Evolution Basics
What is the term for the process by which organisms change over time through changes in their traits?
What is evolution?
What is the term for the process by which new genetic variations arise in a population?
What is mutation?
What is the term for a group of individuals of the same species living in the same area?
What is a population?
What type of succession occurs in an environment that has not previously supported life?
What is primary succession?
What is the term for the preserved remains or traces of ancient organisms found in sedimentary rock?
What is a fossil?
Who is known for developing the theory of natural selection?
Who is Charles Darwin?
What is the term for the movement of alleles (versions of a gene) between populations?
What is gene flow?
What is the term for the role and position a species has in its environment, including all interactions with biotic and abiotic factors?
What is the term for the initial species that colonize a barren environment and prepare the area for other species?
What are pioneer species?
What is the term for structures in different species that have similar origins but may have different functions?
What are homologous structures?
What is the term for a trait that increases an organism's chances of survival and reproduction?
What is an adaptation?
What is the term for the evolutionary process where traits evolve independently in different lineages due to similar selective pressures?
What is convergent evolution?
What is the term for the study of interactions between organisms and their environment?
What is ecology?
What type of succession happens in an area where an existing ecosystem has been disturbed but soil remains?
What is secondary succession?
What is the name of the evolutionary concept that explains the gradual accumulation of small genetic changes over time?
What is gradualism?
What is the term for the study of evolutionary relationships among species using phylogenetic trees?
What is phylogenetics?
What is the term for the increased frequency of beneficial alleles in a population due to differential survival and reproduction?
What is natural selection?
What is the term for the variety of different species within an ecosystem?
What is species diversity?
What is the term for the process in which an ecosystem undergoes a predictable series of changes following a disturbance, leading to the restoration of the original community?
What is ecological succession?
What is the name of the concept that describes the distribution of similar species in different geographic locations due to shared evolutionary history?
What is biogeography?
What is the name for the process by which two species evolve in response to each other?
What is coevolution?
What is the term for the increase in frequency of a trait due to random chance rather than selection?
What is genetic drift?
What is the name of the process that involves the transfer of energy and nutrients from one trophic level to the next in an ecosystem?
What is energy flow?
What is the final, stable community that is reached after succession has occurred?
What is a climax community?
What is the term for vestigial structures that have lost their original function but are retained through evolutionary history?
What are vestigial structures?