

Taxonomy

The practice of classifying living things, continuously developed and modified.

Domains

Broadest classification of organisms based on cellular composition and molecular biology.

BACTERIA

Prokaryotic, unicellular organisms that lack a membrane-bound nucleus, reproduce asexually, and can be heterotrophic or autotrophic.

ARCHAEA

Prokaryotic, unicellular organisms that lack a membrane-bound nucleus, reproduce asexually, and have a unique rRNA base sequence and distinctive plasma membrane and cell wall chemistry.

EUKARYA

Eukaryotic organisms that can be unicellular to multicellular, have a membrane-bound nucleus, engage in sexual reproduction, and exhibit diversity with each kingdom having specializations.

Kingdoms

Traditional classification includes six kingdoms of life: Archaea, Bacteria, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia.

Hierarchy of Classification

Levels from broadest to narrowest: Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.

Binomial Nomenclature

Scientific naming system for living organisms based in Latin, with two parts: Genus (capitalized, italicized) and Species (lower case, italicized).

Dichotomous Key

A stepped process used to identify organisms through a series of two choices (dichotomy), which can be extremely detailed.

Hypothesis

A proposed explanation based on limited evidence, serving as an 'educated guess' supported or refuted by experiments.

Theory

An explanation based on a set of hypotheses that have been repeatedly verified by many scientists, supported by a large body of evidence and observations.

Law

A description of relationships between observable phenomena, focusing on 'what happens' in a given scenario.

Plato's Essentialism

Philosophical concept by Plato suggesting that observed changes in the 'real' world are departures from a 'perfect/essential form,' potentially conflicting with the idea of evolution.

Evolution

The process by which living organisms change and evolve over time, often taking a very long time to show obvious changes.

Georges Cuvier

A paleontologist who founded paleontology and studied fossils to support the idea of sudden and violent changes in species rather than evolution.

James Hutton

A geologist who proposed that Earth has gone through slow, continuous changes over time, leading to the concept of an extremely old Earth.

Jean Baptiste Lamarck

A biologist who compared modern species to fossils, hypothesizing mechanisms of evolution such as use vs. disuse and inheritance of acquired characteristics.

Charles Darwin

A naturalist known for his observations on the voyage of the Beagle and his theory of natural selection as a mechanism for evolution.

Artificial Selection

The process by which humans selectively breed organisms to develop desired traits, leading to the formation of new species over time.

Natural Selection

The process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring, leading to evolutionary changes in a population.

Alfred Russel Wallace

Naturalist who concluded that living organisms evolve and proposed a mechanism of evolution based on adapting to the environment.

Island of Sulawesi

Location where most organisms are unique and found only on this island, similar to the Galapagos.

Descent with Modification

Idea that living organisms share characteristics suggesting shared ancestry and accumulate diverse modifications over generations.

Plasmodium

Parasitic organism causing malaria, carried from mosquitos to humans.

Anatomical Homology

Similarity in physical characteristics among organisms due to common ancestry, such as vertebrate skulls and mammalian forelimbs.

Molecular Homology

Similarity in molecular and cellular content of living organisms, including genetic code, proteins, and DNA sequences.

Embryological Homology

Similarity in embryonic development stages among organisms sharing a common ancestor, such as the presence of gills in vertebrate embryos.

Fossil Record

Evidence linking past organisms to present ones, showing differences, similarities, extinctions, and transitional fossils like the evolution of whales and humans.

Biogeography

Study combining evolution and geology to analyze the geographic distribution of species, influenced by factors like continental drift and selective pressures.

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

Heritable genetic instructions for the development and functioning of an organism.

Genes

Parts of DNA containing instructions for specific traits, such as the human eye color gene.

Allele

Different variants of a gene, like the brown, green, and blue alleles for human eye color.

Phenotype

The actual trait expressed by an organism, such as brown, green, or blue eye color.

Social Darwinism

Misuse of Darwin's ideas to justify discriminatory practices based on notions of natural selection in human societies.

Eugenics

Misapplication of evolutionary principles to promote controlled breeding for desired traits, leading to unethical practices like involuntary sterilization.

Selective Forces

Factors in the environment that influence the survival and reproduction of individuals based on inherited traits.

Testicondy

Condition where some mammals have internal testes within the abdomen, contrary to the typical external testes.

Transitional Fossils

Fossils that provide evidence of an evolutionary link between different species or groups, like the transitional forms in the evolution of whales and humans.

Analogous Structures

Structures that are similar in function but different in structure, arising from different ancestry.

Homologous structures

Structures that are different in function but similar in structure, originating from a common ancestry.

Vestigial structures

Structures that have lost their original function in ancestral species.

Evolution Tells a Story

Discussion on the genetic differences between SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV, highlighting natural selection.

Darwin's Theory of Evolution

The concept that evolution as a phenomenon is not theoretical, but the mechanism of evolution, such as natural selection, is.

Adaptation

Gradual changes in characteristics of a population over time, favoring traits that enhance survival and reproduction in a specific environment.

Variation

Visible or invisible differences in traits within a population, some of which may lead to adaptations.

Mutation

A change in the genetic material of an organism, providing new genetic variations.

Selective advantage

When a mutation provides a survival advantage, especially during environmental changes.

Co-evolution

Mutual evolution between two interacting species, such as predator-prey relationships.

Convergent evolution

Unrelated species evolving to become more similar due to similar environmental pressures.

Divergent evolution

Related species evolving to become less similar due to different environmental pressures.

Parallel evolution

Similar evolutionary changes occurring in two species in response to similar environmental conditions.

Biological Species

Species that can interbreed to produce viable offspring, with barriers to isolate reproduction.

Allopatric Speciation

Speciation occurring due to geographical barriers that prevent interbreeding between populations.

Sympatric Speciation

Speciation happening without geographical barriers, often due to reproductive isolation within a population.

Transformation

The accumulation of mutations and adaptations leading to the development of a new species from a previous one.

Divergence

The process where one or more species arise from a common ancestor, such as horses, tapirs, and rhinos from Hyracotherium.

Gradualism

The theory that species evolve slowly and linearly through the accumulation of small changes.

Punctuated Equilibrium

The concept that species experience long periods of little change punctuated by sudden periods of speciation.