10.1 What Is Evolution? Flashcards
What is Biological Evolution?
A change in the characteristics of a population of organisms that occurs over the course of generations
What is an example of Biological Evolution?
Pesticide resistant lice
What is Natural Selection?
The different survival and reproduction of individuals in population
What is an example of natural selection?
- Pesticide resistance in crop-eating insects
2. Antibiotic resistance in infectious bacteria
What is Microevolution?
Changes that occur within a species and the characteristics of a population. Easily observed, relatively non-controversial
What is Macroevolution?
Changes that occur, as a result of microevolution, over long periods of times and result in the origin of new species. Controversial among non-biologists
What is a theory in everyday usage?
The best guess or tentative explanation
What is a theory in scientific usage?
A body of accepted general principles, supported by many lines of evidence
Who was Charles Darwin and what was his idea of common descent?
A naturalist. The theory of common descent states that all modern organisms descend from a single common ancestor
What was the HMS Beagles and what was its purpose?
A ship he sailed aboard in a five year long trip to collect and observe “anything worth to be noted for natural history”
Where are the Galápagos Islands?
Of the coast of Ecuador
Who was Lamarck?
Lamarck was the first modern evolutionist and scientist to state that traits acquired over their lifetimes could be passed on to their offspring
Who was Lyell and what was his idea of geologic change?
Lyell’s argued that deep canyons resulted from the gradual erosion of rock by rivers and streams over enormous timescales
How long did Darwin wait to publish his ideas of Evolution?
He waited two decades. Published in 1858
What competing ideas are there that we can consider as alternatives to evolution?
Static Hypothesis, Transformation Hypothesis, and Separate Hypothesis
