Shared Flashcard Set

Details

Chapters 1-3
Ecology
41
Biology
Undergraduate 1
02/28/2012

Additional Biology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Adaptation
Definition
Organisms are suited for life in their environments
Term
Unity
Definition
Life has many shared charactersitics
Term
Diversity
Definition

Life on Earth is incredibly diverse

 

Term

What is Darwin's Hypothesis Called and when was it Published?

 

Definition

-On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection

 

-November 24, 1859

 

Term

Evolution

 

Definition

Broadly Defined- Descent with modification = species are descendants of ancestral species that were very different form those alive today

 

Narrowly Defined- Change in genetic composition(allele freq.) of a population over time

Term
Population
Definition
A group of the same species in the same place at the same time that reproduce
Term

Theories have two components, What are they?

 

 

Definition

Pattern- statement that summarizes a series of observations about natural world

 

Process- mechanism that produces that pattern or set of observations

Term
Pattern of Special Creation
Definition

All species are independent (unrelated) 

Life on Earth is young (6000yrs)

Species are immutable (incapable of change)

 

Term
Process of Special Creation
Definition
Instantaneous and independent creation of living organisms by a supernatural being
Term
Fossils
Definition
Remains or Traces of organisms from past mineralized in sedimentary rocks
document origins of major groups of organisms
document transitions
Term

What was Darwin's Ship called and When did it Leave?

 

 

Definition

The Beagle

December 1831

5 year mission

Term
What Did Darwin Experience on the Beagle?
Definition

Collected specimens of S.American Plants and Animals

Observed that fossils resembled living spevies form same region, and living species resembled other species from nearby regions

 

Read Lyell's principles of Geology book

Term
Adaptations
Definition
Characteristics of organisms that enhance their survival and reproduction in specific environments
Term
Natural Selection
Definition

Process in which individuals with certain heritable traits survive and reproduce more than others in a population.

 

Over time favored trait increases in Frequency

 

If environment changes, N.S may result in adaptation to new conditions, sometimes giving rise to new species

 

Editing Mechanism

(act on existing variation)

Cannot create favorable traits

 

Env. Factors vary and traits that are useful in one place can be useless or detrimental in another place

Term
Darwin and Wallace
Definition

In 1844, Darwin wrote an essay on Origin of Species and Natural Selection but was reluctant to publish it

 

Wallace, a naturalist, sent Darwin a manuscript containing a hypothesis of Natural Selection, identical to Darwins

 

Darwin finishes the paper and published it the next year

Term
Descent with Modification
Definition

descent- all organisms come from a common ancestor in the remote past-unity of life

 

Modification- over evolutionary time scales organisms accumulate adaptations to their environment-diversity of life

Term
Darwin's Thoughts on Descent with Modificaiton
Definition
Change in Species through time does not follow a linear pattern, but instead is based on variation among populations
Term
Artificial Selection
Definition
Humans have modified a variety of domesticated plants and animals over many generations by selecting individuals with desired traits as breeding stock
Term
Individual Variation
Definition

Individuals in a population vary in many heritable traits

(traits can be passed to offspring)

Term
Overproduction and Competition
Definition

Population has potential to produce more offspring than will survive to produce offspring of their own

 

With more individuals than environment can support, competition is inevitable because resources are limited

 

Term
Unequal Reproductive Success
Definition

Individuals are unequal in their likelihood of surviving and reproducing

Those individuals with heritable traits best suited to the environment will produce more healthy, fertile offspring

(increased fitness)

Term
Evolutionary Adaptation
Definition

Unequal reproductive success can adapt a population to its environment

Over Generations, heritable traits that enhance survial and reproductive success tend to increase in frequency among population's individuals.

(N.S acts on the individual, Evolution acts on the Population)

Term
When does Evolution by Natural Selection Occur?
Definition
heritable variation leads to differential success in survival and reproduction
Term
Fitness
Definition

Ability of an organism to reproduce relative to others in the population

(Adaptations increase Fitness)

Term
Limited Survival
Definition

Capacity to overproduce seems to be a characteristic of all species

(Only a tiny fraction of offspring completely develop and reproduce)

Term
What was typological thinking replaced by?
Definition

Population Thinking

 

Scientific, could account for change through time and made predictions that could be tested through observ. and exper.

Term
Homology
Definition
Similarity resulting from common ancestry 
Homologous structures
developmental homology
molecular homology
Term
Homologous structures
Definition

Anatomical structures that represent variations on a structural theme present in a common ancestor

(may be evident in embryonic development) similarity in genetic structure reveals common ancestors

 

 

 

 

Term
Vestigial Structures
Definition
Structures that have marginal, if any, importance to living organism but that had important functions in organism's ancestors
Term
Analogous Structures
Definition
Structures that are similar but it is not due to a shared recent common ancestor
Term
Convergent Evolution
Definition
Evolution of similar, or analogous, features in distantly related groups
Term
Fossil Record
Definition
Documents pattern of evolution
Term
Law of Succession
Definition
Extinct fossil species are typically succeeded, in same region, by similar living species.
Term
Transitional Forms
Definition

As fossil records improved, many transitional forms have been discovered with traits that are intermediate between earlier and later species

(provide strong evidence for change through time)

Term
Biogeography
Definition

Geographic distribution of species provides evidence of evolution

 

(pangea and continental drift)

Term
Endemic Species
Definition

Species that are not found anywhere else in the world(common on islands)

Most island species are closely related to nearest mainland species

Term
Non-Adaptive Traits
Definition

not all traits are adaptive and evolution by natural selection does not lead to "perfection"

 

(vestigial traits)

Term
Genetic Constraints
Definition
Pleiotropy-one gene affects many traits
Term
Fitness Trade-Offs
Definition

Compromise between traits, in terms of howthose traits are adapted for environment

(size of eggs individual makes and # of offspring)

Term
Misconceptions of Evolution
Definition

1. Evolution is not "goal directed"

2. Evolution is not "progessive"

3. No organism is self less (inclusive fitness)

4. Evolution is just a theory

Term
alleles
Definition
alternative versions of genes
Supporting users have an ad free experience!