Chapter 2 Flashcards
Taxon
Group of organisms that a taxonomist judges to be a taxonomic unit; species or order
Taxonomy
Science describing, naming, and classifying species of fossils or living organisms
Paleontology
Study of prehistoric life
Extinction
Permanent loss of a population or species
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Complex species evolved from simple ones; species aren’t fixed
Uniformitarianism
Idea that the natural laws observable around us now are also responsible for events in the past
Theory
Overarching set of mechanisms that explain some aspect of the natural world
Fact
Well-confirmed objective observations
Darwin’s logic: 3 inferences
Inference 1: there must be a struggle for existence amongst individuals because of limited resources so only the more suited survive
Inference 2: survival is not random, depends on hereditary constitution of surviving individuals
Inference 3: over generations this process will lead to change of populations aka evolution
Homologous trait
Similar trait because inherited from common ancestor
Analogous trait
Similar traits NOT derived from a common ancestor
Natural selection
Mechanism that can lead to evolution
Adaptation
Aspects of an individual that allow it to outcompete others; evolved through evolution
Sexual selection
Individuals of one sex compete with each other for individuals of the opposite sex
Carl Linnaeus
Taxonomy guy; botanist
