Term
| What are the two benefits of evolutionary theory? |
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Definition
1. It allows us to understand how life diversifies.
2. It helps us make predictions. |
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Term
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Definition
| The survival and reproduction of individuals based on variations in traits. |
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Term
| What were Darwin's three major propositions for evolution? |
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Definition
1. Species change over time.
2. Descent with modification.
3. Natural selection explains the changes in species. |
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Term
| Descent with modification |
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Definition
| Divergent species share a common ancestor and have diverged gradually over time. |
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Term
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Definition
| Physical expression of an organism's genes. |
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Term
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Definition
| Features of a phenotype. (ie. eye color) |
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Term
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Definition
| Specific forms of a character. (ie. blue, green, brown eyes) |
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Term
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Definition
| Genetic sequence that determines phenotypic characters. |
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Term
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Definition
| Different forms of a gene. |
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Term
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Definition
| Particular location on a chromosome. |
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Term
| What are the three types of questions biologists ask? |
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Definition
1. Mechanical questions - proximate answers, how does a structure/behavior work?
2. Functional questions - why has a structure/behavior arisen?
3. Historical questions - how has a pattern changed through evolution? |
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Term
| Define biological evolution |
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Definition
| Changes in allele frequencies of groups of organisms (populations) over time |
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Term
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Definition
| Casual mechanisms of change, including natural selection, genetic drift, mutation, and gene flow. |
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Term
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Definition
| Refers to the divergence of species over long periods of time. |
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Term
| Describe Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's contributions. |
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Definition
| He provided early evidence for evolution in 1809. He believed that species are created spontaneously and lineages persist indefinitely. He proposed inheritance through acquired characteristics. |
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Term
| Describe Georges Cuvier's contributions. |
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Definition
| He was a paleontologist who studied comparative anatomy and thus established extinction as a fact. He believed in the fixity of species, but unlike Lamarck, he didn't think that species persisted indefinitely. |
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Term
| Describe Carl Linnaeus' contributions. |
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Definition
| He developed binomial nomenclature as a way of naming and classifying organisms. Like Cuvier, he believed that species were fixed in form and could never change. |
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Term
| Describe Aristotle's contributions. |
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Definition
| He proposed the theory of causes, which attempts to explain the "fit" of organisms to their environments. He also developed a scale of being, or so-called ladder of life that implies a linear progression in evolution. |
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Term
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Definition
| Functionless or rudimentary versions of some body part that has a function in a closely allied species. |
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Term
| What are the four tenets of natural selection? |
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Definition
1. There is variation among individuals.
2. At least some of the variation is heritable.
3. Organisms differ in their ability to survive and reproduce.
4. Survival and reproduction are nonrandom. |
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Term
| What's the difference between proximate and ultimate explanations? |
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Definition
| Proximate explanations place emphasis on anatomical, physiological, or biochemical features. Ultimate explanations place emphasis on understanding the casual reasons why traits evolve. |
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Term
| Define August Weismann's contributions? |
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Definition
| He provided evidence against Darwin's theory of pangenesis and the theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics. He proposed the germ-plasm theory instead, which says that inheritance occurs in gametes as opposed to somatic cells. |
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Term
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Definition
| Every separate part of an organism reproduces itself individually. |
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