Details Title: 15 Darwin Description: the puzzle of life's diversity Total Flash Cards: 13 Created: 07/15/2009 18:01:14		New Users: To study from this flashcard set, or to create your own your own study flash cards, REGISTER HERE. Existing Users: CLICK HERE. Additional Biology Flashcards
Cards in this set: Term evolution Definition change over time Term theory Definition a well supported testable explanation of phenomena that have occurred in the natural world Term fossils Definition preserved remains of ancient animals Term artificial selection Definition nature provides a variation and humans select those variations to make them useful Term struggle for existence Definition the realization that members of each species compete regularly to obtain food, living space, and other life necessities Term fitness Definition the ability of an individual to survive and reproduce in its specific environment Term adaptation Definition any inherited characteristic that increases an organisms chance of survival Term survival of the fittest Definition the process that individuals that are better suited to their environment survive and reproduce successfully Term natural selection Definition survival of the fittest - nature's way of artificial selection Term descent with modification Definition the principle that species have descended with changes from other species over time Term common descent Definition the principle that farther back we can find common ancestors for all living things Term homologous structures Definition structures that have different mature forms but develop from the same embryotic tissues in different organisms Term vestigial organs Definition traces of unusable organs in an animal