Biology Evolution Terms Flashcards
Define habitat.
The actual place an organism lives.
Define niche.
Describes where an organism lives and what it does “for a living”, including the way it reacts with biotic & abiotic factors.
Define resource.
Any necessity for life.
Define competition exclusion principle.
States that no two species can occupy exactly the same niche in exactly the same habitat at exactly the same time.
Define symbiosis.
Means “living together” (Mutualism, commensalism, & parasitism).
Define commensalism.
A relationship in which one organism benefits & the other is neither helped nor harmed.
Define mutualism.
A relationship where both species benefit.
Define parasitism.
A relationship where one organism lives inside or on another organism & harms it.
Define evolution.
A process where life changes.
What was the theory Darwin developed?
Theory of biological evolution that offered a scientific explanation for the unity and diversity of life, by proposing how modern organisms evolved through descent from common ancestors.
What did Hutton and Lyell conclude?
That Earth is extremely old & that the processes that changed Earth in the past are the same processes that operate in the present.
What was Lamarck’s suggestion about how species changed?
That individual organisms could change during their lifetimes by selectively using or not using various parts of their body. And that these traits can be passed on through offspring.
What happens in artificial selection?
Nature provides the inherited variations, and humans select those variants they find useful.
Define adaptation.
Any inheritable characteristic that increases an organisms ability to survive & reproduce in its environment is called an adaptation.
Define fitness.
How well an organism can survive and reproduce in its environment.
