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HW #7

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Term
Definition
analogous structures   structures that do not have a common evolutionary origin but are similar in function  
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artificial selection   selective breeding of plants and animals to promote the occurrence of desirable traits in offspring  
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catastrophism   theory that states that natural disasters such as floods and volcanic eruptions shaped Earth's landforms and caused extinction of some species  
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convergent evolution   process by which unrelated organisms independently evolve similarities (analogous structures) when adapting to similar environments  
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evolution   the gradual change in a type of organism over time  
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fossil   a trace of an ancient organism that has usually been preserved in sedimentary rock  
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homologous structures   similar structures that related species have inherited from a common ancestor  
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inheritance of acquired characteristics   Lamarck's theory that characteristics acquired during the lifetime of an organism can be passed onto offspring  
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natural selection   a natural process resulting in the evolution of organisms best adapted to the environment  
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population   a group of organisms that belong to the same species and live in the same area  
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uniformationism   this principle states that the same process that operate today operated in the past  
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vestigial structure   a structure that is inherited from ancestors but has lost much or all of its original function (ex: human appendix)  
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adaptation   a characteristic that improves an individual's ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment  
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allele frequency   the number of times that an allele occurs in a gene pool compared with the number of alleles in that pool for the same gene  
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coevolution   the process in which two or more species evolve in response to changes in each other  
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competition   a common demand by two or more organisms upon a limited supply of a resource (ex: food, water, space, etc.)  
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directional selection   form of natural selection in which the entire curve moves/shifts to a different direction  
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disruptive selection   form of natural selection in which a single curve splits into two  
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equilibrium population   a population in which allele frequencies and the distribution of genotypes do not change from generation to generation  
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fitness   ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment  
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founder effect   change in allele frequencies as a result of the migration of a small subgroup of a population  
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gene flow   movement of alleles from one population to another  
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gene pool   combined genetic information of all the members of a particular population  
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genetic drift   a change in the allele frequency of a population as a result of chance events rather than natural selection  
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Hardy-Weinberg Principle   principle that allele frequencies in a population will remain constant unless one or more factors cause the frequencies to change  
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mutation   change in a DNA sequence that affects genetic information  
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population bottleneck   a period during which only a few individuals of a normally large population survive  
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predation   an interaction in which one organism kills another for food  
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sexual selection   a form of natural selection in which individuals with certain inherited characteristics are more likely than other individuals to obtain mates  
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stabilizing selection   form of natural selection by which the center of the curve remains in its current position  
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adaptive radiation   an evolutionary pattern in which many species evolve from a single ancestral species  
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allopatric speciation   the formation of new species in populations that are geographically isolated from one another  
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extinction   a term that typically describes a species that no longer has any known living individuals  
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isolating mechanism   any factor that acts to reduce or block the flow of genes between two populations  
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polyploidy   condition in which an organism has extra sets of chromosomes  
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postmating isolating mechanism   any structure, physiological function, or developmental abnormality that prevents organisms of two different species, once mating has occurred, from producing vigorous, fertile offspring  
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premating isolating mechanism   any structure, physiological function, or behavior that prevents organisms of two different species from exchanging gametes  
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reproductive isolation   separation of a species or population so that they no longer interbreed and evolve into two separate species  
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speciation   the formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution  
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species   a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding  
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sympatric speciation   the formation of new species in populations that live in the same geographic area  
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amphibian   a vertebrate that lives part of its life on land and part of its life in water  
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arthropod   any member of the phylum Arthropoda, which includes insects, spiders, and crustaceans  
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conifer   a member of a class of tracheophytes (Coniferophyta) that reproduces by means of seeds formed inside cones and that retains its leaves throughout the year  
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endosymbiont hypothesis   proposes that early eukaryotic cells acquired the precursors of mitochondria and chloroplasts by engulfing certain types of bacteria  
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eukaryote   A cell that contains a nucleus and membrane bound organelles  
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exoskeleton   hard protective structure developed outside the body, as the shell of a lobster  
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hominoid   a human or a prehistoric relative of humans, beginning with the Australopithecines, whose fossils date back at least 4.4 million year  
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lobefin   a member of the fish order Sarcopterygii; ancestors of today's lobefins gave rise to the first amphibians, and ultimately to all tetrapod vertebrates  
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mammal   a member of the chordate class Mammalia, which includes vertebrates with hair and mammary glands  
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mass extinction   event in which many types of living things become extinct at the same time  
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plate tectonics   a theory stating that the earth's surface is broken into plates that move  
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primate   monkeys, apes, and humans  
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prokaryote   a unicellular organism that lacks a nucleus and membrane bound organelles  
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protocell   a structure similar to a cell but not that is nonliving  
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reptile   a group of amphibians was evolving adaptations to drier conditions who have three major adaptations to survive on earth  
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ribozyme   an enzymatic RNA molecule  
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spontaneous generation   a hypothesis stating that life could arise from nonliving matter  
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archaea   one of the three domains of life  
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bacteria   prokaryotic organisms that lack a nucleus  
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biodiversity   the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem  
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class   the taxonomic category of classifying organisms which falls between phylum and order  
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DNA sequencing   determining the order of nucleotide bases in a gene or DNA fragment  
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domain   a taxonomic category above the kingdom level; the three domains are archaea, bacteria, and eukarya  
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eukarya   one of three domains consisting of the five kingdoms plantae, protista, animalia, chromista, and fungi  
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family   the taxonomic category below order and above genus  
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genus   the taxonomic category that consists of a number of similar, closely related species  
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kingdom   the second largest taxonomic group, consisting of closely related phyla  
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order   the taxonomic group containing one or more families  
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phylogeny   the evolutionary history of a species or group of related species  
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phylum   the taxonomic group below kingdom and above class  
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scientific name   the two-part scientifically recognized name given to an organism consisting of its genus and species  
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systematics   study of the diversity of life and the evolutionary relationships between organisms  
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