exam 4 Flashcards
True or false: Evolution is a linear process resulting in a single optimum
False
True or false: Humans evolved from chimpanzees
False
Humans and chimpanzees are _____________
evolutionary cousins
Evolutionary cousins definition
ancestor that was not either of the species being looked at
True or false: Humans are highest on the tree of life
False (humans are not more evolved than other living organisms)
Theory definition
a statement of what are held to be the general laws, principles, or causes of something known or observed
True or False: Evolution of complex societies is dictated by selfish genes
False
What is altruism in complex societies?
Individuals behave in such a way that increases the survival or reproductive success of other unrelated members of the group at the expense of their own survival or reproductive success
True or False: Natural selection is the main driving force in evolution
False
Forces in evolution
genetic drift & natural selection
Phenetics
Method of classifying organisms based on overall similarity
Alligators are more closely related to _____ than _____
birds ; lizards
Taxonomy
the science of classifying living organisms, usually hierarchical in structure
Phylogenetics
the study of historic relatedness among groups of organisms (eg. species, populations)
Phylogeny
The evolutionary relationships between a set of organisms, usually species
Systematics
the study of the diversity of organism characteristics, especially how they relate to establishing a phylogeny
Primitive Character (ancestral or plesiomorphic)
character inherited with little or no change from remote ancestors
Derived Character (apomorphic)
character that has undergone recent change
Symplesiomorphic
Primitive character shared by several species
Synaptomorphic
derived character shared by 2 or more species