| A | B |
|---|
| mutations | changes in DNA |
| fitness (genetic terms) | an organism's success in passing on its genes to the next generation |
| adaptation (genetic terms) | any genetically controlled trait that increases an individual's ability to pass along copies of its genes |
| evolution (genetic terms) | any change in the relative frequencies of alleles in the gene pool of a species |
| fossil | the evidence in rock of the presence of a plant or an animal from an earlier geological period (can be the remains or impression of a prehistoric organism preserved). |
| biogeography | the study of the geographical distribution of living things |
| homologous genes/proteins | matching gene sequences (base pairs) which code for the same protein, found in different but related animals - shows common descent. |
| common descent | a group of organisms is said to have this if they have a common ancestor. |
| homologous structure | structures in different animals that may not necessarily perform the same function but they share a similar structure, and therefore a common ancestral origin. For example, the forelimbs of humans and bats are these type of structures. Although they are used differently, the basic skeletal structure is the same and they are derived from the same embryonic origin |
| vestigial structure | an anatomical feature that no longer seems to have a purpose in the current form of an organism of the given species. |
| analogous structure | similarity of function and superficial resemblance of structures that have different origins. For example, the wings of a fly, a moth, and a bird are analogous because they developed independently as adaptations to a common function—flying |
| Jean-Baptiste Lamark | Put forth the idea that idea that acquired characters are inheritable |
| Charles Lyell | A geologist who was largely responsible for the general acceptance of the view that all features of the Earth’s surface are produced by physical, chemical, and biological processes through long periods of geological time. The concept was called uniformitarianism (initially set forth by James Hutton). Lyell’s achievements laid the foundations for evolutionary biology as well as for an understanding of the Earth’s development. |
| Charles Darwin | A naturalist born in England in 1809 who is credited for coming up with the theory of evolution of species. |
| Thomas Malthus | Proposed that humans were born faster than they died, but that certain pressures against overpopulation "controlled" this: famine, war, disease, etc. Darwin saw similar patterns in wildlife populations. |
| Alfred Russel Wallace | Another British naturalist who proposed a similar theory of evolution to Darwin's, during Darwin's time |
| the 4 foundations of Darwin’s Theory | variation in Nature, struggle for existence, natural selection, common descent |
| embryo | developing organism (an organism in early stages of development, before hatching from an egg or early stages of a pregnancy) |
| HMS Beagle | the ship in which Charles Darwin sailed to South America and the Galapagos Islands in 1831-36 |
| Galapagos finches | Charles Darwin discovered several species of these that varied from island to island, which helped him to develop his theory of natural selection |
| selective breeding | involves the choosing of parents with particular characteristics to breed together and produce offspring with more desirable traits |
| artificial selection | Darwin's phrase for selective breeding |
| physical adaptation | any hereditary characteristic in an organism's physical structure that helps it to survive in its habitat |
| behavioral adaptation | any hereditary characteristic in an organism's behavior that helps it to survive in its habitat |
| diversity | means the variability among living organisms |
