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The heritable trait that increases an organism's fitness in a specific environment is known as
What is adaptation
A chronological collection of preserved remains showing transitional forms and changes over geologic time
What is fossil record
Similar body parts in different species due to inheritance from a common ancestor
What is homologous structures
The change in heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations
What is biological evolution
The proportion of a specific allele in the gene pool; shifts indicate genetic change in populations
What is allele frequency
The relative ability of an individual or genotype to survive and reproduce in its environment is known as
What is fitness
The formation of new species when populations diverge and can no longer produce fertile offspring
What is gene flow
What is competition for limited resources
Random changes in allele frequencies, especially in small populations
What is genetic drift
Variety of life in an area that can increase, decrease, or shift with environmental change is known as
Reduced or non-functional remnants of ancestral features
What is vestigial structures
The process where individuals with advantageous heritable traits survive and reproduce more successfully, leading to genetic changes in populations
What is natural selection
Similar stages and structures in the early development of embryos across related species
What is embryological evidence
All alleles and their frequencies present in a population
What is gene pool
Alterations in biotic or abiotic factors that act as selective pressures are known as
What is environmental change
Random change in DNA sequence that introduces new alleles and variation
What is a mutation
Similarities in DNA or protein sequences between species indicating relatedness
Observable, measurable, data from observation or experimentation used to support scientific claims.
What is empirical evidence
Process that shuffles alleles, increasing genetic diversity in offspring
What is sexual reproduction
All organisms descend from shared ancestors, supported by similarities across species
What is common ancestry
What is overproduction
Environmental factors that favor certain traits over others
What is selective pressure
What is extinction
Interbreeding group of individuals of the same species in a shared area
What is a population