Evolution Flashcards
(12 cards)
What is evolution?
A genetic change in a population over time.
What is Natural selection
Individuals best adapted to an environment at a time are more likely to survive + reproduce
What causes Natural Selection?
Overproduction - More offspring born than survive
Limited resources
Competition - survive for limited resources
Variation - different traits due to mutations, sexual reproduction, alleles
Adaptations - some traits provide an advantage to survival
increases fitness - ability to survive and reproduce
What’s survival of the fittest?
Individuals with higher fitness survive, reproduce, pass on traits
Lower fitness: die, don’t pass on traits
What are types of evolution?
Microevolution:
changes in traits of a species/population over time
Speciation:
formation of a new species from an ancestral population
What is Selecting agent?
Selecting agent: environmental factor that affects survival and reproduction of a organism
What is classification and taxonomy?
Classification - naming and grouping organisms based on evolutionary relationships
Taxonomy - the branch of biology that deals with classification
What is the classification system?
From broad to specific,
Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
What are the main domains of life
Bacteria, Archaea - Prokaryotes
Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Protista - Eukaryotes
How is a organism named?
Two part latin name
First part: genus (capitalized)
Second part: species
Organisms with same genus name = closely related to them
What is the dichotomous(taxonomic) key purpose:
It describes the physical characteristics of an organism
Helps classify the organism
