final exam Flashcards
what is a change in allele frequencies between generations?
evolution
what is the non-random survival and reproduction of individuals with respect to their genotype?
natural selection
what is the raw material for evolution?
variation
what is the extent to which an individual passes its genes to the next generation?
evolutionary fitness
what is a trait that increases the fitness of its bearer?
adaptation
what is the ultimate source of new alleles?
mutations
what creates new combinations of alleles during the formation of gametes?
meiosis
what decreases the amount of genetic variation in small populations?
genetic drift
what maintains the variation in populations by favoring rare genotypes?
negative frequency dependent selection
what reduces the amount of variation in a trait without changing the average value of that trait?
stabilizing selection
what is a common ancestor plus all ( and only) its descendants?
clade (or monophyletic group)
what is a clade minus a few of its members?
paraphyletic group
what is a rake of uncertainty in an evolutionary tree?
polytomy
what is a taxon’s most closely related taxon?
sister taxon
what is the first group to branch out in a tree?
outgroup
what are all the parts of a chordate?
notochord, pharyngeal, slits, post anal tail, dorsal hollow nerve cord
what are the vascular plants?
angiosperms, gymnosperms, seedless vascular plants
what are the three domains of life?
archaea, bacteria, eukaryotes
what are the eukaryotes?
plants, animals, fungi, protists
what are the tetrapods?
amphibians, birds, reptiles, mammals
what is the maximum population size of a population growing logistically?
carrying capacity
what is a tool to keep track of a population’s vital rates?
life-table
the removal of what may result in a tropical cascade?
keystone species
what is the transformation of N2 to NH4+
nitrogen fixation
