A scientist who would study the history of life through the examination of fossilized organisms.
What is a paleontologist?
When one event or action (the cause) directly leads to a certain result (the effect). (Example: a drought causes a shortage of food).
Cause - and-Effect Relationship
Darwin used this term to describe the ability of an organism to survive, find a mate, and produce fertile offspring.
What is fitness?
The idea, based on Thomas Malthus, that more offspring are produced than the environment can support.
What is overproduction (or reproductive surplus)?
The simple, common name for Darwin's 1859 book.
What is On the Origin of Species (or Origin of Species)?
The essential step in the mechanism of natural selection where inherited traits are passed from parents to offspring
What is heritability (or inheritance)?
Using engineering principles to design and create products or processes using biological systems.
Bioengineering
A random change in allele frequencies in a population due to chance events, especially significant in small populations.
What is genetic drift?