Unit review

Cards (65)

  • Adaptation
    A structure, behaviors or physiological process that helps an organism survive and reproduce in a particular environment
  • Adaptation Examples

    • Camouflage
    • Hibernation
    • Physical Features (sharp talons, excellent vision, thick fur, thorns, being poisonous)
    • Mimicry
    • Reproductive features (flowers, horns, lion's roar)
  • Variation
    Differences between individuals, which may be structural, functional or physiological
  • Selective advantage
    A genetic advantage of one organism over its competitors
  • Artificial selection
    Humans have selectively bred various plants and animals for thousands of years
  • Selective breeding
    The crossing of desired traits from plants or animals to produce offspring that have one or several of the favoured characteristics
  • Inbreeding
    The process by which breeding is limited to a number of desirable phenotypes, for example purebred dogs
  • Hybridization
    The mating of two different parents to produce offspring with desirable characteristics of both parents
  • Natural selection
    The "Mechanism" by which Evolution occurs - certain traits will increase the chances of an individual's survival and reproduction, and are more likely to be passed on to the next generation
  • Genetic diversity
    The biological variation that occurs within species, making it possible for species to adapt when the environment changes
  • Monoculture
    Most farmers over large parcels of land have the same variety of species all genetically similar to each other
  • Mutations
    Random change in structure of DNA, sometimes beneficial for survival
  • Gene flow
    Immigration and Emigration in an area can change the "allele frequencies"
  • Genetic drift
    When a population size is very small, chance events can have large effects on allele frequencies
  • Founder's effect
    When a small group of individuals establish a new population, they establish a new allele frequency than the original population
  • Bottleneck effect
    When a huge natural disaster occurs and kills off a whole group of individuals, the small group of survivors has a very low probability of having the same allele frequency as the original population
  • Stabilizing selection
    In periods where there is not significant environmental change, the traits that have allowed that organism to survive in previous generations continue to be favored traits
  • Directional selection
    Selection favors individuals with more extreme variation of traits, shifting the next generation in a different direction
  • Disruptive selection
    Selection favors two or more variations of a trait that differ from the current population average
  • Sexual selection
    Selection favors traits that enhance reproductive success, often leading to males and females of a species evolving quite different appearances and behaviors
  • Speciation
    The formation of an entirely new species
  • Divergent evolution

    Two or more species can evolve from a common ancestor due to disruptive selection or genetic drift
  • Convergent evolution
    Two species that do not share a common ancestor develop very similar structural or behavioral features because they experience similar selective forces
  • Coevolution
    Two species interact closely and can affect each other's evolution
  • The Roman Catholic church believes and accepts the theory of evolution as there is more than enough information supporting the theory
  • Evolution is the process of changes that occur within a species it does not explain how life begin
  • Humans are a close relative to monkeys/chimps but we have not evolved from them
  • Evolution has no direction, therefore organisms can go from simple to complex or complex to simple
  • Adaptation
    A physical or behavioral feature of an animal that helps them better survive in their environment
  • How adaptations develop

    By the process of natural selection, the nature of the species gradually changes to become adapted to the niche
  • If a species becomes very well adapted to its environment, and if the environment does not change, species can exist for a very long time before they become extinct
  • The peppered moth had 3 color variations - grayish, whitish with black dots, and black
  • Before the black color variation was extremely rare, the color statistic had begun to change 50 years later, with the black peppered moth being more common in urban areas
  • This statistic changed due to the fact that these moths were more active during the night, and the black peppered moths survived better by camouflage in darker areas of London
  • Later on when England began to fix their environmentally damaging habits, lighter trees began to grow again, reducing the black peppered moth's population to its original numbers
  • The process of evolution is too slow to be observed directly in a human lifetime, except for bacteria & viruses who because of their short life span are able to evolve and develop resistance to antibiotics
  • Humans have been using artificial selection for many thousands of years to breed animals and plants with desirable traits
  • The benefit of artificial selection is that it allows humans to increase the speed of evolution to meet their needs and produce organisms with preferred traits
  • Artificial selection has long been used in agriculture to produce animals and crops with desirable traits, such as the meats, fruits and vegetables we have today
  • Artificial Selection is a type of Biotechnology, which is the use of technology and organisms to produce useful products, and has a huge impact on humans and our survival