chapter 5 Flashcards
evolution
what is ecology?
the study of interactions between organisms and their living/non-living environment
what is the naming, describing, and classification of all living organisms including plants?
taxonomy
what is watershed?
the land that drains towards a lake or other body of water
what helps indicate how healthy an ecosystem is?
biological diversity
what is genetic diversity?
the amount of variation within a species
what is binomial nomenclature?
the method of naming organisms using two names
which types of names are used in binomial nomenclature?
genus name and species name (ex: homo (genus) - sapiens (species))
what group of organisms can interbreed and produce fertile offspring called?
species
what are the categories used to classify organisms?
taxa
what is the evolutionary history of a species or group of organisms?
phylogeny
what is paleontology?
the study of fossils
what is a dichotomous key?
a key used to identify living things
how do we calculate the age of fossils and rocks?
radiometric dating
what makes up the 5 kingdom system?
animalia, plantae, fungi, protista, and monera
what makes up the 6 kingdom system?
archaebacteria, eubacteria, protista, fungi, plantae, and animalia
what are the types of evolution?
divergent evolution, convergent evolution, mutation, embryology, fossil records, etc.
what is divergent evolution?
the evolution of many different things. (homologous)
what is convergent evolution?
independent evolution in different species that gives rise to similar functions. (analogous)
what is embryology?
the study of the formation and development of an embryo and fetus
what are fossil records?
all the fossils that have been found, along with their relative ages
what is lamarck’s theory of evolution?
anything that happens to a parent during its life is passed onto its offspring
what is spontaneous generation?
the belief that living things arose from non-living things
what is darwin’s theory of evolution?
those with reproductive/genetic success will pass on the preferred variation to their offspring through a process of elimination
what is beneficial mutation?
mutations that enhance an organism’s fitness (reproductive success)
what is harmful mutation?
mutations that reduce an organism’s fitness (reproductive success)
what is neutral mutation?
a mutation that does not affect an organism’s fitness (reproductive success)
what is a homologous feature?
features with similar structures but different functions
what is an analogous feature?
features that are similar in appearance but don’t have the same evolutionary origin
what is natural selection?
reproductive success of individuals caused by variation in their inherited characteristics
what is artificial selection?
the process of human selecting and breeding individuals with desired traits
what is survival of the fittest?
organisms with successful genes/traits will outlive those without them and pass the traits down to offspring
what is sexual reproduction?
production of offspring by two parents, in which offspring have genes from both parents
what is asexual reproduction?
production of offspring from one parent, offspring are all identical
what is the theory of gradualism?
the idea that speciation occurs slowly
what is the theory of punctuated equilibrium?
the idea that species evolve rapidly, followed by a period of little to no change
what is speciation?
a group within a species separates from other members of its species and develops its own unique characteristics
what is allopatric speciation?
occurs when a species separates into two separate groups that are isolated from one another
what are vestigial features?
structures with no useful function
what is a species that is only found in one location?
endemic
what is biogeography?
the study of the geographic distribution of life on earth
what is the difference between archaebacteria and eubacteria?
eubacteria’s cell wall contains peptidoglycan whilst archaebacteria’s cell wall does not
what acronym is used for the taxa categories?
king (kingdom) philip (phylum) can (class) only (order) find (family) green (genus) shoes (species)