Evolution Flashcards
Creationism
a higher being created life on earth as we know it today
Selection Pressure
- When resources are scarce, competition for resources occur and natural selection takes place
- Under high selection pressure, only the fittest survive
Divergent Evolution
- The large scale evolution of a group into many different forms
- RIMs isolate population then gradually genetic differences accumulate
- homologous structures
Convergent Evolution
- The evolution of similar traits in distantly related species that evolve under similar types of selection pressure
- analogous structures
Parallel Evolution
-Two similar, genetically related species changing in similar ways but away from the ancestral type
Isolation
-A population of a species cannot mate with any other populations of the same or similar species to produce viable offspring due to environmental factors such as distance or factors such as incompatible mating habits
Adaptive Radiation
-Many different species develop from a common ancestor
Gene Pool
-The complete set of all alleles contained within a population
Genetic Variation
- The number of differences in alleles within a population
- The greater the variation, the more likely the chances of species survival in the event if a drastic change in the environment
Gene Frequency
-Refers to the proportion of alleles that are of a particular type
Mutation
-An alteration in an individual that differentiates it from the rest of the species in a way that may or may not be advantageous
Genetic Drift
- The change in allele frequencies of a population due to chance
- Action on gene pool - random change in small gene pool due to sampling error in propagation of alleles
Gene Migration
- The movement of genes in and out of a population due to chance
- Action on gene pool - change in gene pools due to immigration or emigration of individuals between populations
Founder Affect
- A species is introduced to a new environment by a few members of the species
- The individuals survive and reproduce and a new population is formed
- can cause speciation
Bottleneck
A large population undergoes a decrease in size so that relatively few individuals remain
Single Gene Mutation
With mistakes in replication; one nucleotide switch may cause a change in a protein (eg. sickle cell anemia)
Gene Duplication / Deletion
Error in DNA replication may cause a gene to repeat or be deleted
The new combination may lead to a variant form of the original protein
Recombination
During meiosis, “crossing over” occurs between chromosomes which vares the combination of genes going together into separate gametes
Adaptation
an inherited trait or set of traits that improve the chances of survival and reproduction of organisms
Structural Adaptation
Adaptations which involve the modification of the composition or structure of an animal or plant
Physiological Adaptation
Adaptations which involve the modification of chemical / enzyme production in an animal or plant
Behavioral Adaptation
Adaptations which involve the modification of the actions of an animal or plant
Non-Random Mating
inbreeding or selection of mates for specific phenotypes (assortative mating) reduces frequency of heterozygous individuals