Download Vocabulary Words for the first Evolution Quiz Adaptation Inherited

Vocabulary Words for the first Evolution Quiz
Adaptation Inherited characteristics of a species that develops over time in response to an environmental
factor, enabling the species to survive
Adaptive Radiation/Divergent Evolution Diversification of a species into a number of different species,
often over a relatively short time span
Analogous Structures Structure that has the same function but different construction and was not
inherited from a common ancestor
Antibiotic Substance that is able to kill or inhibit the growth of some microorganisms
Aristotle Greek philosopher (394-322 B.C.) who developed the first widely accepted system of biological
classification; classified organisms as either animals or plants.
Biochemical Evidence Data that shows that common ancestry can be seen in the complex metabolic
molecules that many different organisms share
Biodiversity
Number of different species living in a specific area
Biological Resistance The natural or genetic ability of an organism to avoid or repel attack by biotic
agents (pathogens, pests, parasites, etc.) or to withstand the effects of abiotic agents (chemicals,
pesticides, salt, wind, heavy metals, etc); example that we have looked at is the overuse of antibiotics
with viruses or poisons with roaches
Coevolution
Two or more species having a close ecological relationship evolve together such that
one species adapt to the changes of the other, thereby affecting each other's evolution.
Convergent Evolution A kind of evolution wherein organisms evolve structures that have similar
(analogous) structures or functions in spite of their evolutionary ancestors being very dissimilar or
unrelated; example: the wings of bats, birds, and insects evolved independently from each other but all are
used to perform the function of flying
Darwin Naturalist on the HMS Beagle who in later years proposed the theory of natural selection
Directional Selection
Shift of a population toward an extreme version of a
beneficial trait. This phenomena is usually seen in environments that have changed over time. Changes in
weather, climate, or food availability lead to directional selection.
Disruptive Selection
Process in which individuals with average traits are
removed, creating two populations with extreme traits. is the rarest of the three types of natural selection;
can be influenced by human interaction. Example: Environmental pollution can drive this selection to
choose different colorings in animals for survival.
Embryology The study of embryos used in evolution theory to establish evolving from common ancestor
Evolution Hereditary changes in groups of living organisms over time
Fitness Measure of a trait’s relative contribution to the following generation
Fossil Preserved evidence of an organism, often found in sedimentary rock , that provides evidence of
past life
Geographic Isolation The separation of two populations of the same species or breeding group by a
physical barrier, such as a mountain or body of water. Geographical isolation may ultimately lead to the
populations becoming separate species by adaptive radiation
Gradualism Theory that evolution occurs in small, gradual steps over time
Heritability The proportion of total phenotypic variation in a trait attributable to genetic variation;
determines the potential for evolutionary change in a trait; is the amount of variability within a group,
raised in the same environment, that is due to genetics.
Homologous Structures Structures derived from a common ancestor or same evolutionary or
developmental origin
Hutton/Lyell Theory of Gradualism, Earth had changed over very long periods of time.
Inheritance of Acquired Traits The obsolete theory that offspring can inherit physical or behavioral
characteristics from a parent that the parent acquired during its life.
Lamarck Believed inheritance of acquired traits were the driving force of evolution.
Malthus Stated animals would struggle for survival and populations outgrew resources & had to
compete.
Morphological Trait The size, shape, and structure of an organism or one of its parts.
Mutation the changing of the structure of a gene, resulting in a variant form that may be transmitted to
subsequent generations, caused by the alteration of single base units in DNA, or the deletion, insertion, or
rearrangement of larger sections of genes or chromosomes.
Natural Selection the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and
produce more offspring.
Overproduction the subsequent survival and increased reproduction of those best adapted to a particular
environment.
Punctuated Equilibrium the hypothesis that evolutionary development is marked by isolated episodes of
rapid speciation between long periods of little or no change.
Pesticide a substance used for destroying insects or other organisms harmful to cultivated plants or to
animals.
Radiometric Dating a method of dating geological or archeological specimens by determining the
relative proportions of particular radioactive isotopes present in a sample.
Relative Dating s the science of determining the relative order of past events (i.e., the age of an object in
comparison to another), without necessarily determining their absolute age, (i.e. estimated age).
Reproductive Advantage the reproductive mechanism of a species that results in it being better fitted to
its environment
Sexual Selection A mode of reproduction involving the fusion of female gamete (ovum) and male
gamete (spermatozoon), which forms a zygote that potentially develops into genetically distinct offspring.
Speciation is the evolutionary process by which reproductively isolated biologicalpopulations evolve to
become distinct species.
Stabilizing Selection is the opposite of disruptiveselection. Instead of favoring individuals with extreme
phenotypes, it favors the intermediate variants. It reduces phenotypic variation and maintains the status
quo.
Variation difference between cells, individual organisms, or groups of organisms of any species caused
either by genetic differences (genotypic variation) or by the effect of environmental factors on the
expression of the genetic potentials (phenotypic variation).
Vestigial Structures genetically determined structures or attributes that have apparently lost most or all
of their ancestral function in a given species, but have been retained during the process of evolution.