Topic 4 Flashcards
adaptation
changes organisms undergo to become more suited to their environment
anatomical adptn
changes to physical features of an organism to help it cope with factors in its environment
behavioural adptn
the ways in which an organism acts differently to cope with factors in its environment
physiological adptn
internal body changes that an organism undergoes to cope with factors in its environment
allele
alternative/ different
form/ version/ varation
of a gene
biodiversity
measure of the variety of life in an area
classification
a way of organising the variety of life based on relationships between organisms using differences and similarities in phenotypes and genotypes
evolution
the change in a populations INHERITED characteristics over MANY GENERATIONS
heterozygosity index
a measure of the proportion of a population which is heterozygotic /
measure of diversity within a species/ population
H=
number of heterozygotes/ number of individuals in population
niche
position occupied by an organism in its ecosystem
species
organisms that are able to breed together to produce fertile offspring
species richness
number of different species in a habitat
natural selection geo iso speciation
geo iso / change
selection pressures act differently in diff areas
different allele frequencies within populations
evolution leading to formation of new species
decr pop due to iso
endangerment due to only one pop of partic species
vulnerable to inbreeding depression
natural disaster/disease/ predation/ other natural pressures
may become extinct
