Unit 2.1 - Evolution - Key Vocabulary PDF

Unit 2.1 - Evolution - Key Vocabulary Evolution: Change in the heritable characteristics of a population over generations. Darwinian Evolution: A theory of biological evolution developed by Charles Darwin and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through natural selection...

Unit 2.1 - Evolution - Key Vocabulary Evolution: Change in the heritable characteristics of a population over generations. Darwinian Evolution: A theory of biological evolution developed by Charles Darwin and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through natural selection. Lamarckism: An early theory of evolution proposing that organisms pass on traits acquired during their lifetime to their offspring. Genetic: Relating to genes or heredity. DNA/RNA Sequences: The order of nucleotides in a DNA or RNA molecule, which determines genetic information. Amino Acid Sequences: The order of amino acids in a protein, which affects the protein's structure and function. Common Ancestry: The idea that different species evolved from a common ancestor. Selective Breeding: The process by which humans breed plants and animals for particular genetic traits. Domesticated Animals/Crop Plants: Species that have been bred and modified by humans from their wild forms for specific purposes. Homologous Structures: Physical characteristics in different organisms that have a similar structure but may have different functions, indicating a common ancestor. Pentadactyl Limb: A limb with five digits, found in many vertebrates, used as an example of a homologous structure. Convergent Evolution: The process where organisms not closely related independently evolve similar traits due to having to adapt to similar environments or ecological niches. Analogous Structures: Structures in different species having the same function but evolved separately, thus do not share common ancestor. Natural Selection: The process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. Mutation: A change in a DNA sequence that affects genetic information. Sexual Reproduction: The process by which organisms create offspring by combining genetic material from two different sexes. Overproduction of Offspring: A situation where species produce more offspring than can survive, leading to competition for resources. Carrying Capacity: The maximum population size of a species that an environment can sustain indefinitely. Abiotic Factors: Non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems. Intraspecific Competition: Competition among members of the same species. Fitness: The genetic contribution of an individual to the next generation's gene pool relative to the average for the population. Heritable Traits: Traits that are passed from parents to offspring through genes. Sexual Selection: A mode of natural selection where members of one biological sex choose mates of the other sex, and compete with members of the same sex. Speciation: The formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution. Reproductive Isolation: The situation where different species may live in the same area, but properties of individuals prevent them from interbreeding. Sympatric Speciation: The process through which new species evolve from a single ancestral species while inhabiting the same geographic region. Allopatric Speciation: The process of speciation that occurs with geographic isolation. Adaptive Radiation: The diversification of a group of organisms into forms filling different ecological niches. Hybridization: The process of combining different varieties or species of organisms to create a hybrid. Polyploidy: The condition in which a normally diploid cell or organism acquires one or more additional sets of chromosomes. Biological Species Concept: A species is a group of individuals that can breed together (panmixia) but are reproductively isolated from other such groups. HL Words: Gene Pool: The set of all genes, or genetic information, in any population, usually of a particular species. Allele Frequencies: The relative frequency of an allele (variant of a gene) at a particular locus in a population, expressed as a fraction or percentage. Natural Selection: The differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. Directional, Disruptive, and Stabilizing Selection: Different types of natural selection where populations shift towards a specific trait (directional), favor extremes (disruptive), or favor the average trait (stabilizing). Hardy–Weinberg Equation: A principle that describes how allele and genotype frequencies are inherently stable—unless some kind of evolutionary force is acting upon the population. Artificial Selection: The intentional reproduction of individuals in a population that have desirable traits.