Key Terms
Genetic Drift
Natural Selection
Polygenic Traits
Speciation
100
An inherited characteristic that increases an organism’s chance of survival of reproduction
What is an adaptation?
100
Similarities and differences between natural selection and genetic drift
What are "both are mechanisms of evolution, but genetic drift is change due to random chance, while natural selection is change due to fitness"?
100
Answer and explanation to the question: Do individuals evolve?
What is "No; natural selection causes populations to evolve and adapt by favoring individuals with beneficial traits. Evolution occurs when the allele frequencies in a population's gene pool change. Individuals cannot change their DNA"?
100
Type of selection described in the following scenario: on one of the Galapagos Islands, birds with smaller beaks would not survive during drought because the seeds were tougher and harder to crack. Only those with larger beaks would survive.
What is directional selection?
100
Definition of species
What is a group of similar organisms capable of mating and producing fertile offspring?
200
Also known as selective breeding, it occurs when humans choose desired traits in an organism
What is artificial selection?
200
Size of population that is more likely to lead to genetic drift
What are small populations?
200
Pollinators and flowers are examples of this evolutionary trend.
What is coevolution?
200
Type of selection described here:
Babies with low birth weights have a decreased chance of survival, while babies with large birth weights cause a danger to the mother. Therefore, babies of average weight tend to produce the best outcomes for survival.
What is stabilizing selection?
200
Definition of a hybrid, with an example
What is the offspring of two different species? Examples include ligers, grolar bears, zonkeys, mules, etc.
300
One species evolves to resemble another species
What is mimicry?
300
Definition of founder effect
What is "a small sample of a population settles in a location separate from the rest of the population"?
300
Evolutionary trend that caused dolphins and sharks to evolve similar body structures
What is convergent evolution?
300
Description of disruptive selection, with an example
What is "Disruptive selection favors both extremes of a phenotype against the middle? The tail length of chipmunks and squirrels is an example; short tails enable chipmunks to burrow underground; long tails help squirrels balance in trees"?
300
Definition of reproductive isolation, and three types, with examples
What are 1) geographical (two fox populations separated by a mountain range); behavioral (a female bird prefers the mating call of males from her own species), and 3) temporal (two plants produce flowers during different seasons)?
400
A measure of the relative contribution an individual trait makes to the next generation
What is fitness?
400
Definition of bottleneck effect and explanation of why it's bad for a population
What is "when a population declines to a very low number and may or may not rebound; this is bad because it causes a decline in diversity in a population. When the environment changes, they will have a higher chance of extinction"?
400
Three sources of genetic variation
What are sexual reproduction (as a result of crossing over and independent assortment in meiosis), mutation, and migration?
400
This term is used to describe a type of disruptive selection regarding the appearance of male and female birds. Females tend to be drab and blend in with their environment, while males tend to have bright, colorful plumage.
What is sexual selection?
400
Description of the process of speciation.
What is "Speciation occurs as a result of reproductive isolation between two populations. Each population will continue adapting to their environment separately. Over long periods of time, the two populations will be so different that they will no longer be capable of breeding with each other, even if they were reunited"?
500
What is adaptive radiation?
500
Type of genetic drift that occurred when the remote island of Tristan da Cunha was settled in 1817 by William Glass of Scotland and his family, resulting in a high prevalence of blindness (due to the recessive disorder retinitis pigmentosa) among the inhabitants
What is the founder effect?
500
The four conditions for natural selection
What are heritability, variation, overproduction, and differential reproductive success?
500
Reason that disruptive selection often leads to speciation
What is "Disruptive selection causes those with average forms of a trait to die, leaving two isolated groups that are adapted to different environments"?
500
Definition of gene flow and description of how it relates to speciation
What is "migration of individuals carrying certain genes from one population to another; gene flow can introduce genetic variation, but it tends to prevent speciation, since it contributes to the formation of a shared gene pool"?