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Chapters 22-26
N/A
60
Biology
11th Grade
01/24/2012

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Term
Thomas Malthus
Definition
Economist who postulated that organisms that survive in an overpopulated area are more likely to pass on their genes to their offspring. This was the first recorded concept of Natural Selection, and influenced Charles Darwin greatly.
Term
Natural Selection
Definition
The idea that organisms are likely to pass on traits that are more beneficial to their offspring, and detrimental traits will die out over time.
Term
Steven Jay Gould
Definition
20th Century biologist that postulated the 2 facts and 1 conclusion about natural selection
Term
Steven Jay Gould's Facts
Definition
1. Populations have heritable variation (variation that can be passed from generation to generation)
2. Organisms naturally overproduce offspring, causing competition among the population.
Term
Stephen Jay Gould's Conclusion
Definition
Organisms with traits favored by the environment are more likely to survive and reproduce more frequently, passing the traits to the offspring,and so on and so forth until the trait accumulates in the population
Term
Charles Darwin
Definition
Writer of The Origin of Species and who first postulated the concept of evolution and natural selection among non-human populations. He came up with his ideas on the USS Beagle and was heavily influenced by men like Thomas Malthus and the Old Earth theory.
Term
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Definition
An 18th Century biologist who first promoted the idea of evolution in natural populations, but with less scientific data than Darwin. Nevertheless, Darwin was influenced by his work.
Term
Carl Linnaeus
Definition
18th Century biologist who came up with the idea of Linnaean taxonomy, the format we still use today. This type of taxonomy connected various species of organisms to one another, implying a common genetic ancestor that they all evolved from.
Term
Charles Lyell
Definition
19th Century geologist that postulated the Old Earth Theory: that the earth existed for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years, lending further creedence that it would be physically possible for evolution to occur.
Term
Hardy-Weinberg Equation
Definition
A form of telling if a population has had any genetic change over a large period of time. If the equations equal 1, then no change has occured.
Term
Hardy-Weinberg ACTUAL Equations
Definition
p+q=1
p^2+2pq+q^2=1
Term
Hardy-Weinberg 5 Assumptions
Definition
1. No natural selection has occured
2. Random mating is occuring
3. No mutations have occured
4. There is a large population size
5. There is no gene flow (immigration/emmigration)
Term
Evolution
Definition
Over a large period of time, natural selection will have happened so often that organisms that were once of the same species can no longer mate with one another and produce viable (fertile) offspring
Term
Smallest Unit Of Evolution
Definition
Population (A group of the same species)
Term
Microevolution
Definition
The changes in allele frequency over time
Term
Gene Pool
Definition
The complete set of unique alleles in a population
Term
Allele frequency
Definition
the number of copies of a particular allele divided by the number of copies of all alleles at the genetic place in a population
Term
Mutation importance
Definition
It increases the number of unique alleles in a population, and possibly increases the number of adventagous alleles. In short, it can help the species survive and then pass those genes through natural selection.
Term
Genetic Drift
Definition
The addition or subtraction of alleles into a population through immigration or emmigration respectively.
Term
Bottleneck Effect
Definition
A significant amount of a population is killed or is otherwise removed from the population, limiting the genetic diversity in the population
Term
Founder Effect
Definition
The loss of genetic variation that occurs when a new population is established by a very small number of individuals from a larger population
Term
Gene Flow
Definition
The transfer of alleles from one population to another.
Term
Adaptation
Definition
A trait seen in the current generation of a population that is adventatious to survival or reproduction. This trait has appeared and been nurtured through natural selection.
Term
Fitness
Definition
The ability to survive and reproduce, and the ability to pass the organism's current genes to the next generation
Term
Heterozygote Advantage
Definition
The advantage of being heterozygous for a certain gene, such as being heterozygous for Sickle Cell Anemia
Term
Relative Fitness
Definition
The fitness of one organism as compared to the fitness of the other organisms of the population
Term
Inclusive Fitness
Definition
The measure of the fitness of an organism including any relatives
Term
Directional Selection
Definition
A trait of an organism is beneficial, so the average of the population will come to select for that trait (the average is shifted left or right)
Term
Stabilizing Selection
Definition
Genetic diversity decreases as the population stabilizes on a particular trait value
Term
Disruptive Selection
Definition
Extreme values for a trait are selected over intermediate ones
Term
Sexual Selection
Definition
(Usually) Females pick for a specific trait in (usually) males that is either neutlar or detrimental to the male. An example would be peacocks and their feathers.
Term
Sexual Dimorphism
Definition
Phenotypic differences between females and males of the same species
Term
Speciation
Definition
The method of determining if two organisms are of the same species
Term
Biological Species Concept
Definition
A group of organisms is a species if they can reproduce and make viable (fertile) offspring. This does not apply to asexual or extinct species.
Term
Morphological Species Concept
Definition
A group of organisms is of the same species if they have a very similar cellular structure. This species structure is used for asexual organisms.
Term
Allopatric Speciation
Definition
A geographic barrier seperates a population, making them unable to reproduce with one another. Over time, the organisms will adapt to their respective enviroments, and eventually will become seperate species. This form of speciation is more common with animals than plants.
Term
Sympatric Speciation
Definition
Species are still connected, but certain members become unable to mate with one another. This is more common in plants than animals, because plants can self pollinate
Term
Adaptive Radiation
Definition
The concept that many new species can arise from one species
Term
Gradualism
Definition
The idea that species evolve slowly, at a consistant rate, over time
Term
Punctuated Equilibrium
Definition
The idea that species aquile multiple adaptations early on, then do not aquire many traits for a long period of time. This concept explains why finding transitional fossils is rare.
Term
Phylogeny
Definition
A map of the evolutionary history of a species, usually in diagram form.
Term
Systematics
Definition
An analytical approach to understanding the diversity and relationships of organisms.
Term
Convergent Evolution
Definition
A term used to describe two organisms who evolved seperately yet contain similar body structures and adaptations.
Term
Major Classification Scheme of Taxonomy
Definition
Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Term
Clade
Definition
An ancestor and all of its descendants
Term
Early Earth
Definition
Made 4.6 billion years ago, contained no life, very hot, contained water but no oxygen. The first prokaryotes evolved about 3.5 billion years ago, with the first eukaryotes evolving about 2.2 billion years ago.
Term
First Genetic Material
Definition
RNA, because it is simpler than DNA and acts as an enzyme
Term
Four Steps to Creating Life
Definition
1. Create Organic Material (monomers)
2. Polymerization (convert the genetic material into polymers)
3. Put the polymers into cellular membranes (probionts)
4. Acquire molecules of heredity and all the characteristics of life
Term
Four Eras
Definition
Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic
Term
Precambrian Era
Definition
First Era. The Earth was formed, life first appeared (mostly prokaryotes, some eukaryotes) and by the end some basic animals and plants appeared. By fat the longest era, and like the other eras, ended in a mass extinction. Led to the Paleozoic era.
Term
Paleozoic Era
Definition
Second Era. In this era, some basic plants started to appear, as well as some vertebrates. In fact, this era was dominated by vertebrates. The era wndwd with the creation of basic reptiles, and the Permian Extinction. The following Era was the Mesozoic Era.
Term
Mesozoic Era
Definition
The third Era. Reptiles and dinopsaurs began to evolve, as well as some of the first birds. The first flowering plants appeared, along with some of the first mammals, though it was clear that Dinosaurs ruled the land. This era ended with the Cretacious extinction, and led to the Cenozoic Era.
Term
Cenozoic Era
Definition
The Fourth Era, as well as the current era. More diverse plants begin to cover the planet, and mammals rule the land. The ice age occurs, and humans evolve to the state we are in now.
Term
Mass Extinction
Definition
A large number of species go extinct all at once. This is usually an indicator of the end of an era
Term
Permian Extinction
Definition
The mass extinction signaling the end of the paleozoic era. Approximately 96% of life on Earth went extinct, and is tio date the largest mass extinction on record.
Term
Cretacious Extinction
Definition
The mass extinction signaling the end of the mesozoic era. This mass extinction is thought to be heralded by a comet or asteroid.
Term
Fossilized Stromatolites
Definition
Rock-Like structures composed of bacteria and sediment
Term
Cambrian Explosion
Definition
The large increase of species (hence the term explosion) beginning at the end of the precambrian era and the start of the paleozoic era.
Term
Continental Drift
Definition
Earth's original land mass (Pangaea) was made up of continential plates, which shift (and continue to shift) to the earth we know and love today.
Term
Alfred Russel Wallace
Definition
19th Century Biologist who came up with the concept of natural selection and evolution in tandem and seperate from Charles Darwin
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