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H Bio 10.1-10.5
From the book "Biology" by Stephen Nowicki
| 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; also the level of classification below genus and above subspecies |
| fossil | the trace or remains of an organism that lived long ago, most commonly preserved in a 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 |
| uniformitarianism | theory that states that the geologic processes that shape Earth are uniform throughout 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 | the process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more successfully than less well adapted individuals do; a theory to explain the mechanism of evolution |
| population | a group of organisms of the same species that live in a specific geographical area |
| fitness | measure of an organism's ability to survive and produce offspring relative to other members of a population |
| biogeography | the study of the geographical distribution of living organisms and fossils on Earth |
| homologous structure | body part that is similar in structure on different organisms but performs different functions |
| analogous structure | body part that is similar in function as a body part of another organism but is structurally different |
| vestigial structure | remnants of an organ or structure that functioned in an earlier ancestor |
| paleontology | study of fossils or extinct organisms |
Created by:
MLLacey
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