Basics
The term that describes differences in traits like as in fur color or beak size within a single species.
Variation
This famous naturalist proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection after his journey on the HMS Beagle
Charles Darwin
Darwin preferred this two-word term to describe the process where better-adapted organisms survive and reproduce.
Natural Selection
These types of adaptations involve physical body features, such as thick fur for the arctic or sharp claws for hunting
Structural / Physical adaptions
First used in the 1950s to study immortal human cells, the HeLa cell line was derived from this Virginia woman's tumor
Henrietta Lacks
the proportion of variation in a trait within a population that can be attributed to inherited genetic factors rather than environmental influences
Heritability
The ship Charles Darwin traveled on as a naturalist to map the South American coastline.
HMS Beagle
In evolutionary terms, "fitness" doesn't mean strongest; it refers to an organism's success in doing this
Reproducing
An inherited action an animal takes to survive, such as migration or hibernation
Behavioral Adaptions
Found on the X chromosome, this condition primarily affects males because they possess only one X chromosome.
Hemophilia
The word that describes a population making more than the environment can handle.
Overproduction
The 1859 book written by Darwin that outlined his theory of evolution.
On the Origin of Species
This British philosopher actually coined the phrase "survival of the fittest" in 1864
Herbert Spencer
The coloring or pattern that allows an animal to blend into its environment to avoid predators
Camouflage
This process involves genetic information being exchanged between non-sister chromatids of homologous chromosomes
Crossing Over
The word that measures a species success of passing it's genes to the next generation
Fitness
An English scientist who formulated a theory of evolution by natural selection almost identical to Darwin's around the same time.
Alfred Russel Wallace
In a classic example of natural selection, these insects in 19th-century England changed their wing color from light to dark to blend in with soot-covered trees
Peppered Moths
When a species fails to adapt to changing environmental conditions, it faces this permanent fate
Extinction
Organelles that contain their own distinct circular DNA
Mitochondria
Evolution on a small scale, defined as a change in the relative frequencies of alleles in a population over a few generations.
The famous, isolated island chain where Charles Darwin studied finches and tortoises
Galapagos Islands
This specific evolutionary mechanism describes when random events in nature cause only the most extreme variation of a species to survive
Disruptive Selection
When a harmless species evolves to look like a dangerous or toxic one to deceive predators
Mimicry
This specific type of mimicry involves a harmless species evolving to look like a dangerous or toxic one
Batesian Mimicry