Vocabulary
The measure of how well and organism is able to survive and reproduce in its environment is its ______.
fitness
Catastrophism came from what scientist? What did this entail?
Catastrophism came from Georges Cuvier. It entailed the idea that Earth’s features and species extinctions were shaped by sudden, short-lived catastrophic events rather than slow, gradual processes.
What determines how closely related two species are when viewing their genomes?
The order of nitrogenous bases (A, T, C, G) in DNA determines how closely related two species are; the more matching base sequences they share, the more recent their common ancestor and the closer their evolutionary relationship.
How can natural selection lead to antibiotic resistance in bacteria?
Natural selection can lead to antibiotic resistance because bacteria with mutations that make them resistant survive when exposed to antibiotics, while susceptible bacteria die. The resistant bacteria then reproduce, passing the resistance genes to the next generation.
Explain the difference between natural and artificial selection.
Natural selection is the process where organisms with traits better suited to their environment survive and reproduce, passing those traits to the next generation.
Artificial selection is when humans intentionally breed organisms for specific traits, like bigger fruits, faster horses, or certain dog breeds.
Organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring are part of the same ___.
species
What did Malthus say about populations?
Thomas Malthus said that populations tend to grow faster than the resources needed to support them, leading to competition, struggle for survival, and limits on population growth.
What are transitional fossils and what is their significance to evolution?
Transitional fossils are fossils that show intermediate traits between an ancestral species and its descendants.
They are significant because they provide direct evidence of how species have changed over time, illustrating the process of evolution (e.g., Archaeopteryx shows features of both dinosaurs and birds).
This type of evolutionary change occurs when two species evolve in response to each other.
coevolution
The _____ _____ shows physical changes in organisms over time with older remnants in lower layers and newer more complex organisms closer to the surface.
fossil record
What is a vestigial structure? Provide one example.
A vestigial structure is a body part that has lost most or all of its original function through evolution.
Example: the human appendix.
What idea was championed by Lyell and what did this idea mean?
Charles Lyell championed the idea of uniformitarianism, which means that the Earth has been shaped by slow, continuous processes like erosion and sedimentation over long periods of time, rather than by sudden, catastrophic events.
A human arm and a bat wing are what type of structures? Why does this provide evidence for evolution?
A human arm and a bat wing are homologous structures.
This provides evidence for evolution because they have similar bone structures from a common ancestor, even though they perform different functions.
What is the meaning of punctuated equilibrium?
Punctuated equilibrium is the idea that species experience long periods of little or no change (equilibrium) interrupted by short periods of rapid evolution, often due to sudden environmental changes or new selective pressures.
Viewing organisms at early stages to view similarities such as gill slits is an example of what piece of evidence for evolution?
embryology
A species of bear in Russia and a species of bear in Canada develop similar adaptations to deal with the cold climate due to _______ evolution.
convergent
Explain the theory of selective use and disuse and what scientist pioneered this theory.
The theory of selective use and disuse states that traits an organism uses frequently become stronger and more developed, while traits that are not used weaken or disappear over time; these acquired traits are then passed on to offspring. This theory was pioneered by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck.
What are analogous structures? Explain and give an example.
Analogous structures are body parts that perform similar functions but do not share a common ancestor.
Example: the wings of birds and the wings of insects—they both allow flight but evolved independently.
Explain the difference between convergent and divergent evolution.
Divergent evolution occurs when related species evolve different traits due to adapting to different environments, leading to increased differences over time (e.g., Darwin’s finches).
Convergent evolution occurs when unrelated species evolve similar traits because they face similar environmental pressures, even though they do not share a recent common ancestor (e.g., wings of bats and insects).
Explain the concept of descent with modification.
Descent with modification is the concept that over many generations, populations accumulate changes in traits through inheritance. These changes can be small or large, and over long periods, they can lead to the formation of new species. This idea explains why all living organisms share common ancestors, but each species has unique adaptations that arose through gradual modifications over time.
Explain Hutton's understanding of geologic processes and how this impacted Darwin's understanding of evolution.
James Hutton understood that geological processes like erosion and sedimentation happen gradually over long periods of time, shaping the Earth slowly. This helped Darwin realize that Earth was old enough for natural selection to produce the gradual changes seen in species over time.
The Canadian bears in the previous example share many similar traits to other species that live in Canada such as wolves and arctic hares. This is an example of what concept that provides evidence for evolution?
Biogeography
Explain the process of adaptive radiation and give a real-world example.
Adaptive radiation is the process in which a single ancestral species rapidly evolves into many different species, each adapted to different environments or ecological niches.
Example: Darwin’s finches evolved from one ancestor into multiple species with different beak shapes for different food sources.