BackGeneral Biology: Evolution, Phylogeny, and Microbial Life
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Terms in this set (33)
Descent with modification; the process by which species accumulate differences from their ancestors as they adapt to different environments over time; also defined as a change in the genetic composition of a population from generation to generation.
A process in which individuals with certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than others because of those traits.
Process in which humans select and breed individuals that have desired traits.
Inherited characteristic of an organism that enhances its survival and reproduction in a specific environment.
Similarity in characteristics resulting from a shared ancestry.
Structures in different species that are similar because of common ancestry; may or may not have similar functions.
The evolution of similar features in independent evolutionary lineages.
Characteristics that are similar because of convergent evolution, not homology.
The evolutionary history of a species or group of related species.
A branching diagram representing a hypothesis about the evolutionary history of a group of organisms.
Representation on a phylogenetic tree of the divergence of two or more taxa from a common ancestor, usually shown as a dichotomy.
Groups of organisms that share an immediate common ancestor and are each other's closest relatives.
A character shared by members of a clade but originated in an ancestor not part of that clade.
An evolutionary novelty unique to a particular clade.
Principle that the simplest explanation consistent with the facts should be investigated first when considering multiple explanations.
Evolutionary change below the species level; change in allele frequencies in a population over generations.
Chance events cause unpredictable fluctuations in allele frequencies from one generation to the next; effects are strongest in small populations.
Genetic drift occurring when a few individuals become isolated from a larger population and form a new population with a gene pool not reflective of the original.
Genetic drift occurring when population size is drastically reduced, often by disaster, resulting in a gene pool unrepresentative of the original population.
The transfer of alleles from one population to another due to movement of fertile individuals or their gametes.
The contribution an individual makes to the gene pool of the next generation relative to other individuals.
Natural selection where individuals at one end of the phenotypic range survive or reproduce more successfully than others.
Natural selection where individuals at both extremes of a phenotypic range survive or reproduce more successfully than those with intermediate phenotypes.
Natural selection that maintains two or more phenotypic forms in a population.
Greater reproductive success of heterozygous individuals compared with homozygotes, preserving variation in a gene pool.
Definition of a species as a group of populations whose members can interbreed in nature and produce viable, fertile offspring but not with other such groups.
Formation of new species in populations that are geographically isolated from one another.
Reproductive barriers that impede mating or hinder fertilization between species.
Reproductive barriers that prevent hybrid zygotes from developing into viable, fertile adults.
Period of evolutionary change where groups form many new species adapted to different ecological roles.
Technique to determine the age of a fossil based on the decay of radioactive isotopes.
Organisms with prokaryotic cells; informal term for organisms in domains Bacteria or Archaea.
Theory that mitochondria and plastids originated as prokaryotic cells engulfed by host cells, evolving into a single organism.