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Biology 100 Final Exam
Lecture 1 Material on Evolution
18
Biology
Undergraduate 1
05/10/2008

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Cards

Term

What is biological evolution?

Definition
Heritiable change in a population across many generations
Term
Why study biological evolution?
Definition

Evolutionary changes are taking place all round us

Evolution helps us understand the history and diversity of life

Term
What are some brief historical perspective ideas on evolution?
Definition

1. Divine Creation - species are permanent, life is unchanging

2. Species change over time

3. Lamarck -Inheritiance of acquired characteristics

4. Darwin and Wallace - Descent with Modification and Natural selection

 

Term

What is Natural Selection?

Definition

Organisms have great capacity for reproduction but population size remains relatively stable

 

1. More individuals are produced than can survive and reproduce

 

2. Individuals with traits that enhance survival and reproduction pass these traits onto their offspring

 

3. As a result, these traits become more common in the population over time.

Term
What is Fitness?
Definition

Ability of an organism to pass its genes onto the next generation

 

Fitness depends on Environment

Term
What are examples presented in lecture of Natural Selection?
Definition

1.  farmer out in Missouri finds yellow mice and normal color mice in his farm. A university student came and started studying them. They saw that the cats were able to see the yellow mice better than the black ones. A month later they came back to count the yellow mice and there were non left but after they removed the cats, there were some yellow mice back in the population

 

2.  Researchers tagged anolls sagrel lizards and measured their leg length but introduced a larger lizard. 6 months later the species of lizard had longer legs, so they could run away from the larger lizard. Another 6 months later the species had shorter legs, so they could climb trees

Term

What is Artificial Selection?

Definition

Selective Bredding

 

By controlling survival and reproduction, dramatic change can occur in a short period of time

Term
What is Homology
Definition
any similarity between animals that is due to their shared ancestry
Term
What are homologous Structures?
Definition
Functionally different features with similar construction due to common ancestry
Term

What are Molecular Homologies?

Definition
Organisms what similar molecular compsition of proteins and DNA
Term
What are Embryological Homologies
Definition
Developmental resemblances that show a common ancestry
Term
What are hox genes?
Definition
genes that control embryological development in humans, but also found in other different organisms
Term
What is Dpp (decapentaplegic)?
Definition
An embryonic development gene found in fruit flies and humans.  If mutated during fruit fly embryonic stage, the baby dies.  It can be substituted by the human Dpp gene.
Term
What are analogous structures?
Definition

structures which perform the same or different function but evloved separately

 

(Evolved from convergent evolution)

Term

What is convergent Evolution?

Definition
evolution in similar structures in distantly related organisms that occupy similar environments
Term
What is Biogeography
Definition

The geopgrahic distribution of species

 

species on ocean islands resemble species nearest mainland even though environment is different

 

species on ocean islands do not resemble species on other islands around the world with similar environments

Term
What are Fossil Records
Definition
ordered arracy in which fossils appeared in strata (layers)
Term
What are some points to keep in mind?
Definition

1. natural selection only acts on existing variation

 

2. not all genetic variation makes an organism more fit

 

3. not all genetic variation my be subject to natural selection

 

4. populations are the units of evolution

 

5. evolution CAN fashion complex structures

 

6. natural selection can't fashion perfect organisms

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