Chapter 20

Question 0

natural theology

Answer 0

A belief that knowledge of God may be acquired through study of natural phenomena

Question 1

natural history

Answer 1

The branch of biology that examines the form and variety of organisms in their natural environments

Question 2

taxonomy

Answer 2

The science of the classifications of organisms into an ordered system that indicates natural relationships

Question 3

biogeography

Answer 3

The study of geographical distributions of plants and animals

Question 4

morphology

Answer 4

The form or shape of an organism or of a part of an organism

Question 5

vestigial structures

Answer 5

An anatomical feature of living organisms that no longer retains its function

Question 6

fossils

Answer 6

The remains or traces of an organism of a past geologic age embedded and preserved in Earth’s crust

Question 7

paleobiology

Answer 7

The study of ancient organisms

Question 8

catastrophism

Answer 8

The theory that Earth has been affected by sudden, violent events that were sometimes worldwide in scope

Question 9

gradualism

Answer 9

The view that Earth and its living systems changed slowly over its history

Question 10

James Hutton

Answer 10

argued that slow continuous physical processes, acting over long periods of time produced Earth’s major geological features (gradualism)

Question 11

uniformitarianism

Answer 11

The concept that the geological processes that sculpted Earth’s surface over long periods of time- such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, erosions, and the formation and movement of glaciers- are exactly the same as the processes observed today

Question 12

Charles Lyell

Answer 12

wrote Principles of Geology

argued that the geological processes that sculpted Earth’s surface over on periods of time (uniformitarianism)

Question 13

Why did the existence of vestigial structures make Buffon question the idea that living systems never changed?

Answer 13

Buffon did not understand how”anatomically perfect” animals could have useless structures

Question 14

What were Lamarck’s contributions to an evolutionary worldview?

Answer 14

Lamarck proposed: 1) all species change through time

                             2) the changes are inherited by the next generation
                             3) the changes arise in response to environmental conditions
                             4) specific mechanisms caused the changes

Question 15

How do the concepts of gradualism and uniformitarianism in geology undermine the belief that the Earth is only about 6,000 years for these features to assume their present forms?

Answer 15

The concept of gradualism and uniformitarianism suggest that Earth’s major geological features were produced by the very slow action of geological processes observed today. It must have taken more than 6,000 years for these features to assume their present forms

Question 16

adaptive traits

Answer 16

A genetically based characteristic, preserved by natural selection, that increases an organism’s likelihood of survival or its reproductive output

Question 17

evolutionary divergence

Answer 17

A process whereby natural selection or genetic drift causes populations to become more different over time

Question 18

descent with modification

Answer 18

biological evolution

Question 19

What observations that Darwin made on his round-the-world voyage influenced his later thoughts about evolution?

Answer 19

Darwin observed that living organisms often resemble fossils found in the same area; that organisms found on South America resembled one another, even if the occupied different environments; and that many species found on the Galapagos Islands resembled species from South American mainland

Question 20

How did Darwin’s understanding of artificial selection enable him to envision the process of natural selection?

Answer 20

Darwin realized that the effects of competition for resources in nature were similar to the action of a plant or animal breeder who used only certain individuals as parents to produce the next generation

Question 21

What were the four great intellectual triumphs of Darwin’s theory?

Answer 21

Darwin’s theory relied on physical explanations for the origin of biodiversity: he recognized that evolutionary change takes place within a population rather than in individuals; he recognized that natural selection is a multistage process; and he emphasized the importance of environmental conditions to the process of natural selection

Question 22

population genetics

Answer 22

The branch of science that studies the prevalence and variation in genes among variation in gene among populations of individuals

Question 23

modern synthesis

Answer 23

A unified theory of evolution developed in the middle of the twentieth century

Question 24

microevolution

Answer 24

small-scale genetic changes within populations, often in response to shifting environmental circumstances or chance events

Question 25

macroevolution

Answer 25

large-scale evolutionary patterns in the history of life, producing major change in species and higher taxonomic groups

Question 26

biological lineages

Answer 26

An evolutionary sequences of ancestral organisms and their descendants

Question 27

comparative morphology

Answer 27

Analysis of the structure of living and extinct organisms

Question 28

homologous traits

Answer 28

Characteristics that are similar in two species because they inherited the genetic basis of the trait from their common ancestor

Question 29

orthogenesis

Answer 29

An obsolete theory that evolution is goal oriented striving to perfect organisms

Question 30

What two problems slowed the acceptance of Darwin’s theory among scientists?

Answer 30

Two problems that slowed the acceptance of Darwin’s theory are that Mendel’s genetic studies focused on simple traits and that these traits often changed in just a few generations

Question 31

What is the difference between microevolution and macroevolution?

Answer 31

Microevolution refers to small, genetically based changes within populations. Macroevolution refers to larger-scale evolutionary changes observed in species and more inclusive groups. Current research suggests that microevolutionary change results from the same evolutionary processes

Question 32

What type of data provide evidence that evolution has adapted organisms to their environments and promoted the diversification of species?

Answer 32

Evidence for evolution comes from studies of adaptation, the fossil record, historical biogeography, comparative morphology, and comparative molecular biology

Question 33

20.1

Answer 33

• Ancient greek philosophers classified the natural world, ranking inanimate objects and living organisms form simple to complex
• natural theologians believed that all species were specially created and perfectly adapted; that existing species do not change or become extinct; and that new species do not arise. Studies in biogeography, comparative morphology, and paleontology led scientists to question whether species change through time
• Lamarck proposed that species evolved into more complex forms tha tfunctioned better in their environments. He hypothesized that structures in an organism changed when they were used, and htat those changes were inherited by the organism’s offspring. Experiments has refused Lamarck’s proposed mechanisms
• two geologists, Hutton and Lyell, recognized that major features on Earth were created by the long-term action of the very slow geological processes that scientists observe today. Their insights suggested that Earth was much older than natural theologians had supposed

Question 34

20.2

Answer 34

• Darwin’s observations during his voyage on the Beagle provided much of the data and inspiration for the development of his theory of evolution
• Darwin based the theory of evolution by means of natural selection:
  1) individuals within a population compete for limited resources
  2) hereditary characteristics allow some individuals to survive longer and reproduce more than others
  3) population’s characteristics change over time as advantageous heritable characteristics become more common
• Darwin also proposed that the accumulation of difference fostered by natural selection could cause populations to diverge over time. Such evolutionary divergence can lead to the production of new species give rise to new evolutionary lineages

Question 35

20.3

Answer 35

• scientists working in population genetics developed theories of evolutionary change by integrating Darwin’s ideas with Mendel’s research on genetics
• in 1930s and 1940s, the modern synthesis provided a unified view of evolution that drew on studies from many biological disciplines. It emphasized evolution within populations, the central role of variation in the evolutionary process, and the gradualism of evolutionary change
• studies of adaptation, the fossil record, historical biogeography, and comparative morphology provide compelling evidence of evolutionary change
• molecular techniques have extended the achievements of the modern synthesis, allowing precise analysis of the genetic basis of evolutionary change and the genetic relatedness of living and extinct organisms