Biology Vocab Flashcards
Evolution
Generation-to-generation change in the proportion of different inherited genes in a population that accounts for all of the changes that have transformed life over an immerse time
Adaptation
Inherited characteristic that improves an organisms ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment
Descent with Modification
Process by which descendants of ancestral organisms spread into various habitats and accumulate adaptations to diverse ways of life
Natural Selection
Process by which Individuals with inherited characteristics well-suited to the environment leave more offspring than do other individuals
Fossil Record
Chronological collection of life’s remains in sedimentary rock layers
Extinct
No longer existing as a living specie on Earth
Homologous Structure
Similar structure found in more than one species that share a common ancestor
Vestigial Structure
Remnant of a structure that may have had an important function in a species ancestors, but has no clear function in the modern species
Population
Group of individuals of the same species living in a particular area at the same time
Variation
Difference among members of a species
Artificial Selection
Selective breeding of domesticated plants and animals to produce offspring with desired genetic traits
Gene pool
All of the alleles in all the individuals that make up a population
Microevolution
Evolution on the smallest scale - a generation-to-generation change in the frequencies of alleles within a population
Genetic Drift
Change in the gene pool of a population due to chance
Gene Flow
Exchange of genes between populations
