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Terms for Chapter 10
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Evolution | The process of change by which new species develop from preexisting species over time; at the genetic level, the process in which inherited characteristics within populations change over time; the process defined by Darwin as "descent with modification" |
| Species | A group of organisms that are closely related and can mate to produce fertile offspring |
| Fossil | The trace or remains of an organism that lived long ago, most commonly preserved in sedimentary rock |
| Catastrophism | Theory that states that natural disasters such as floods and volcanic eruptions shaped Earth's landforms and caused extinction of some species |
| Gradualism | a model of evolution in which gradual change over a long period of time leads to biological diversity homologous structures body part that is similar in structure on different organisms but performs different functions analogous structures body pa |
| Uniformitarianism | theory that states that the geologic processes that shape Earth are uniform through time |
| variation differences in physical traits of an individual from the group to which it belongs | |
| Adaptation the process of becoming adapted to an environment; an anatomical, physiological, or behavioral change that improves a population's ability to survive | |
| artificial selection the human practice of breeding animals or plants that have certain desired traits | |
| heritability ability of a trait to be passed from one generation to the next | |
| natural selection process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully than less well adapted individuals | |
| population a group of organisms of the same species populating a given area | |
| fitness measure of an organism's ability to survive and produce offspring relative to other members of a population | |
| Biogeography study of the geographic distribution of living organisms and fossils on Earth |
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brinkmannmeredith