Term | Definition |
evolution | hereditary changes in groups of living organisms over time |
lamarack | An evolutionary theory holding that acquired or learned traits can be passed on from parents to offspring. |
darwin | all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce. |
convergent evolution | he process whereby organisms not closely related |
niche | role,or position of an organism in its environment |
industrial melanism | the prevalence of dark-colored varieties of animals (especially moths) in industrial areas where they are better camouflaged against predators than paler forms. |
adaptation | inherited characteristic of a species that develops over time in response to an environmental factor, enabling the species to survive |
extinct | the end of an organism or of a group of organisms |
variation | difference between cells, individual organisms, or groups of organisms of any species caused either by genetic differences or by the effect of environmental factors on the expression of the genetic potentials |
gradualism | The view that evolution proceeds by imperceptibly small, cumulative steps over long periods of time rather than by abrupt, major changes. |
allele | one of the possible forms of a gene |
gene pool | genetic information, in any population, usually of a particular species. |
era | a large division of earths geologic time scale that is further divided into one or more periods |
population | group of organisms of the same species that occupy the same geographic place at the same time . |
vestigial | A structure in an organism that has lost all or most of its original function in the course of evolution, such as human appendixes. |
fitness | measure of a traits relative contribution to the following generation |
fossil | preserved evidence of an organism, often found in sedimentary rock that provides evidence of past life . |
common ancestor | the most recent ancestral form or species from which two different species evolved. |
anthropologist | an expert in or student of anthropology. |
sexual selection | he differences in appearance between males and females of the same species, such as in colour, shape, size, and structure, that are caused by the inheritance of one or the other sexual pattern in the genetic material. |
relative frequency | he number of members of a population or statistical sample falling in a particular class |
punctuated equilibrium | the hypothesis that evolutionary development is marked by isolated episodes of rapid speciation between long periods of little or no change. |
homologos structure | an organ or bone that appears in different animals |
divergent evolution | he process by which a species evolves into two or more descendant or different forms |
natural selection | organisms that are better adapted to their environment tend to survive longer and transmit more of their genetic characteristics to succeeding generations than do those that are less well adapted. |
analogus structure | the various structures in different species having the same function but have evolved separately, thus do not share common ancestor |
reproductive isolation | different species may live in the same area, but properties of individuals prevent them from interbreeding. |
geographic isolation | population of animals, plants, or other organisms that are separated from exchanging genetic material with other organisms of the same species |
adaptive radiation | the diversification of a group of organisms into forms filling different ecological niches. |
speculation | he formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution. |
artificial selection | The breeding of plants and animals to produce desirable traits. |
phylogenetic tree | branching diagram or "tree" showing the inferred evolutionary relationships among various biological species or other entities |
paleontologist | The scientific study of life in the geologic past, especially through the study of animal and plant fossils |
dr.Kettlewell-peppered moths | birds prey on peppered moths depending on their body colour in relation to their environmental background. |