Midterm 2 Flashcards
plesiomorphy
refers to the ancestral character state
apomorphy
a character state different than the ancestral state, a derived state
synapomorphy
a derived character state that is shared by two or more taxa due to common ancestry
autopomorphy
a uniquely derived character state
monophyletic
a group that contains all of the descendants of a common ancestor - clades
paraphyletic
a group that contains some but not all of the decedents of a common ancestor
reptiles are a paraphyletic group b/c birds also share a common ancestor but are not included in the group
polyphyletic
assemblage of taxa that have been erroneously grouped on the basis of homoplaious
homology
a character state that is shared b/w DNA sequences or taxa may be so b/c they share a common ancestor
homoplasy
a shared character state shared but evolved independently
convergent evolution
independent evolution from different ancestral state
parallel evolution
independent evolution from the same ancestral state
analogy
non homology, fins of sharks and whales are homoplasy due to reversal, whales reverted back to the ancestral state in water after evolving as mammals on land
principle of parasyimony
simple explanations are preferred over complicated ones
coevolution
the process where evolutionary changes in one species drive changes in the traits of another species. can involve predator and prey, parasite and host,
adaption
a trait that increases the fitness of an individual in comparison to an individual without said trait - arises from natural selection maybe effected by genetic drift and migration
trade-off
a compromise b/w one trait and another that cannot be avoided
constraint
a factor that tends to retard the rate of adaptive evolution or prevent a population from optimizing a trait
phenotypic plasticity
identical genotypes can have different phenotypes in different environments
obligate parthenogenesis
entire species consists only of females that reproduce by creating identical clones of themselves
cyclic parthenogenesis
females reproduce by cloning for most of the year, environmental cue triggers production of males, leading sexual reproduction. then parthenogenesis will continueq
gynogenesis
heterospacific sperm from a similar sexual species activates the egg by being in close proximity
sperm doesnt fuse with the ovum,
hybirdogenesis
The ovum is haploid and the heterospacific sperm from a related species is incorporated into it to form a diploid zygote. the paternally contribution is then lost premitoticly producing haploid ova that contain only the maternal genes.
hermaphrodites
organisms have both male and female gonads and are capable of self-fertilization.
still a form of sexual reproduction b/c gametes are still formed by meiosis but results in less genetic diversity than outcrossing
why does sex exist
a females reproductive mode does not:
affect the number of offspring she can have
affect the probability that her off spring will survive
what does sex boil down to?
mating b/w different individuals resulting in new combinations of genes in the off spring
recombination and crossing over in gametogenesis
linkage disequilibrium
linked genes are located close to one another on the chromosome and are inherited as a single unit. genotype at two different linked loci will not be randomly associated with one another.
recombination during meiosis breaks up linked genes and breaks down linkage disequilibrium
the genetic load
over time asexual organisms accumulate deleterious mutation, resulting in lower fitness
the total number of mutations and the resulting reduction in average population fitness. this will eventually get so high that the population goes extinct
red queen hypothesis
an evolutionary advance by a pathogen results in the evolutionary advance of the host and visa versa - coevolution
sexual dimorphism
refers the the phenotypic difference b/w males and females. in many cases cannot be explained by viability selection.
sexual selection
differential reproductive success resulting from differing abilities to find a mate
parental investment
refers to the energy, time, and resources devoted to mating, gestating, and caring for offspring. typically much greater for females
asymmetry in reproductive potential predicts
the sex under the stronger sexual selection will be competitive
the sex with the weaker sexual selection will be choosy
intrasexual selection
male-male combat can favour traits such as large body, armour, antlers and other offence/defence structures
infantacid
males will kill other males cubs to get a chance to mate with the female. this creates conflict b/w females and new males who take over the pride.