Evolutionary thinking + evolution in action Flashcards
Evidence evolution exists
- Fossils
- Homologies. analogies and vestiges
- biogeography
- direct observations
What is directional selection?
Natural selection favouring one extreme phenotype, shifting population traits over time
What is artificial selection?
Selective breeding by humans to enhance desired traits in organisms
What is high predation?
An environment with many predators that strongly affect prey populations
Under high predation what happens with males?
- Mature quickly at a smaller size
- try to mate females without courtship
Under high predation what happens with females?
- Mature faster
- Invest more energy into reproduction early
What are Darwins 3 big ideas?
- There is variation among individuals within breeding groups
- Some of that variation influences survival and reproductive success
- If that variation is heritable, future generations will be better adapted
Unity of life
Common characteristics shared among diverse organisms
Diversity of life
Variety of species in different environments
Adaptation
A heritable trait that improves an organism’s survival or reproduction in its environment
What is natural selection?
Process where organisms better adapted survive
What is homology?
Similar traits in different species due to shared ancestry
What is a vestigial structure?
A reduced or unused body part inherited from ancestors
What is convergent evolution?
When unrelated species evolve similar traits due to similar environments
4 testable postulates of natural selection
- Trait variation
- Variation in survival & reproduction
- Covariation between trait and fitness
- Inheritance of trait variation
What is antibiotic resistance?
When bacteria evolve to survive antibiotics that once killed them
Evo-Devo
The study of how evolutionary and developmental processes interact to shape organismal traits
