Chapter 5: Adaptation and Natural Selection Flashcards

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1
Q

Differential success (reproduction and survival) of individuals that results in elimination of maladaptive traits from a population

A

natural selection

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2
Q

A genetically determined characteristic (behavioral, morphological, or physiological) that improves an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce under prevailing environmental conditions

A

adaptation

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3
Q

Genetic contribution by an individual’s descendants to future generations

A

fitness

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4
Q

Unit material of inheritance

More specifically, a small unit of a DNA molecule, coded for a specific protein to produce one of the many attributes of a species

A

genes

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5
Q

One of two or more alternative forms of a gene that occupies the same relative position or locus on homologous chromosomes

A

alleles

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6
Q

The environmental cause of fitness differences among organisms within a population with difference phenotypes

A

selective agent

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7
Q

The phenotypic trait that natural selection acts directly upon

A

target of selection

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8
Q

Selection favoring individuals at one extreme of the phenotype in a population

A

directional selection

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9
Q

Selection favoring the middle in the distribution of phenotypes

A

stabilizing selection

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10
Q

Selection in which two extreme phenotypes in the population leave more offspring than the intermediate phenotype, which has lower fitness

A

disruptive selection

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11
Q

When individuals choose mates nonrandomly with respect to their genotype, or more specifically, select mates based on some phenotypic trait

A

assortative mating

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12
Q

Occurs when mates are phenotypically less similar to each other than expected by chance

A

negative assortative mating

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13
Q

Occurs when mates are phenotypically more similar to each other than expected by chance

A

positive assortative mating

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14
Q

Mating among close relatives

A

inbreeding

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15
Q

Random fluctuation in allele frequency over time, due to chance alone without any influence by natural selection

Important in small populations

A

genetic drift

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16
Q

A measurable, gradual change over a geographic region in the average of some phenotypic character, such as size or coloration

Or it can be a gradient in genotypic frequency

A

cline

17
Q

Groups of populations that are semi-isolated from one another by some extrinsic barrier

Compare subspecies

A

geographic isolate

18
Q

Subspecies or race adapted to a particular set of environmental conditions

A

ecotype

19
Q

Geographical unit of a species population, distinguishable by morphological, behavioral, or physiological characteristics

A

subspecies

20
Q

Evolution from a common ancestor of divergent forms adapted to distinct ways of life

A

adaptive radiation

21
Q

Ability to change form under different environmental conditions

A

phenotypic plasticity

22
Q

The set of phenotypes expressed by a single genotype across a range of environmental conditions

A

norm of reaction

23
Q

Differences in phenotypic traits for a given genotype under different environmental conditions that reflect differences in the allocation of biomass to different tissues (leaves, stem, and roots) during the growth and development of the individual plant

A

developmental plasticity

24
Q

Reversible phenotypic changes in an individual organism in response to changing environmental conditions—a form of phenotypic plasticity

A

acclimation

25
Q

Let’s talk about trade-offs and constraints

A

“…the fitness of any phenotype is a function of the prevailing environmental conditions; the characteristics that maximize the fitness of an individual under one set of environmental conditions generally limit its fitness under a different set of conditions.”

“The limitations on the fitness of a phenotype under different environmental conditions are a function of trade-offs imposed by constraints that can ultimately by traced to the laws of physics and chemistry.”

“The characteristics enabling a species to survive, grow, and reproduce under one set of conditions limit its ability to do equally well under different environmental conditions.”

26
Q

The process of directly altering an organism’s genome

A

genetic engineering