Chapter 2 - Principles Flashcards
Natural Selection
The prime mover of evolutionary
change. The name given by Darwin to what is today considered to be differential gene replication. May more loosely be described as differential reproductive success of different phenotypes.
Reproduction success hypothesis
The notion that evolutionary
‘improvements’ to members of a species counteracting changes in members of other species, which may for example be parasites of that species, lead members of the first species
back to where they started
Heritable variation
individuals within a population tend to differ from each other in ways that are passed
on to their offspring
Fitness
A measure of the number of offspring produced, or, in the view of some evolutionists,
the proportion of genes passed on to future generations
Genes
The fundamental unit of heredity; a section of DNA that codes for one polypeptide. Since
proteins are made up of polypeptides then we can say that genes code for proteins.
Chromosomes
A string of genes found in a cell’s
nucleus.
Genotype
The genetic constitution of an organism encoded in the nucleus of each cell of the body.
Phenotype
Individual characteristics resulting from environmental interaction of an organism’s
genotype
Mutation
A random inherited change in genetic material
DNA
deoxyribonucleic acid) The chemical of which genes are composed. Physically it is a
giant double helix molecule
Heritability of characteristics
The extent to which variation in a trait is due to genetic rather than environmental components.
Genome-wide association studies
A method used in genetics research which scans the entire genome in a large sample in order to identify specific
genetics variations
Behavioural epigenetics
A sub-discipline of behavioural genetics which is devoted to the way in which environmental cues affect the activation of genes involved in difference between people in their behaviour
Group selection
The notion that natural selection
occurs at the level of the group
Individual selection
The notion that natural
selection occurs at the level of the individual