Chapter 16: Evidence and Theory of Evolution

Comparative morphology

the scientific study of similarities and differences in body plans

Lamarck

developed the theory of evolution through acquired characteristics, through a internal drive toward perfection

Lyell

leading geologist who developed uniformitarianism, belief the Earth is older than currently believed

Malthus

said human population cannot continue to increase; consequences will be war, famine & disease

Half life

length of time required for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay

Morphological convergence

evolutionary pattern in which similar body parts evolve separately in different lineages.

Morphological divergence

evolutionary pattern in which a body part of an ancestor changes differently in its different descendants

Convergent evolution

evolution that occurs when the environment selects similar phenotypes, even though the ancestral types were quite different from each other

Divergent evolution

when two or more closely related populations or species become more and more dissimilar

Adaptive radiation

when many related species evolve from a single ancestral species

Artificial selection

when humans breed for a select trait thus speeding up divergent evolution

Punctuated equilibrium

a theory that states that evolution happens in quick bursts with long periods of no evolution in between