What is a synapomorphy
a characteristic present in an ancestral species and shared exclusively by its descendants.
What is an outgroup
A more distantly related group of organisms that serves as a reference group when determining the evolutionary relationships of the ingroup
Mules exhibit what type of reproductive barrier
reduced hybrid viability
What is a monophyletic group
Monophyletic groups include all organisms in a taxa that share a most common recent ancestor, including the ancestor
What is convergent evolution
Is the independent evolution of similar features in species
List an example in which the biological species concept fails
polar bears and grizzlies
What is a paraphyletic group
Include a common ancestor and some, but not all, of the descendants.
What is a homology
Shared traits due to shared ancestry
List an example in which the morphological species concept fails
many birds, and insects
Includes organisms that do not share a most immediate common ancestor
What are sister taxa
two taxa on a tree that share an immediate common ancestor
What may happen if hybrids are more successful than the species that bore them
The two species may merge back into one
What is a real life example of a monophyletic, polyphyletic, and paraphyletic group
Mono - birds
Para - fish
Poly - sea mammals
What do branch length and topology tell you in a phylogeny
branch length - nothing unless there is a timeline
topology - relationships
What does it mean for something to be a prezygotic barrier vs a postzygotic barrier
Pre zygotic means before the zygote forms i.e before fertilization