Chapters 17 & 18 vocab Flashcards
(49 cards)
Hardy-Weinberg principle
The principle that states that the frequency of alleles in a population does not change over generations unless outside forces act on the population
Developmental genes
Genes that tell an organism when and where to place body structures
Paleontologist
Scientists who study bones of dead, old organisms/ fossils
Artificial selection
The selective breeding of organisms by humans for specific characteristics
Reproductive Isolation
The inability of members of a population to successfully interbreed with members of another population of the same or related species
Geologic Time Scale
Developed to tell what happened throughout time using dating (radioactive and relative)
Convergent evolution
The process by which unrelated species become more similar as they adapt to the same environment
Descent with modification
Basically evolution
Adaptation
The process of becoming more adapted for the environment
Geographic Isolation
The physical separation of populations due to geographic barriers to prevent interbreeding
Homologous Structures
Anatomical structures in one species, that look similar to that of another species while they are embryos (because they came from a common ancestor)
Behavioral isolation
A reproductive barrier based on behavior, usually in the form of mating rituals and signals that attract mates. This may be one of the most important factors in determining whether closely related species mate with each other or not.
Vestigial Structures
A structure in an organism that is reduced in size and function that may have been necessary to past ancestors
Extinct
When an entire species dies
Half-life
The amount of time it takes for half the radioactive isotopes of a sample to decay
Macroevolution
An evolutionary change that takes place over a long period of time
Punctuated Equilibrium
A model of evolution in which short periods of drastic change in space are separated by long periods of little or no change (including mass extinctions and speciation)
)
Radioactive Dating
Using the half-lives of isotopes to determine the age of a fossil
Reproduce
To create offspring
Index fossils
A fossil of an organism that lived in many places but only for a short period of time. It’s used in relative dating.
Survival of the fittest
The differentiation between surviving and reproducing
Temporal isolation
When an evolutionary mechanism prevents individuals of different species from interbreeding (ex: reproducing at different times of the year)
Fitness
The ability of an organism to survive and reproduce (*)
Coevolution
The ovulation of two or more species that is due to mutual influence (one changes so the other changes), eventually causing the species to become more alike
