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Charles Darwin
Father of evolution who published On the Origin of Species that presented theories such as natural selection causing “descent with modification”.
Evolution
process by which species change over time through the gradual accumulation of genetic variations
Natural Selection
process by which individuals with traits better suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce.
fitness
an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.
adaptations
advantageous traits inherited through natural selection.
Selective Pressures
predators, climate, competitions for resources are all examples of what?
Heritable Variation
Within a population, individuals vary in their heritable traits.
Overproduction of Offspring
Most species produce more offspring than can survive to adulthood, which leads to a competition for resources.
Artificial Selection
humans selectively breed individuals with desirable traits to produce offspring with those traits.
Population
a group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area and interbreed, sharing a common gene pool
gene pool
the total collection of alleles in a certain population.
Fixed alleles
all members of the population are homozygous for a certain allele
Microevolution
small-scale evolution that occurs within a species over time
Mutations
random changes in the DNA sequence that can introduce new alleles into a population - can have a good, bad, or no effect on survival and don’t always lead to evolution
Genetic drift
random fluctuations in allele frequencies, particularly in small populations, due to chance events.
Founder effect
when a small group of individuals breaks away from a larger population to form a new, less diverse population.
Bottleneck effect
When a large population is drastically reduced in size due to a sudden event, such as a natural disaster
Gene flow
also called migration - the transfer of alleles between populations, which can introduce new genetic material into a population.
Phenotype
Does natural selection act on phenotypes or genotypes of organisms?
Directional
Favors one extreme phenotype, causing the allele frequencies to shift in one direction
Stabilizing
Favors the average phenotype, reducing variation in the population
Disruptive
Favors extreme phenotypes at both ends of the spectrum, increasing variation and potentially leading to speciation
Sexual
individuals with traits that are attractive to the opposite sex have a higher chance of reproducing, which can lead to the evolution of traits that improving mating success but not survival
Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium
mathematical equation that predicts the frequencies of genotypes in a population. It tells us if natural selection or other factors are causing evolution at a particular locus.
equilibrium conditions
No mutations
Random mating
No natural selection
Extremely large population size
No gene flow
Radiometric Dating
Carbon-14’s predictable decay rate allows scientists to estimate the age of organic materials.
Rock layers
the relative positioning of fossils within layers of sedimentary rock
Transitional fossils
show intermediate traits between ancestral and modern forms, highlighting evolutionary changes over time
Comparative Morphology
examines the similarities and differences in the physical structures of organisms.
Homologous structures
anatomical features that share a common evolutionary origin, even if they serve different functions in modern species
Embryonic homology
similarities in embryonic development across species suggest a shared ancestry.
Vestigial structures
remnants of features that served important functions in ancestors but are now reduced or unused.
Molecular homology
DNA and protein sequences reveal evolutionary relationships
Analogous structures
unrelated species independently evolve similar traits due to similar environmental pressures, not shared ancestry.
convergent evolution
Analogous structures are an example of?
Cellular
all eukaryotes share membrane-bound organelles, such as nuclei and mitochondria from shared evolutionay origins
chromosomal
linear chromosomes and introns in genes are shared features of eukaryotic cells from shared evolutionary origins.
Biogeography
the study of the geographic distribution of species
Continental drift
the movement of tectonic plates explains how closely related species can be found on continents that are now far apart
Endemic species
found in specific locations and nowhere else, highlighting the role in isolation in evolution.
Species distributions
distribution of species often aligns with their evolutionary history
