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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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 |
|
|
