Module 3 (year 11 biology)

• Fundemental niche


  The conditions under which a species can survive, grow, and reproduce
• Realised niche


  the actual conditions in which a species exists due to biotic interactions
• Overproduction


  organisms produce more offspring than can survive
• Variation


  difference between individuals of the same species.
• Competition


  the struggle between organisms to survive in a habitat with limited resources
• Survival of the fittest


  Process by which individuals that are better suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully (also called natural selection)
• Structural Adaptations


  physical features of an organism, phenotype
• Behavioural Adaptations


  The ways that behaviour is modified for survival
• Physiological Adaptations


  changes to the way in which an organism functions
• Divergent evolution


  when two or more species sharing a common ancestor become more different over time
• Convergent evolution


  Evolution toward similar characteristics in unrelated species
• Gradualism


  The theory that evolution occurs slowly but steadily through gradual change
• Adaptive radiation


  evolution from a common ancestor of many species adapted to diverse environments
• Common ancestor


  The shared ancestor of new, different species that arose from one population
• Punctuated equilibrium


  The theory that species evolve during short periods of rapid change (meteorite, dramatic change in climate)
• Microevolution


  Change in allele frequencies in a population over generations.
• Macroevolution


  large evolutionary changes that take place over long periods of time
• Selection pressures


  natural forces that promote the reproductive success of some individuals more than others
• Analogous structures


  similarities among unrelated species that result from convergent evolution
• Homologous structures


  similar structures that related species have inherited from a common ancestor
• Vestigal structures


  a structure in a present day organism that no longer serves its natural purpose
• Radiometric dating


  Dating using decay of radioactive isotopes to find age
• Biogeography


  Geographic distribution of species.
• Speciation


  the evolution of new species
• Allopatric speciation


  The formation of new species in populations that are geographically isolated from one another
• Sympatric speciation


  Speciation without a divided population
• Pre-zygotic


  before fertilisation
• Post-zygotic


  after fertilisation