Definitions Flashcards
Adaptation
A change of an organism or species that makes it more suited to its circumstances.
Allele
A copy or variant of a gene at a specific gene locus
Chromosome
A structure formed of DNA and proteins.
Fecundity
The number of gametes produced by an organism.
Fitness
A measure of the relative ability of an organism to survive and reproduce offspring that themselves can survive and have offspring.
Locus
The location of a gene on a chromosome
Natural selection
The process that causes evolutionary change.
Individuals with a genetically driven characteristic that increases the liklihood of them surviving and reproducing have a higher chance of passing that characteristic to successive generations, therefore it becomes more common in the population over time.
Altruism
Acting in the interest of others.
Angiosperms
A clade of plants that flower.
Apterygota
Wigless insects
Batesian mimicry
Mimicry in which a non-toxic species mimics and toxic one - benefits from reduced predation
Beltian bodies
Detachable end of some acacia’s leaves that are rich in proteins, lipids, and sugars.
Clade
All living and extinct descendants of a common ancestor.
Coevolution
Evolution changes in one taxonomic group and a second group influencing one another.
Convergent evolution
Similar characteristics in organisms that develop independently from one another.
Domatia
A structure produced by plants that can act as specialised homes for insects.
Domicile
Home
Endopterygota
Winged insects where the wings develop internally
Exopterygota
Winged insects where the wings develop externally
Extrafloral nectaries (EFN)
Plant structures that provide nectar that are separate from the flowers.
HI-VOC
Herbivore induced volatile organic compound
Homoptera
Suborder of plant-feeding insects
Hypogaeically
Underground
Lineages
The hypothesised line of evolutional descent
Mann-Whitney U-test
Test for significant difference between medians of two sample with no assumptions of distribution the samples.
Mimicry
A species developing similar pattern or colour as seen in another species to warn off predators.
Monophyletic
Group of organisms found within a single clad
Mullerian mimicry
One toxic species mimicing another toxic species. Reinforces message of toxicity and reduces predation.
Mutualism
An interaction between individuals in which both benefit.
Null hypothesis
A statement used for investigations and experiments that hypothesises there will be no relationship or difference between variables.
Omnivore
An organism that consumes primary producers AND consumers
Paraphyletic
A taxonomic group that has one common ancestor but does not include all decendents of that ancestor
Phylogeny
A diagram that shows evolutionary relationships between organisms
Phytophagous
Herbivorous
Procova (plural procoxae)
First segment of insect foreleg
Pterygota
Winged insects
Sclerotised
Hardened parts (like outside of beetle)
Setae
Bristles
Sister clades
Clades that emerge from the same branching event
Speciation
The process of one species becoming two or more different species
t-test
Statistical test to find out whether differences in two means from separate samples are significant. Assumes normally distributed data.
Basal metabolic rate (BMR)
Minimum metabolic rate of an endotherm
Directional selection
Natural selection that favours one extreme of the phenotype range which shifts a population frequency curve for that characteristic in one direction
Disruptive selection
Natural selection that favours both extremes of the phenotypic range which so individuals with intermediate values have lower fitness.
Ectotherms
Organisms that rely on external heat sources to maintain body temperature
Endotherms
Organisms that maintain their own body temperature usually through metabolism
Facultative migration
When the pattern of migration and the proportion of individuals migrating in one populaton fluctuates from year to year. Usually short distances.
Flyway
A long-distance migration corridor
Homeostasis
The maintainence of a stable internal environment
Homeotherms
Animsla that need a mostly uniform body temperature (older term used for endotherm)
Irruptive migration
(Facultative migration)
‘When the pattern of migration and the proportion of individuals migrating in one populaton fluctuates from year to year. Usually short distances.’
Metabolic rate
Energy used by an organism per unit time
Migratory inclination
The tendency of individuals to either migrate or remain sedentary
Migratory restlessness
A behaviour seen by laboratory-kept birds that mimic their wild migratory behaviour.
Negative feedback
A system in which a change in the output of the system is balanced by a restorative action.
Obligate migration
Consistent migration pattern and behaviour, usually over long distances
