Evolution Pioneers
This 19th-century naturalist is often called the "Father of Evolution".
Answer: Who is Charles Darwin?
This happens to species that are unable to adapt to their changing environment.
Answer: What is Extinction?
For the context of Biology, what does fitness mean?
Answer: What is to survive and reproduce?
While natural selection is driven by the environment, artificial selection is driven by the choices of this species.
Answer: Who are Humans?
These are the remains or traces of organisms from the past, typically found in sedimentary rock layers called strata
Answer: What are fossils?
The name of the book Darwin published in 1859
Answer: What is The Origin of Species?
Differences between individuals in a species.
Answer: What is Variation?
This is a structural, physiological, or behavioral trait that helps an organism survive in its environment.
Answer: What is an adaptation?
This term refers to the lack of genetic variation in a population where all individuals are genetically identical, common in commercial bananas.
Answer: What is a Monoculture?
These specific fossils show intermediary links between two established groups of organisms, such as the link between reptiles and birds.
Answer: What are transitional fossils?
Charles Darwin visited this island and observed species that later shaped his theory of Natural Selection
Answer: What are the Galapagos islands?
A mistake in DNA replication that results in genetic variation.
Answer: What are Mutations?
This animal has a white and black colour morph. When trees turned dark due to air pollution, populations changed from the white morph to black.
Answer: What are Peppered Moths?
Because artificial selection reduces this, a single disease or pest could potentially wipe out an entire human food source.
Answer: What is Genetic Diversity?
Darwin noticed that animals on these islands were most similar to animals on the nearest mainland (South America) rather than animals on distant islands with similar climates.
Answer: What are the Galápagos Islands?
This peer of Darwin independently arrived at the same conclusions regarding natural selection, prompting Darwin to finally publish his work.
Answer: Who is Alfred Russel Wallace?
Mimicry is this type of adaptation
Answer: What is Structural Adaptation?
This term describes the environmental factors (like predators, climate, or food availability) that determine which individuals in a population will survive.
Answer: What are selective pressures?
Bacteria strains can develop this through constant use of the same antibiotic
Answer: What is Antibiotic Resistance?
This molecule is considered the "universal genetic code" because it is shared by all living things, from bacteria to humans.
Answer: What is DNA?
The type of animals Darwin observed when he came up with Natural Selection
What are the Galapagos Tortoises OR What are Galapagos Mockingbirds?
Charles Darwin came up with his theory of evolution using this term
Answer: What is Natural Selection?
These are the two kinds of environmental conditions that exert selective pressures on a population
Answer: What are Biotic and Abiotic factors?
This is the primary "goal" of artificial selection, as opposed to natural selection which has no specific end goal.
Answer: What is human utility (or specific desirable traits)?
This term describes "leftover" structures that served a purpose in an ancestor but are no longer functional, such as the pelvic bone in a python.
Answer: What are vestigial structures?