Evidence of Evolution
This type of structure, such as a human arm and a bat wing, suggests a common ancestor due to similar anatomy.
What are homologous structures?
These types of diagrams represent evolutionary relationships between species.
What are cladograms (or phylogenetic trees)?
A change in an organism’s DNA sequence that introduces new alleles into a population is called this.
What is a mutation?
The process of organisms better adapted to their environment surviving and reproducing is known as this.
What is natural selection?
The process by which unrelated species evolve similar traits due to similar environmental pressures.
What is convergent evolution?
Structures like the human appendix and whale pelvis are examples of this type of structure.
What are vestigial structures?
This molecule, made of nucleotides, stores genetic information and is used to compare evolutionary relationships.
What is DNA?
The movement of individuals(migration) or their gametes between populations, introducing new alleles, is called this.
What is gene flow?
This form of evolution occurs when humans select traits in domesticated plants or animals.
What is artificial selection?
A rapid period of evolutionary change followed by stability is described by this model.
What is punctuated equilibrium?
These structures, like the wings of a butterfly and the wings of a bird, serve similar functions but do not share a common evolutionary origin.
What are analogous structures?
On a cladogram, the placement of this feature indicates the point at which a specific derived character evolved.
What is a branch or node?
When individuals mate based on specific traits, such as coloration in birds or antler size in deer, it is an example of this mechanism.
What is nonrandom mating (or sexual selection)?
The process in which individuals at one extreme of a phenotype range have higher fitness than others.
What is directional selection?
When a species becomes so different that it no longer resembles its ancestors, it’s called this type of evolution.
What is divergent evolution?
These types of fossils provide transitional evidence, showing traits of both ancestral and modern species.
What are transitional fossils?
In a cladogram, species that share more of these types of traits are more closely related.
What are derived characters (or shared traits)?
This phenomenon is called the founder effect. Name the mechanism for evolution that occurs when a few individuals colonize a new habitat, reducing genetic diversity.
What is the genetic drift?
The process in which individuals with extreme phenotypes are less likely to survive than those with intermediate traits.
What is stabilizing selection?
The process by which one species evolves into many species to fill different ecological niches.
What is adaptive radiation?
The study of similarities and differences in embryos of different species is called this.
What is embryology?
To determine the evolutionary relationship between two species, scientists often compare sequences of this macromolecule.
What is a protein (or amino acid sequence)?
This phenomenon can occur after a natural disaster, such as a flood, significantly reduces population size.
What is the bottleneck effect?
The sickle cell allele providing malaria resistance in heterozygotes is an example of how mutations can lead to this evolutionary advantage (meaning to survive and reproduce).
What is increased fitness?
When populations can no longer interbreed due to barriers like differences in mating behaviors, timing, or physical incompatibilities.
What is reproductive isolation?