Evolution Vocab

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Evolution

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the gradual change of allele frequencies found in a population

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Organic evolution

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the process of continual change that occurs in species over time

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Fossil

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any trace or remains of an organism that has been preserved by natural processes

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Sedimentary Rock

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a type of rock formed from layers of particles that settled to the bottom of a body of water, often containing fossils

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Absolute dating

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any method that enables scientists to find out how long ago an event occured

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Relative dating

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any method of determining the order in which events occured

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Homologous structures

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structures found in different kinds of organisms that have the same basic arrangement of parts and a similar pattern of embryologic development

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Analogous structures

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structures found in different kinds of organisms that are similar function or outward appearance, but dissimilar in basic structure or embryologic development

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Vestigal structures

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nonfunctional structures in an organism that are a remnant of structures that were functional in some anscestral form of the organism

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Adaptation

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any kind of inherited trait that improves the chances of survival and reproduction for an organism

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Variations

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the characteristics in individuals that differ from the typical characteristics of other individuals of the same species

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Speciation

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the formation of new species

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Spontaneous generation

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the idea that living things regularly arise from nonliving matter; abiogenesis

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Biogenesis

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the theory that living organisms only originate from other organisms

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Geologic time scale

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a timetable of the earth's history, constructed by geologists

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Gradualism

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Darwin's theory of evolution, in which new species arise through gradual changes in their characteristics, and thus evolution occurs very slowly

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Punctual equilibrium

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a theory of evolution stating that a species remains the same for a long time and then evolves rapidly during a short time interval

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Camouflage

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a protective adaptation that enables an organism to visually blend into the environment

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Warning coloration

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a protective adaptation in which the bright colors of an organism make it easily recognized

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Mimicry

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a protective adaptation in which one species is protected from its enemies by its resemblance to another species

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Mutation

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the appearance of a new allele on a chromosome

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Extinction

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the end of a species when the last individual of that species has died

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Natural selection

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the process whereby organisms with favorable variations survive and produce more offspring than less well-adapted organisms

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Adaptive value

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any trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce under a given set of environmental conditions

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Fossil record

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the history of life as determined by the relative age of fossils

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Theory

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an explaination based on facts that apply to a broad range of phenomena

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Overproduction

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when species produce far more offspring than are needed to maintain the population

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Isolation

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anything that prevents two groups within a species from interbreeding

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Industrial Melanism

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the development of dark-colored organisms in a population exposed to industrial air pollution