Evolution/Ecology Flashcards
What determines the fitness of the organism?
The number of surviving offspring the organism has.
What is the mechanism/driving force for evolution?
Genetic Variations (Mutations) and Competition.
How does the Fossil Record provide evidence for evolution?
It shows an organism lived, it shows changes in the body, and shows how life became more complex. It establishes a timeline. The same fossils are found on different continents.
According to the Primordial Soup Theory, how did life begin?
Volcanic vents at the bottom of the ocean provide heat. Lighting storms on the surface provide energy. In the ocean, there were the elements Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxegen, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus. These elements combined into Nucleic acid, amino acid, and lipids, evetually creating life.
What was early earth like?
The ocean was warm because of volcanic vents and there were lighting storms in the air.
Summarize the endosymbiont theory.
Eukaryotes evolved from prokaryotes. Small bacteria lived in larger bacteria, the small bacteria eventually became organelles.
Eukaryote
After Nucleus.
Prokaryote
Before Nucleus.
Embryology
Studies how creatures develop in the womb.
Homology
The study of homolgus Structures.
Homologus Structures
Similair structures shared among different groups.
Analagus Structures
Body parts that are similar in funcition but different in structure.
Vestigial Structures
Remnants of functional structures.
Cladogram
Shows how different creatures might be related, based off of physical traits.
Phylogenetic Tree
Shows how different creatures are related, based off genetics.
More accurate than a Cladogram.
Gene Flow
The migration of genetic material from one population to another.
Gene Drift
Founder affect, Bottleneck affect.
Founder Affect
A small group splits off from the main population and starts a new colony somewhere else. Because there are fewer allels in the new colony, the members of it will end up genetically similar.
Bottleneck Affect
A lager number of the population dies, reducing population size. Because there are only a few survivors, there is less variation.
Why won’t recessive alleles be selected out?
Because of Heterozygotes, who have both a dominant and recessive allele.
What is Speciation?
The evolution of a new species.
How does reproductive isolation lead to speciation?
A group is isolated from the rest of the population for so long that their genes change, leading to a new species.
Behavioral Isolation
Distinct mating rituals.
Temporal Isolation
Different breeding seasons.
Mechanical Isolation
Reproductive organs aren’t compatible.
Habitat Isolation
Live in same general area, but not the same kinds of places.
Genetic Isolation
DNA siganls do not match.
What is an issue hybrids face?
Reduced Fertility.
Evolution
How a species changes over time.
Natural Selection
The mechanism through which a species changes over time.
Which came first? RNA or DNA?
RNA evolved before DNA.
Allopatric Speciation
Geographical barrier that prevents mating.
