What are fossils?
A fossil is the preserved remains or traces of any organism from the remote past.
What is selective breeding?
Selective breeding is a form of artificial selection, whereby man intervenes in the breeding of species to produce desired traits in offspring.
What is biogeography?
The study of the geographical distribution of organisms.
What are homologous molecules?
Similarities between species on the molecular level.
What is comparative embryology?
Studying the growing embryo in animals or plants and comparing them to other embryos of different species.
What is a fossil record?
The totality of fossils discovered and undiscovered.
Common examples of selective breeding in domesticated animals?
Horses, cows, dogs. Any animal that humans have altered over the course of generations.
What is isolation?
When certain species isolate themselves geographically, they may evolve differently than other organisms.
Examples of homologous molecules?
DNA and amino acid sequences
Results of comparative embryology?
- All terrestrial animals have non-functioning gill slits as early embryos which suggests an aquatic origin.
- Many vertebrates (including humans) demonstrate a primitive tail at an early stage of the embryo.
How do fossils provide evidence for evolution?
The fossil record provides evidence by revealing the features of an ancestor for comparison against living descendants
How does selective breeding show evidence for evolution?
Targeted breeds can show significant variation in a (relatively) short period.
How does biogeography provide evidence for evolution?
It shows environmental or historical causes for evolution.
How does homologous molecules provide evidence for evolution?
Similarities and differences among biological molecules can be used to determine species' relatedness
How does comparative embryology provide evidence for evolution?
Shows that closely related species go through similar stages of development, suggesting that the organisms shared a common evolutionary pathway.