adaptation and variation Flashcards
what are the 3 types of adaptation
behavioural, anatomical and physiological
what is adaptation
the process of change by which an organism/ species changes to become better suited to its environment as a result
what is behavioural adaptation, include examples
Adaptation whereby an animal changes their communication, survival strategies, tool use or behavioural pattern in response to an external stimuli to survive/ live more efficiently. E.g. Mating rituals, Migration, Nest building, Hunting strategies
what is anatomical adaptation, include examples
Adaptation whereby an animals shape and structure changes in response to external stimuli to enable the species to survive/ live more efficiently. E.g. Wide eyes, Sharp claws, Camouflage, Eye position, Spines (spikes like a porcupine)
what is physiological adaptation, include examples
Adaptation whereby the tissues/ cells/ biological process develop in response to external stimuli to all the organism to survive/ live more efficiently. E.g. Venom, Toxins, Antifreeze proteins, Nectar release
what is variation
Variation is the difference in DNA among individuals. This allows variation to be passed to offspring. Variation often occurs because of mutation
What is advantageous variation
Some variation can give an animal an advantage over other members of the species. These individuals are more likely to reproduce therefor, as variation occurs at the DNA level, it gets inherited by their offspring
Natural selection
what is evolution
a change in characteristics over several generations as a result of natural selection
what is speciation
the formation of a new species as part of the evolutionary process
what is selection pressure on variation
selection pressures are the external stimuli that determine which characteristics are/ are not advantageous
what is stabilising when talking about selection pressure
stabilising selection pressure reduces the variation among a species. The average number of individuals with that characteristic increase
what is directional when talking about selection pressure
directional selection pressure encourages a new phenotype usually in response to an environmental change (e.g. heat change or loss of habitat)
what is diversifying when talking about selection pressure
increase variation among a species. Extreme phenotypes become more common
how do you test if animals are related (4 methods)
Genetics, Biochemicals, Immunological and Amino acids
what are cladograms
Cladograms are diagrams which represent the evolutionary relationships between species from looking at the DNA and RNA of the species
