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20 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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biological species concept
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definition of a species as a population or group of populations whose members can breed with one another in nature and produce fertile offspring
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macroevolution
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major biological changes evident in the fossil record
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speciation
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formation of new species
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reproductive isolation
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condition in which a reproductive barrier keeps two species from interbreeding
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geographic isolation
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separation of populations as a result of geographic change or migration to geographically isolated places
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adaptive radiation
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evolution from a common ancestor of many species adapted to diverse environments
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punctuated equilibrium
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evolutionary model suggesting species often diverge in spurts of relatively rapid change, followed by long periods of little change
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embryology
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study of multicellular organisms as they develop from fertilized eggs to fully formed organisms
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geologic time scale
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Earth's history organized into four eras: Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic
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radiometric dating
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determination of absolute ages of rocks and fossils through calculations based on a radioactive isotope's fixed rate of decay
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half-life
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time it takes for 50 percent of a radioactive isotope sample to decay
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continental drift
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motion of continents about Earth's surface on plates of crust floating on the hot mantle
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mass extinction
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episode of great species loss
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taxonomy
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identification, naming, and classification of species
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binomial
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two-part Latin name of a species
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phylogenetic tree
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branching diagram, suggesting evolutionary relationships, that classifies species into groups within groups
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convergent evolution
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process in which unrelated species from similar environments have adaptations that seem very similar
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analogous structures
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similarities among unrelated species that result from convergent evolution
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derived character
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homologous characteristic that unites organisms as a group
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cladogram
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phylogenetic tree constructed from a series of two-way branch points, suggesting ancestral relationships among species
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