Term | Definition |
5 Conditions of Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium | No mutation, no natural selection, random mating, large pops to prevent genetic drift, no migration in or out of the population. |
Adaption | Inherited characteristic that increases an organism's chance of survival. |
Adaptive Radiation | An evolutionary pattern in which many species evolve from a single ancestral species. |
Allele Frequency | Number of times that allele occurs in a gene pool compared with the number of times other alleles occur. |
Analogous Structures | Body parts that share a common function, but not structure. |
Artificial Selection | Selective breeding of plants and animals to promote the occurrence of desirable traits in offspring. |
Bio-geography | The study of where organisms live now and where they and their ancestors lived in the past. |
Bottleneck | A population's size is reduced for at least one generation. |
Charles Darwin | English naturalist. He studied the plants and animals of South America and the Pacific islands, and in his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859) set forth his theory of evolution. Know as the Father of Evolution. |
Clade | Evolutionary branch of a cladogram that includes a single ancestor and all its descendants. |
Cladogram | A diagram that is based on patterns of shared, derived traits and that shows the evolutionary relationships between groups of organisms. |
Co-evolution | Process by which two species evolve in response to changes in each other. |
Convergent Evolution | Process by which unrelated organisms independently evolve similarities when adapting to similar environments. |
Directional Selection | Extremes have the advantage. |
Disruptive Selection | Average trait has a disadvantage. |
Divergent Evolution | When two or more species sharing a common ancestor become more different over time. |
Embryology | The branch of zoology studying the early development of living things. |
Evidence of Evolution | Fossil record, bio-geography, homologous structures of living organisms, embryo development, and DNA evidence. |
Evolution | Change in a kind of organism over time; process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient organisms. |
Fitness | Ability of an individual to survive and reproduce in its specific environment. |
Fossil Record | Chronological collection of life's remains in sedimentary rock layers. |
Gene Flow | Movement of genes into/out of a population - introduces new alleles and/or changes allele frequencies. |
Gene Pool | The combined genetic information of all the members of a particular population. |
Genetic Drift | Change that occurs due to chance - natural disasters. |
Genetic Variation | The variety of different types of genes in a species or population. |
Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium | Theory of a stable, non-evolving population in which frequency of alleles do not change; only occurs in large, isolated populations with random mating, and no natural selection or mutations. |
Homologous Structures | Structures that are similar in different species due to common ancestry. |
Molecular Evidence | The universal genetic code and homologous molecules such as genes and proteins provide evidence of common descent. |
Natural Selection | A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits in a particular. |
Punctuated Equilibrium | Pattern of long, stable periods interrupted by brief periods of more rapid change. |
Sexual Selection | A form of selection in which individuals with certain inherited characteristics are more likely than other individuals to obtain mates. |
Speciation | Formation of a new species. |
Stabilizing Selection | Average trait has the advantage. |
Survival of the Fittest | Process by which individuals that are better suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully; also called natural selection. |
Vestigial Structures | Remnant of a structure that may have had an important function in a species' ancestors, but has no clear function in the modern species. |