Evolution Test Flashcards
(39 cards)
Evolution
The change in species overtime
Theory
A well sustained explanation of a Process of aspect in the natural world, based on facts that have been reportedly confirmed
Artificial Selection
Selective breeding of plants and animals to promote the occurrence of desirable traits in a offspring
Struggle for Existence
The competition among living organisms for limited resources, leading to natural selection
Fitness
How well an organism can survive and reproduce in its environment
Adaptation
The heritable characteristic that increases an organisms ability to survive and reproduce in an environment
Natural Selection
Process by which organisms that are most suited to their environment survive and reproduce successfully
Survival of the Fittest
Individuals with adaptations that are well suited to the environment, the differentiation reproductive success
Descent with Modification
Living species descended with changes overtime from common ancestors
Common Descent
the idea that all living organisms on Earth are related by common ancestry and have changed overtime through the accommodation of small, tentative
Homologous structures
Structure that is similar in different species of common ancestry
Analogous Structures
Body parts that share a common function but not a common structure
Vestigial Structure
Structure that is inherited from ancestors but two lost much or all of its original function.
How does a hypothesis differ from a theory?
A hypothesis is a tentative explanation proposed to expand a scientific process (needs to be tested) while a theory is a well-sustained explanation of an idea with evidence to back it up
3 major observations that eventually led him to his theory of evolution
1) species vary globally (rabbits that lived in Europe were not found in Australia)
2) species vary locally (finches were different in the mainland from the island)
3) Species vary overtime (glyptodonts were resembled by armadillos even though they were extinct)
Charles Lyell
-Used concept of uniformitarianism when think (the idea that scientists must explain past events in terms of processes so they can observe the present)
-Argues that earth is older than just a few thousand years
Hutton
-Concluded that earth must be older than a few thousand years
-Introduced concept of deep time, the idea that our planet’s history extends back overtime so long it is difficult for humans to imagine
Lamarck
-Created the principle of acquired characteristics (idea that acquired traits are inheritable)
Malthus
-Population growth tends to outpace the availability of resources to be produced
Wallace
-Evolution by natural selection
-Catalyst for Darwin to publish his book
Darwin’s theory
-Proposed that life is connect through common ancestry and species evolve with traits that help survival and reproduction which are naturally selected and passed down onto future generations
-It proposes that new species arise from pre-existing species, and all species share a common ancestor. This process is driven by natural selection, where individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing on those traits to their offspring.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown:
What book did Darwin publish his theory? What year?
-“Origin of species” in 1859
How can artificial selection be beneficial?
It is beneficial to humans because it allows us to pick characteristics we want for an offspring and mate the two organisms
Biogeography
-The study that deals with the geographical distributions of organisms
-The study of where organisms live or lived can give us information on how they change overtime. Closely related species can evolve diverse adaptation in difficult environments. Distantly related species can evolve in similar adaptations if they live in similar environments.
