Biology 16,17,19 Flashcards
Darwin is known as the father of __________________.
evolution
What did Darwin realize about the tortoises and finches of the Galápagos islands?
The tortoises and finches on different island were related and came from a common ancestor. They had changed due to their environment on different islands over time.
What 3 patterns of diversity did Darwin take note of on his journey?
Species vary: locally, globally, and over time
What did Hutton hypothesize?
That it takes millions of years for geological processes to take place (creating new layers of sedimentary rock)
What did Lyell Hypothesize?
The processes that shaped the Earth in the past (millions of years ago) are still occurring today vocab- uniformitarianism
Why were Hutton and Lyell’s hypotheses about the Earth’s age important?
If the Earth is millions of years old, that gives life a looooong time to have changed over time (evolution to occur).
What is Lamarck’s Evolution Hypothesis. What was wrong about it?
Movement towards complexity and perfection Use and disuse Inheritance of acquired traits Organisms cannot inherit acquired traits, they do not have an innate sense to become more complex
What did Malthus suggest about human population? How did this relate to Darwin and his theory of evolution?
If population continues to grow, then we will run out of food, shelter and space for people. Darwin related it knowing that there are more offspring created than survive (struggle for existence)
What is artificial selection? What is an example of artificial selection?
Humans select desirable traits in organisms and breed them to get more organisms that contain the desirable trait ( cows that produce more milk, trees that make larger fruit)
What are the three parts of evolution by natural selection? What does each mean?
struggle for existence Variation and Adaptation descent with modification (common descent)
What does “survival of the fittest” mean? What is the definition of fitness?
Organisms that have traits that help them survive in an environment are more likely to survive and reproduce (passing on these traits to offspring) Fitness- how well an organism can survive and reproduce in its environment
What is natural selection?
Process by which organisms with variation most suited to their local environment survive and leave more offspring
What can be used for evidence of evolution?
Anatomy, embryology, DNA(genetics
What are homologous structures?
Structures shared by related species that have been inherited from a common ancestor, but may not have the same function any longer (limbs of humans, horses, whales, bats)
What are vestigial structures?
Structures that are inherited from ancestors but have little to no function now (human tail bone, appendix, etc)
What does studying embryo development and DNA tell us about evolution?
Provide more evidence that organisms evolved from a common ancestor
What did the Grant’s study in the Galapagos?
Change in finch beaks due to natural selection (especially during times of drought)
Genetically speaking what is evolution?
A change in the frequency of alleles in a population over time
What is a gene pool?
Consists of all the genes (including all different alleles of the genes) that are present in a population
What does natural selection directly change (influence)?
phenotype
What is allele frequency? What does it mean when the allele frequency changes?
Number of times an allele occurs in a gene pool, compared to the total number of alleles in that pool for the same gene
What sources of genetic variation exist in nature (3)?
Mutations / genetic recombination (sexual reproduction and crossing over) / lateral gene transfer
What is a single-gene trait?
Trait controlled by only 1 gene (usually 2-3 alleles)
What is a polygenic trait?
Trait controlled by more than one gene (2-3 alleles for each gene)
