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BIO 201/205 > Unit 1 terms > Flashcards

Unit 1 terms Flashcards

1
Q

natural selection

A

a mechanism of evolution that favors heritable traits that increase an organism’s chance of survival and reproduction

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2
Q

fitness

A

the ability of an individual to successfully reproduce

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3
Q

evolution

A

change in the genetic composition of a population over time

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4
Q

adaptation

A

an increase in fitness due to evolution

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5
Q

genotypes

A

the specific genes of a trait

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6
Q

phenotypes

A

how the trait is actually presented

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7
Q

Natural Theology

A

Earth is young; everything is according to the Scala Naturae; species don’t change

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8
Q

catastrophism

A

change occurs randomly
* fossil records

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9
Q

uniformitarianism

A

change is uniform

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10
Q

Lamarck

A

spontaneous generation produces species that evolve over time due to 1. drive towards complexity 2. adaptive force (giraffe neck example)

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11
Q

Malthus

A

populations increase over time; food production can’t keep up; not everyone can survive

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12
Q

On the origin of species

A

famous publication by Darwin in 1859

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13
Q

hypothesis

A

testable prediction

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14
Q

theory

A

strongly supported explanation, often deemed fact

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15
Q

law

A

specific prediction derived from a broader theory

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16
Q

evolution occurs on a level of ___

A

population

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17
Q

3 conditions for evolution by natural selection

A
  1. variability among species
  2. traits are heritable
  3. difference in survivability
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18
Q

comparative study

A

compare populations from naturally-differing environments

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19
Q

experimental study

A

actively manipulate the population or environment to create differences

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20
Q

common-garden experiment

A

bring samples of populations into the same lab to grow under the same conditions

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21
Q

know the bacterial resistance example

A

some bacteria had a mutation that made them resistant to an antibiotic – these bacteria could survive and reproduce more

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22
Q

transitional species

A

transitional forms of species will be found in past or current populations (ex. whales)

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23
Q

biogeography

A

species in closer geographic proximity should be more closely related when species cannot easily disperse

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24
Q

taxonomic relationships

A

species that diverged more recently share more features than those that diverged longer ago

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25
homologous and vestigial traits
complex structures and functions cannot appear from nothing, but must evolve from existing structures (ex. limb bones in terrestrial vertebrates)
26
adaptation vs. acclimation
adaptation: long-term evolutionary change in response to a changed environment acclimation: short-term adjustment to a changed environment
27
evolution is not ________
PROGRESSIVE; species may become more/less complex or gain/lose traits (use derived) ex. flightless birds from flighted birds
28
what is wrong with acting "for the good of the species"
there is no objective "good" for a species; there is no target for how evolved a species needs to be
29
vestigial traits
traits that have lost their function in a particular species
30
Hardy-Weinberg principle
allele and genotype frequencies will remain constant from one generation to the next without evolutionary conditions (use allele frequencies to predict genotype frequencies)
31
Hardy-Weinberg conditions
1. no natural selection 2. no genetic drift 3. no gene flow 4. no new mutations 5. random mating
32
assortative mating
mates are chosen for their similarity (+) or dissimilarity (-) to self
33
positive assortative mating ex.
mating for height (two tall people mate)
34
negative assortative mating ex.
mating for MHC (women preferred men who smelled different to them)
35
inbreeding
increases the number of homozygous recessive deleterious alleles – reduces fitness
36
sexual selection
when individuals differ in their ability to obtain mates based on phenotype
37
INTERsexual selection (female choice)
females choose their mate based on visual indicators of fitness or resources (ex. a male spider that offers more food)
38
INTRAsexual selection (male-male competition)
male traits that help them compete with other males are favored; males compete for access to females (ex. elephant seals fighting for beach territory)
39
sexual dimorphism
when there are drastic differences in phenotypes of different sexes; females must be selective with their eggs
40
Mendelian inheritance
biological inheritance pattern
41
allele
different versions of a gene
42
locus
a specific place on a chromosome
43
gene pool
the combination of all the genes (including alleles) present in a reproducing population or species
44
genetic drift
changing of allele frequency within a population due to chance * affects small populations greatly * is more effective over longer periods
45
bottleneck effect
populations that drop greatly in size are likely to experience drift
46
founder effect
reduction in genetic variability when a small group gets separated from their original population
47
fixation
complete loss of an allele
48
gene flow
transmission of alleles across populations
49
source/sink populations
source population to the sink population
50
directional disruption
favors one end
51
stabilizing disruption
favors intermediate
52
disruptive selection
favors both ends
53
balancing selection
favors less common form
54
heterozygote advantage
when someone with the heterozygote gene has a fitness advantage over someone with a homozygous gene (sickle cell and malaria)
55
fundamental asymmetry of sex
females invest a lot more resources into their offspring than males do
56
morphological species
how similar they look (allows us to use fossils)
57
biological species
whether or not they can produce offspring
58
phylogenetic species
share a common ancestor and have derived traits
59
allopatric speciation
speciation through physical separation
60
colonization
when a species inhabits a new area
61
vicariance
geological event that separates a species
62
sympatric speciation
speciation of a species that occupies the same geographic area due to disruptive selection or polyploid mutants
63
fusion
when separated species remix after limited independent evolution has occurred
64
stable hybrid zone
when hybrids only survive well within their specific region
65
reinforcement
when hybridization produces offspring that are less fit
66
mutation
mostly detrimental, sometimes beneficial * least likely to occur over other evolutionary factors * completely random
67
tips
end of a branch; represents a species
68
branches
a line representing a species through time
69
nodes
fork; a point in a tree where a branch splits into two or more branches; represents the most recent common ancestor
70
synapomorphy
a trait found in two or more taxa that is present in their MRCA but missing in distant ancestors
71
homoplasy
when the same trait evolves independently in different species
72
homology
shared traits due to common ancestry
73
convergent evolution
independent evolution of similar traits in unrelated organisms due to adaptation to similar environments
74
radiometric dating
using the half-lifes of radiometric elements to determine the age of a fossil
75
molecular clock
measures the number of genetic changes in a species over time (works well with organisms that don't fossilize well)
76
Precambrian era
4600-540 mya * formation of Earth * first prokaryotic life * oxygenated atmosphere
77
Paleozoic era
540-250 mya * first animals * first plants * first arthropods
78
Mesozoic era
250-65 mya * dinosaurs * mammals * birds * flowering plants
79
Cenozoic era
65-0 mya * primates * apes * humans
80
Cambrian explosion
rapid diversification of animals
81
adaptive radiation
rapid diversification of an evolutionary group * can be due to 1) ecological opportunity or 2) development of a key trait
82
key adaptation
a new feature that greatly improves the evolutionary potential of a group
83
Cretaceous-tertiary extinction (KT)
* end of Mesozoic * loss of dinosaurs, many reptiles
84
Permian-Triassic
* between Paleozoic and Mesozoic * mother of mass extinctions

BIO 201/205 (7 decks)

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