Chapter 10 Flashcards
The theory that different types of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth
Evolution
A group of closely related organisms that can mate and produce fertile offspring
Species
The trace or remains of an organism that lived long ago, most commonly preserved in sedimentary rock
Fossil
A principle that states that geologic change occurs suddenly
Catastrophism
The principle that geologic processes that occurred in the past can be explained by current geologic processes
Uniformitarianism
Any difference between organisms within a population
Variation
An anatomical, physiological, or behavioral change that improves a populations ability to survive
Adaptation
Selective breeding of organisms by humans for specific desirable characteristics
Artificial selection
Able to be inherited
Heritable
When individuals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more successfully than less well adapted individuals do
Natural selection
A group of organisms of the same species that live in a specific area and interbreed
Population
The ability of individuals to survive to pass on their genes
Fitness
The study of the geographical distribution of living organisms and fossils on earth
Biogeography
When very different animals have structures that appear very similar in form; suggested as evidence of common ancestry
Homologous structure
Describes features that are similar in function and appearance but not in structure or origin
Analogous structure
Structure in an organism that is nonfunctional but may have been a remnant of a functional structure in the organisms ancestors
Vestigial structure
The scientific study of fossils
Paleontology
T or f: an individual organisms can adapt
False: a species may adapt over time but an individual cannot
Charles Darwin was a ____ on a ship?
Naturalist
What are the four main points?
- Variations exist in a population
- More offspring are produced than can survive
- Some variations are advantageous for survival
- Favorable variations are passed down to offspring
Why was Darwin given credit for being the father of evolution?
He was the first to propose a mechanism for evolution, mechanism was natural selection
Selective breeding=
artificial selection
What is the difference between homologous and vestigial structures?
Homologous is similar in structure but not function; vestigial has no use but had a function in ancestor
What does the phrase “ontogeny recapitulates phlogeny” mean?
Embryological development replays organisms evolutionary history
