Mechanisms of Evolution
Darwin’s phrase for evolution by natural selection
What is “descent with modification”?
A branching diagram that shows evolutionary relationships.
What is a phylogenetic tree?
The maximum population size an environment can support.
What is carrying capacity?
The role an organism plays in its environment.
What is a niche?
The variety of genes, species, and ecosystems is called this.
What is biodiversity?
The Hardy-Weinberg equation predicts allele frequencies under these conditions.
What are no mutation, random mating, no natural selection, large population size, and no gene flow?
Animals with radial symmetry and stinging cells belong to this phylum.
What are cnidarians?
The number of individuals per unit area or volume.
What is population density?
The process by which one species benefits and the other is harmed.
What is competitive exclusion?
The primary driver of species extinction today.
What is habitat loss?
The process by which new species arise.
What is speciation?
The group of animals characterized by a notochord, dorsal hollow nerve cord, and pharyngeal slits.
What are chordates?
The study of how birth rates and death rates affect population size.
What is Demography
When two species compete, one may be eliminated due to this principle.
What is ecological succession?
The use of organisms to detoxify polluted ecosystems.
What is bioremediation?
The earliest evidence of life on Earth comes from these structures.
What are stromatolites?
The innovation that allowed gymnosperms and angiosperms to dominate land.
What are seeds?
The equation (dN/dt = rN) describes this type of growth.
What is exponential growth?
The position an organism occupies in the food chain.
What is trophic level?
The increase in atmospheric CO₂ leads to this global phenomenon.
What is climate change/global warming?
The Cambrian explosion is notable for this.
What is the rapid diversification of animal phyla?
Angiosperms differ from gymnosperms by producing these reproductive structures.
What are flowers and fruits?
Density-dependent factors regulating populations include these examples.
What are competition, predation, disease, and resource limitation?
The process of returning degraded ecosystems to a more natural state.
What is restoration ecology?
The concept that Earth’s resources must be managed for future generations.
What is sustainability?