Download Ecology

Darwin*
Naturalist and author of
“On The Origin of Species
by Means of Natural
Selection”
homologous
structures
similar structures in two
living things that are
found in the common
ancestor of the living
things
Archaea
a classification kingdom
made up of bacteria that
live in extreme
environments
adaptation
the process of becoming
adapted to the
surrounding area; an
anatomical, physiological,
or behavioral change that
improves a population’s
ability to survive
species
a group of organisms that
are closely related and
naturally mate to produce
fertile offspring
Galapagos
Islands*
an archipelago on the
equator in the Pacific, ab.
600 mi. (965 km) W of and
belonging to Ecuador:
many unique species of
animal life
evolution
A change in the
characteristics of a
population from one
generation to the next
gene flow
the movement of
genes into or out of
a population due to
interbreeding
recombina
-tion*
the formation of new
combinations of genes,
either naturally, by
crossing over or
independent assortment,
or in the laboratory by
direct manipulation of
genetic material
natural
selection
the process by which
individuals that are better
adapted to everything
around them survive
and reproduce more
successfully than less well
adapted individuals do
punctuated
equilibrium
a model of evolution in
which short periods of
drastic change in species,
including mass extinctions
and rapid speciation, are
separated by long periods
of little or no change
finch
any songbird of the family
Fringillidae , having a
short stout bill for
feeding on seeds and, in
most species, a bright
plumage in the male.
genetic
drift
the random change in
allele frequency in a
population
biodiversity
the number and variety of
organisms in a given area
during a specific period of
time
variation*
a difference or deviation
in structure or character
from others of the same
species or group
extinct
describes a species of
organisms that has died
out completely
divergent
evolution*
the build up of
differences between
groups of living things
as a result of natural
selection; divergence
leads to the formation
of new species
analogous
structures
*
Body parts in different
species that are similar in
function but not in
structure that evolved in
response to a similar
environmental challenge
mutation
a change in the nucleotidebase sequence of a gene or
DNA molecule
phylogeny
the evolutionary history
of a species or taxonomic
group
speciation
the development of new
species as a result of
evolution by natural
selection
convergent
evolution
the process by which
unrelated species become
more similar as they adapt
to the same kind of
environment
vestigial
structure
a structure in a living
thing that is reduced in
size and function and
that may have been
complete and functional
in the living thing’s
ancestors
biogeography
*
is the study of the
distribution of life forms
over geographical areas
embryology*
study of embryogenesis,
the development of
animals and plants from
fertilization to
birth/hatching
gradualism
a model of evolution in
which slow change over
a long period of time
leads to a variety of living
things