vocabulary Flashcards
(122 cards)
1
Q
scala naturae
A
the belief in ancient times that all life was ordered in a hierarchical with humans at the top due to their intelligence
Aristotle, largely discredited today
2
Q
fossil
A
geological remains of a once living organism
3
Q
catatrophism
A
geology theory that the earth was shaped by sudden, unpredictable events that were major but short lived
4
Q
uniformitarianism
A
geology theory that the earth was shaped by gradual changes over time due to natural processes
5
Q
inheritance of acquired traits
A
if an organism changes to adapt to environment and lives, than those traits are passed down to next generation
6
Q
extant
A
modern-day, currently living organisms
7
Q
endemic
A
species unique to a defined geographic location
8
Q
over-population
A
9
Q
struggle for existence
A
10
Q
heritable
A
characteristic passed down from parent to offspring
11
Q
Homologous structure
A
functionally different features with similar construction due to common ancestry
12
Q
vestigal structure
A
structures that have no apparent function, residual parts from a past ancestor
13
Q
molecular homology
A
similar molecular composition
evidence of common ancestor
14
Q
analogus structure
A
structure that perform the same or similar function but did not evolve from common ancestor feature
15
Q
convergent evolution
A
16
Q
biogeography
A
a study of the distribution of species over space and time
17
Q
neutral variation
A
traits that do not benefit the organism’s survival, but are kept and passed down
18
Q
adaptation
A
traits modified over time so that individuals with the trait are more likely to survive and reproduce
19
Q
Heritable trait
A
traits with a genetic basis
20
Q
Allele
A
different version of a gene in a population
21
Q
Phenotype
A
physical expression of a gene
22
Q
Genotype
A
the actual genes
23
Q
Microevolution
A
generation to generation change in allele frequency in a population
24
Q
Fixed allele
A
an allele that exists as the only variant for that gene in that population
25
Polymorphism
2+ more versions of a trait present for a species
26
Mutation
mistakes in DNA replication that occur during meiosis
27
Genetic drift
effects of random chance on a population, change in gene frequency
28
Founder effect
a few individuals start a new population
29
Bottleneck effect
a sharp reduction in population size due to a natural disaster
reduces gene frequency
30
Directional selection
a mode of negative natural selection in which an extreme phenotype is favored over other phenotypes
31
Diversifying selection
describes changes in population genetics in which extreme values for a trait are favored over intermediate values
32
Stabilizing selection
a type of natural selection in which the population mean stabilizes on a particular non-extreme trait value
33
Sexual selection
a mode of natural selection in which members of one biological sex choose mates of the other sex to mate with, and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of the opposite sex
34
Intra-sexual selection
the act of competing with members of one's own sex
35
Inter-sexual selection
involves one sex having preferences for members of the opposite sex who possess certain qualities
36
Biological Species Concept
group of populations whose members have the potential to interbreed in nature and produce viable, fertile offspring members of other populations (defines a species)
37
Morphological Species Concept
defines species as groups of individuals that are morphologically similar to one another and are morphologically distinct from other such groups (physical traits)
38
Argument from authority
a form of argument in which the opinion of an authority on a topic is used as evidence to support an argument
39
Hybridization
crossing of species
40
Asexual reproduction
type of reproduction that does not involve the fusion of gametes or change in the number of chromosomes
41
Self fertilization
the fertilization of plants and some invertebrate animals by their own pollen or sperm rather than that of another individual
42
Fossil species
an extant taxon that cosmetically resembles related species known only from the fossil record
43
Ring species
gene flow occurs between neighboring populations, but at the ends of the 'ring', populations don't interbreed
44
Allopatric speciation
populations become geographically isolated from each other to an extent that prevents or interferes with gene flow
45
Sympatric speciation
evolution of a new species from a surviving ancestral species while both continue to inhabit the same geographic region
46
Polyploidy
heritable condition of possessing more than two complete sets of chromosomes
47
Hybrid zone
locations where hybrids between species, subspecies, or races are found
48
Pre-zygotic reproductive barrier
keep organisms of different species from mating with each other and forming hybrid species
49
Post-zygotic reproductive barrier
the hybrids cannot reproduce, are sterile, have abnormalities
50
Gradualism
51
Punctuated equilibrium
evolution that is characterized by long periods of stability in the characteristics of an organism and short periods of rapid change during which new forms appear
52
Adaptive radiation
an evolutionary process that produces new species from a single, rapidly diversifying lineage
53
Mass extinction
extinction of a large number of species within a relatively short period of geological time
54
Oxygen revolution
an event stretching over the Proterozoic eon when molecular oxygen levels in the atmosphere rose and carbon dioxide levels decreased
55
Endosymbiosis
a form of symbiosis wherein the symbiont lives within the body of its host
56
ecology
study of the relationships among living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment.
57
population ecology
a sub-field of ecology that deals with the dynamics of species populations
58
population
A group of individuals of the same species within a community
59
density
concentration of individuals within a species in a specific geographic locale
60
dispersion- clumped/uniform/random
the spreading of a population or organism away from its parents
clumped:individuals are clustered in groups
uniform: individuals of a population are spaced more or less evenly
random: individuals are distributed randomly, without a predictable pattern
61
sex ratio
the ratio of males to females in a population
62
age structure
The composition of a population in terms of the proportions of individuals of different ages; represented as a bar graph
63
age structure diagram (and types of age structure diagrams)
expansive: large percentage of the population is younger group, these populations have higher fertility rates
constrictive: lower percentage of younger people
stationary: somewhat equal numbers for all age groups
64
birth, death rates
number of babies born per population
divide babies by pop and * 1000
same with death rate but with dying individuals
65
fertility rates
the ratio between the number of live births in a year and the whole female population of childbearing age
66
rate of increase
(birth rate - death rate) / initial population
67
life history
organism's pattern of survival and reproduction, along with the traits that directly affect survival and the timing or amount of reproduction
68
generation time
the average interval between the birth of an individual and the birth of its offspring
69
survivorship
proportion of a population that survives from one age to the next
70
survivorship curves (and types of survivorship curves)
survivorship curve is a graph showing the number or proportion of individuals surviving to each age for a given species or group
Type I: High survival until old age
- typical in species with few offspring and high parental care
Type II: constant mortality/survival probability regardless of age
Type III: Low survival at young age
- typically in species with many offspring and low parental care
71
r and K strategies
72
Density dependence
73
Density independence
74
Ecological footprint
75
Community
76
Assemblage
77
Species richness
78
Relative abundance
79
Dominant species
80
Biomass
81
Foundation species
82
Ecosystem engineer
83
Keystone species
84
Predation
85
Batesian mimicry
86
Müllerian mimicry
87
Aposomatic coloration
88
Selfish herd
89
Eyespot mimicry
90
Co-evolution
91
Symbiosis
92
Mutualism
93
Endosymbiosis
94
Parasitism
95
Parasite
96
Pathogen
97
Commensalism
98
Competition
99
Competitive Exclusion Principle
100
Niche
101
Fundamental vs realized niche
102
Character displacement
103
Resource partitioning
104
Competition
105
Competitive Exclusion Principle
106
Niche
107
Fundamental vs realized niche
108
Character displacement
109
Resource partitioning
110
Trophic structure
111
Food chain
112
Food web
113
Primary producer
114
Primary consumer
115
Secondary consumer
116
Tertiary consumer
117
Omnivory
118
Detritivory
119
Diet shifts
120
Trophic cascade
121
Top down control
122
Bottom up control
