Biology Evolution Terms Flashcards
Homologous Features
Similar physical features in organisms, though the features serve completely different functions.
Biogeography
The study of the distribution of plants, animals, and other types of life.
Buffon’s Histoire Naturelle
- Noted similarities between humans and apes. (C.A.)
- Said earth was older than 6000 years.
George Cuvier
- Developed Paleontology
- Each stratum had a unique group of fossil species
- Time and nature act to destroy species
Lyell
-Principles of geology
- If Earth is changing, could slow, subtle changes also occur in populations
Plato + Aristotle
- Believed that all life existed in a perfected and unchanging form
- Believed to be true for over 2000 years
Transitional Fossils
Is any fossilized remains of a life form that exhibits traits common to both an ancestral group and its derived descendant group.
Theory of Need
Organisms need or want to change.
Lamarck: Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics
Organism changes during life to adapt to their environment, those changes are passed on to their offspring.
Why was his theory wrong?
Theory of Use and Disuse
Organs or appendages remain strong when used - when not they weaken and disappear.
Vestigial Features
Features of an organism that are considered to have lost much or all of their original function through evolution.
Analogous Features
Features of different species that are similar in function but not necessarily in structure.
Carbon Dating
A scientific method that can accurately determine the age of organic materials as old as approximately 60,000 years.
Theory of Acquired Traits
A theory that physiological changes acquired during an organism’s lifetime can be passed down to the offspring.
