Evolution Flashcards
Evolution
Change in a population over time
Natural Selection
The driving force of evolution that operates on the level of an individual
Charles Darwin
Father of Evolution
Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck
Proposed that acquired traits were passed on to offspring
Paleontology
The study of fossils
Biogeography
The study of the distribution of flora and fauna in the environment
Flora
Plants
Fauna
Animals
Embryology
The study of the development of an organism
Comparative Anatomy
The study of the anatomy between various animals
Homologous Structures
Structures that look similar but have different functions
Analogous Structures
Structures that look different but have the same function
Molecular Biology
The study of life at the molecular level
Genetic Variability
The differences among each individual in a population
Random Mutation
Random changes in DNA that can be either beneficial or harmful to an organism