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Origin of species
as part of AS91605 NCEA L3 Biology
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Adaptation | An inherited structural, behavioural or physiological trait which increases an organism’s fitness |
| adaptive radiation | Relatively sudden appearance of new species from single ancestral type to fill a variety of niches. |
| allopatric speciation | Speciation: formation of new species from ancestral species involving a period of geographic separation. |
| allopolyploidy | Polyploidy involving the hybrid offspring of two species. |
| amphiploidy | When a fertile individual results from chromosome doubling in the hybrid offspring of two different species. |
| autopolyploidy | Polyploidy involving a single species. |
| behavioural barrier | Differences in courtship behaviour, causing reproductive isolation. |
| Biogeography | The study of the geographical distribution of living things. |
| Cline | A gradual change in the traits of a species over a geographical gradient. |
| Competition | When organisms living in the same location require the same (finite) resource. |
| continental drift | The gradual movement and formation of continents, resulting from the movement of tectonic plates. |
| Deme | A local interbreeding population of a species. |
| Ecological barrier | Differences in habitat that prevent different species interbreeding. |
| endemic species | Species restricted to one area only (e.g. endemic to N.Z.) |
| Evolution | Changes in a gene pool over successive generations. |
| Extinction | Occurs when all members of a species die out. |
| Fitness | The relative ability of an individual to survive and reproduce in an environment. |
| Gene flow | movement of alleles between populations through the migration and interbreeding of individuals. |
| Geographic barrier | A physical barrier that isolates populations and prevents gene flow. |
| Glacial Period | Cooler period in which sea water becomes ‘locked up’ as ice and sea levels fall, exposing new areas of land. |
| Gondwana | The southern super-continent which existed from about 180 mya and from which NZ separated about 80 mya |
| Hybrid | The offspring from a cross between two different species. |
| hybrid breakdown | The first generation (hybrid) may be fertile, but the second generation are infertile or not viable. |
| hybrid inviability | A sperm and egg from different species fuse, but the resulting hybrid individual does not develop successfully |
| hybrid sterility | The hybrid is sterile (cannot reproduce). |
| Interglacial period | Warmer period in which rising temperatures melt ice and sea levels rise, isolating areas of land as islands |
| introduced species | A species that does not naturally occur in a given area, but has been introduced to it by humans. |
| macroevolution | Large changes in a gene pool over a long period of time; e.g. the formation of a new species, extinction, adaptive radiation, etc |
| mass extinction | When a large number of species and major groups of organisms disappear over a relatively short time. |
| microevolution | Changes in the allele frequencies a gene pool over successive generations. |
| native species | A species that naturally occurs in a given area. |
| niche | the role of an organism in an ecosystem, including where it lives (habitat), its role in the ecosystem (e.g. producer, herbivore), and the adaptations it has that allow it to survive and reproduce. |
| non-disjunction | The failure of chromosomes to separate normally during the process meiosis, resulting double the chromosomes in the gametes. Leads to offspring with chromosome numbers different to those of the parents. |
| plate tectonics | The large-scale movement of tectonic plates, which contributes to continental drift. |
| polyploidy | Having three or more complete sets of chromosomes in the somatic cells. |
| post-zygotic isolating mechanism ). | Reproductive isolation after successful development of a zygote (fertilisation |
| pre-zygotic isolating mechanism | Reproductive isolation prior to fertilisation. |
| reproductive isolating mechanism (RIM) | Any factor which prevents breeding between groups of individuals |
| ring species | A special type of cline where the demes (local populations) are arranged in a circle across the species range, and the demes at the ends, although adjacent, may be unable to interbreed. |
| speciation | The process of forming distinct new biological species from existing/ancestral species. |
| species | A group of organisms of common descent that naturally interbreed to produce fertile offspring over successive generations. |
| structural barrier | Differences between the reproductive structures of different groups or species which prevent sperm transfer. |
| subspecies | Populations of a species which are genetically different but capable of interbreeding successfully where their ranges overlap. |
| sympatric speciation | formation of new species from a surviving ancestral species, while both continue to inhabit the same geographic region. |
| Sympatric species | species, which previously diverged from a common ancestor, and now exist in the same area but remain reproductively isolated. |
| temporal barrier | Two species are active or reproduce at different times, preventing mating. |
| Instant speciation | Formation of a new species in a single generation due to a change in chromosome number, leading to reproductive isolation from the original species. |
| Hybridisation | offspring produced as a result of sexual reproduction between individuals from two different species |