natural selection Flashcards
adaptation
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the population during that process
species
In biology, a species is a basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity.
Evolution
Evolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes that are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction.
Fossil
A fossil is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in amber, hair, petrified wood, oil, coal, and DNA remnants.
Fossil Record
The fossil record helps paleontologists, archaeologists, and geologists place important events and species in the appropriate geologic era. It is based on the Law of Superposition which states that in undisturbed rock sequences the bottom layers are older than the top layers.
trait
The characteristic was of a living being is genetically determined. eyes face features, etc
Selective Breeding
the human practice of breeding animals or plants that have certain desired characteristics
Natural Selection
the process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more successfully than less well-adapted individuals do
Generation time
the period between the birth of one generation and the birth of the next generation
Speciation
the formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution.
relative dating
Relative dating is the science of determining the relative order of past events, without necessarily determining their absolute age. In geology, rock or superficial deposits, fossils and lithologies can be used to correlate one stratigraphic column with another. Wikipedia
absolute dating
Absolute dating is the process of determining an age on a specified chronology in archaeology and geology. Some scientists prefer the terms chronometric or calendar dating, as the use of the word “absolute” implies an unwarranted certainty of accuracy.
Geologic Time Scale
The geologic time scale is a system of chronological dating that classifies geological strata in time. It is used by geologists, paleontologists, and other Earth scientists to describe the timing and relationships of events in geologic history
Extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds, usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point.
Plate Tectonics
Plate tectonics is a scientific theory describing the large-scale motion of the plates making up Earth’s lithosphere since tectonic processes began on Earth between 3.3 and 3.5 billion years ago. The model builds on the concept of continental drift, an idea developed during the first decades of the 20th century
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