Final Exam Flashcards
(317 cards)
What is evolution?
genetic change in a population over time
What is a population?
same species living in the same area at the same time
consequence of evolution
speciation
consequence of not evolving
extinction
aristotle
-scala naturae
-first taxonomist
What is the Scala Naturae?
“ladder of life” , hierarchy system that had a creator on the top and the rest aligned beneath.
What did Scala Naturae view species as?
fixed and unchanging
What is Natural Theology?
-creator designed each org. for a particular purpose.
-no extinction, change, or new life.
What was Linneaus’ contribution?
Binomial classification system
What was Cuvier’s work and findings?
-demonstrated extinction + evolution from fossils
-shallow(younger) = living things
-deeper(older)= fossils dissimilar to living things.
–catastrophism
What kind of conclusions did Cuvier make that directly contradicted natural theology?
the theory that life forms appear in the fossil bed and disappear later
What is catastrophism?
catastrophic events destroyed many organisms and earth’s environment.
*used by cuvier to dispute evolution
What was Lyell’s work and findings?
-earth’s surface is being shaped by natural processes that are slow and continuous.
–uniformitarianism
What is uniformitarianism?
earth crust changes due to continuous and uniform processes
-ex: erosion and sedementation
Catastrophism versus Uniformitarianism
-both can affect earth’s crust
-uniformatarism is slow and continuous processes
-catastrophism is quick and impactful
What happened during the age of exploration?
-Biogeography began
-species were found that look similar to other species in diff areas of the world.
-ex: rhea, ostrich,emu
Who was Lammarck and what was his contribution?
-published book in 1809 about evolutionary change explaining:
-fossil record
-organisms matched to their environment
What did Lammarck’s principles claim?
- use and disuse
2.inheritance of acquired traits (modifications passed to offspring)
What did Lammarck get wrong?
evolution happens at population level NOT individual level.
What did Lamarck get right?
-species are not fixed, there’s a link between an organism’s environment and its body structures
-first to say evolution could explain the fossil record
What were Darwin’s duties on the Voyage of the Beatle?
-chart coastlines
-collect specimen
-note on animal behavior
-habitat types
-climate
What did Darwin observe?
-witnessed EQ in SA + saw the impact of geological processes
-temperate SA and tropical SA had similar animals
-variation in vegetation and species across islands
-realized animals on Galapagos islands must have come from SA
What influenced Darwins thinking process to develop natural selection?
-Read Malthus’ principle of pop.
-Lyell’s book ab. geological processes being slow and constant
-animals in Galapagos similar to SA
-observed variation
-principle of pop+observed variation= competition + natural selection
-species change
-artificial selection
What is natural selection, how does it work?
adaptations(alleles) increase reproductive output and survivorship, therefore it passes to the next generation, and those who do not have the adaptations die.