Chapter 18 Flashcards
(33 cards)
What is the concept of fixity of species?
The belief that species do not change over time.
Who is known for binomial nomenclature?
Carl Linnaeus.
What is catastrophism?
The idea that Earth’s geological features are the result of sudden, short-lived, and catastrophic events.
What does uniformitarianism propose?
The theory that the Earth’s features are the result of long-term processes that continue to operate today.
What did Thomas Malthus study?
Human demography and population size influenced by resources.
What is the inheritance of acquired traits?
The idea that physical changes acquired during an organism’s life can be passed to offspring.
What was the significance of Darwin’s voyage aboard the HMS Beagle?
Darwin observed diverse phenomena that informed his theories on evolution.
What is natural selection?
The process where organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and reproduce.
What are heritable traits?
Traits that can be passed from parents to offspring through genes.
What is fitness in evolutionary terms?
The reproductive success of an organism relative to others in the population.
What is a transitional species?
A species that exhibits traits common to both an ancestral group and its derived descendant group.
What are homologous structures?
Anatomically similar structures inherited from a common ancestor.
What are vestigial structures?
Structures that have lost most or all of their original function in a species.
What is antibiotic resistance?
The ability of bacteria to survive and reproduce despite the presence of antibiotics.
What does the species concept refer to?
Definitions of species based on biological, morphological, and ecological criteria.
What is allopatric speciation?
The formation of new species due to geographic isolation.
Fill in the blank: Sympatric speciation occurs when gene flow may occur within the same _______.
area.
What are prezygotic barriers?
Factors that prevent mating or fertilization between species before a zygote is formed.
What is reduced hybrid viability?
A postzygotic barrier where hybrids fail to develop properly or die early.
What does reinforcement refer to in hybrid zones?
The strengthening of reproductive barriers to prevent hybridization.
What is hybrid vigor?
The improved or increased function of hybrid offspring.
What is the punctuated model of speciation?
A model that suggests species evolve rapidly during short periods of time followed by long periods of stability.
True or False: Evolution is just a theory.
False.
What is the misconception regarding individuals evolving?
Individuals do not evolve; populations do over generations.
