Scientific Principles
Evolution by Natural Selection
Tree Thinking
Making Trees
100
The principle of gradualism states that...
Geologic change occurs gradually
100
These three types of evidence can be used to support the idea that species change through time
1) Extinctions in the fossil record
2) Transitional forms in the fossil record
3) Vestigial traits
100
This grouping is 
Paraphyletic group
100
The steps of Maximum parsimony
1) Draw all possible trees given the outgroup
2) Map character changes
3) Pick tree with the fewest changes
200
The principle of original horizontality states that...
Sedimentary rock is deposited relatively horizontal
(changes to horizontality occur AFTER deposition)
200
These two types of evidence can be used to support the idea that species are related by common ancestry
1) Similar species are found near each other
2) Homologies
200
Modern phylogenetics only gives formal names to what kind of group
Monophyletic groups
300
The law of super position states that...
Sedimentary rock is deposited in a time sequence with the oldest on the bottom
300
The definition of natural selection is...
The process by which individuals with certain heritable traits leave more offspring than others, causing gradual change in the traits of a population over time
300
Define the following: Apomorphy, Synapomorphy, Plesiomorphy, Symplesiomorphy
An apomorphy is a derived character, a synapomorphy is a shared derived character, a plesiomorphy is an ancestral character, a symplesiomorphy is a shared ancestral character.
400
The principle of faunal succession states that...
Sedimentary fossils occur in the time sequence in which they were deposited.
400
The difference between a cladogram and phylogram is that...
A cladogram shows clades relationships to each other, while in a phylogram branch lengths are informative (longer branches show more evolutionary change)
500
The principle of uniformitarianism states that...
The processes occurring today are the same as in the past and are also the same throughout the world.
(So, the processes that happen today would have worked the same way a million years ago)
500
Darwin had 5 observations and 3 inferences that led to his theory of natural selection, they were...
(note that evolution is technically a theory, in the same way gravity is still a theory)
Observations: 1. In a species, population size would increase exponentially if all individuals born reproduced successfully. (Exponential growth) 2. Most populations are mostly stable over time (Population stability) 3. Population size is limited by resource availability (Limited Resources) 4. Members of a population vary in their traits (Individual variation) 5. Much of the variation between individuals is heritable; offspring share the traits of their parents (Heritable Traits)
Inferences: 1. More individuals are produced than can be supported by available resources, this leads to competition among individuals where some survive and some don't. (Struggle for existence) 2. Individuals with heritable traits that increase the probability of surviving and reproducing then produce more offspring than other individuals (Fitness depends, at least in part, on habitable traits) 3. The unequal ability of individuals to survive and reproduce will lead to a gradual change in the population, with favorable traits accumulating over generations. (Unequal fitness gradually changes population traits)
500
Do these trees display the same relationships?
Yes!