Misc. Vocab Flashcards
What are the five logical outcomes of natural selection?
Variation w/in population. Heritable variations. Overproduction of offspring. Differential survival and reproduction determined by environment. Result is a change in the gene frequencies that correlates w/ a change in behaviour, morphology, physiology.
Apomorphy
A derived trait.
Synapomorphy
A shared derived trait.
Monophyletic group
A group of taxa, all sharing the same ancestor, and excluding none of the taxa that share that ancestor.
Symplesiomorphy
A shared ancestral trait.
Polyphyletic group
Like a monophyletic group, but does not include all the taxa descended from the same ancestor, and can include taxa descended from several ancestors.
Homology
Similarity by common genetics (in related species).
Homoplasy
Similarity by morphology/convergent evolution. LIKE IF BIRDS AND BUTTERFLIES WERE PLACED TOGETHER CAUSE THEY BOTH HAVE WINGS, YA KNOW?
Polytomy
When the relationships between the groups are unknown. IE. The derivation of the taxa in the group is not known.
Outgroups
Characteristics of species are assumed to represent ancestral conditions.
Ockham’s Razor
The simplest explanation is often true.
Determining who evolved when in a group of species?
(2n-3)!/2^n-3 (n-2)! (prime) N being the number of species in the group.
Cladistic Analysis (Homoplasy vs. Homology)
Monophyly vs. Paraphyly
Polyphyly
