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EVOLUTION
Concept 1 & 2 Vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Evolution | The process of biological change in populations over time that makes descendants genetically different from their ancestors. |
| Microevolution | Evolution can occur on a small scale affecting a single population |
| Macroevolution | Evolution on a large scale affecting changes in species across populations |
| Natural Selection | organisms with the "best" traits (adaptations) will live longer & reproduce more than others, causing changes in the population over time by acting on traits that are heritable. |
| Fitness | a measure of how well you can survive in your environment |
| Adaptation | a feature that allows an organism to better survive in its environment |
| Gene Pool | the combined alleles of all individuals in a population |
| Genetic drift | random change in the frequency of alleles in a population over time |
| Gene Flow | The movement of genes into/out of a population. Occurs during migration. Results in an increase in genetic variation in the population. |
| Sexual selection | (Non-random mating) The selection of traits that aren't necessarily good for survival fitness, but without them, you can't pass on your genes at all because you can't reproduce. |
| Genetic equilibrium | (Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium) When there are no changes in the allele frequencies in a population over time. |
| Species | Group of organisms that can successfully interbreed and produce viable, fertile offspring |
| Adaptive Radiation | a type of divergent evolution occurring on a small scale over a shorter period of time |