Principles of Natural Selection
What is the process where organisms with the best traits survive and reproduce?
Natural Selection.
Which mode of selection favors the average individuals and removes the extremes?
Stabilizing Selection.
What is a random change in a DNA sequence that creates a new trait?
Mutation.
What are the remains of ancient organisms that show how species changed over time?
fossils
What do you call the physical differences between individuals in a population?
variation
Which mode favors one extreme version of a trait, like long necks on giraffes?
Directional Selection.
What is the term for genes moving into or out of a population through migration?
Gene Flow.
What are body parts that look similar in different species because they share an ancestor?
Homologous structures.
What is it called when a trait is passed from parents to offspring through DNA?
Heritabiliity.
Which mode favors both extremes and can lead to two new species?
Disruptive Selection.
What is a random change in a population's genes that mostly affects small groups?
Genetic Drift.
outside info: What are body parts that an animal still has but no longer uses, like a human tailbone?
Vestigial structures.
What is the term for the struggle that happens when more offspring are born than can survive?
Overproduction.
outside info: What is it called when humans breed animals for specific traits, like different dog breeds?
Artificial Selection.
outside info: What happens when a small group starts a new population with very limited genetic variety?
The ffounder effect.
What type of evidence uses DNA and amino acid sequences to show relationships?
molecuklar evidence
What is a specific trait that makes an organism better suited for its environment?
An adaptation.
What term describes an organism's ability to survive and reproduce compared to others?
Biological fitness.
What type of selection happens when mates are chosen based on fancy traits like feathers?
Sexual Selection.
What is the study of how different species look nearly identical during early development?
Comparative embryology.