Intro to Evolution
Who proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection?
Who is Charles Darwin?
This occurs when a small group of individuals establishes a new population in a new area, resulting in a loss of genetic diversity compared to the original population.
This biological term describes a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.
What is a species?
What is the term for a symbiotic relationship where both species benefit?
What is mutualism?
What term describes an organism that converts sunlight into energy through photosynthesis, forming the base of the food chain?
What is a producer?
These are structures that have similar functions in different species but evolved independently, often due to similar environmental pressures.
What are analogous structures?
This phenomenon occurs when a large portion of a population is wiped out by a catastrophic event, leaving only a small, genetically diverse group to rebuild the population.
What is the bottleneck effect?
What term describes the process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and reproduce?
What is natural selection?
What term describes the organism that harbors and provides nourishment to another organism, often to its own detriment?
What is the host?
What graphical representation shows the flow of energy through different trophic levels in an ecosystem, with producers at the bottom and top predators at the apex?
What is an energy pyramid?
This term describes structures in different species that share a common ancestry, providing evidence for evolution.
What are homologous structures?
This process, unlike natural selection, involves random changes in allele frequencies within a population.
What is genetic drift?
What tool helps scientists identify organisms by asking a series of yes-or-no questions about their features?
What is a dichotomous key?
What is a relationship where one organism benefits at the expense of another?
What is parasitism?
What type of organism breaks down dead organic matter, returning nutrients to the soil in an ecosystem?
What is a decomposer?
This process, akin to natural selection, involves humans selecting desirable traits in organisms for breeding purposes.
What is artificial selection?
These alterations in DNA sequences are a source of genetic variation and can drive evolution.
What are mutations?
What term refers to an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in its environment, contributing to the passing on of its genes to the next generation?
What is fitness?
What type of ecological interaction involves one species benefiting while the other is neither helped nor harmed?
What is commensalism?
What term describes the first species to colonize a barren or disturbed area in primary succession?
What is a pioneer species?
These structures in organisms have lost their original function but provide evidence for evolutionary history.
What are vestigial structures?
What process, involving the movement of genes between populations, can increase genetic diversity?
What is gene flow?
What diagram shows how different species are related based on shared characteristics?
What is a cladogram?
What term describes a close and long-term interaction between two different biological species, often involving physical contact between the organisms?
What is a symbiotic relationship?
What is the term for the ecological process of colonization and establishment of plant and animal communities in an area lacking soil?
What is primary succession?