Unit 11 Vocab

Phylogram: branch lengths are directly related to the amount of genetic change

Chronogram: branch lengths are directly related to time

Trait: any characteristic that an object or species possesses

Morphological Traits: physical traits

Sequence traits: genetic traits (DNA traits)

Taxa: major groups of organisms; each rank can be subdivided into additional levels of taxa.

Binomial Nomenclature: the system Linnaeus made for naming species- dictates that Genus comes first and species comes second and is always Latin.

Clades: groups that share derived characters and form a subset within a larger group; a uit of common evolutionary descent.

Derived trait: evolutionary feature, unique to a particular group; most useful for determining evolutionary relationships.

Cladogram: hierarchy of clades; represents the species and trait development.

Evolution: modification with descent

Natural Selection: A natural process resulting in the evolution of organisms best adapted to the environment.

Genetic Variation: Differences among individuals in the composition of their genes or other DNA segments

Trait Variation: Differences among the physical or behavioral characteristics of a group of organisms

Mutation: A change in a gene or chromosome.

Sexual Reproduction: Process by which cells from two different parents unite to produce the first cell of a new organism.

Asexual Reproduction: Process by which a single parent reproduces by itself

Fossil: The preserved remains or traces of an organism that lived in the past

Fossil Record: information about past life, including the structure of organisms, what they ate, what ate them, in what environment they lived, and the order in which they lived.

Anatomy: The study of body structure

Embryology: study of embryos and their development

DNA: A complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes.

Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium: condition that occurs when the frequency of alleles in a particular gene pool remain constant over time.