Chapter 14 Essential Biology Campbell Reese The How Biological Diversity Evolves

Front 1

Macroevolution

Back 1

Evolutionary change on a grand scale, encompassing the origin of new taxonomic groups, evolutionary trends, adaptive radiation, and mass extinction.

Front 2

Speciation

Back 2

The formation of new species.

Front 3

Biological Species Concept

Back 3

The definition of a species as a population or a group of populations whose members have the potential in nature to interbreed and produce fertile offspring.

Front 4

Species

Back 4

A group whose members possess similar anatomical characteristics and have the ability to interbreed.

Front 5

Prezygotic barrier

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A reproductive barrier that impedes mating between species or hinders fertilization of eggs if members of different species should attempt to mate.

Front 6

Postzygotic barrier

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A reproductive barrier that operates should interspecies mating occur and form hybrid zygote.

Front 7

Allopatric Speciation

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The formation of a new species as a result of an ancestral population's becoming isolated by a geographic barrier.

Front 8

Sympatric Speciation

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The formation of a new species as a result of a genetic change that produces a reproductive barrier between the changed population (mutants) and the parent population. Sympatric speciation occurs without a geographic barrier.

Front 9

Punctuated Equilibrium

Back 9

The idea that speciation occurs in spurts followed by long periods of little change.

Front 10

Exaptation

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A structure that has evolved in one environmental context and later becomes adapted for a different function in a different environment.

Front 11

Paedomorphosis

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The retention in the adult of features that were juvenile in its ancestors.

Front 12

Radiometric dating

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A method for determining the age of fossils and rocks from the ratio of redioactive isotope to the nonradioactive istope of the same element in the sample.

Front 13

Systematics

Back 13

The scientific study of biological diversity and its classification.

Front 14

Taxonomy

Back 14

The branch of biology concerned with identifying, naming, and classifying species.

Front 15

Binomial

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A two-part latinized name of a species.

Front 16

Family

Back 16

In classification, the taxonomy category above genus.

Front 17

Order

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In classification, the taxonomy category above family.

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Class

Back 18

In classification, the taxonomic category above order.

Front 19

Phyla

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In classification, the taxonomic category above class and below kingdom. Members of a phylum all have a similar general body plan.

Front 20

Kingdoms

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In classification, the broad taxonomic category above phylum or division.

Front 21

Phylogeny

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The evolutionary history of a species or group of related species.

Front 22

Phylogenetic tree

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A branching diagram that represents a hypothesis about relationships among organisms.

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Convergent evolution

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Adaptive change resulting in nonhomologous similarities among organisms. Species from different evolutionary lineages come to resemble each other as a result of living in very similar environments.

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Analogy

Back 24

The similarity of structure between two species that are not closely related, attributable to convergent evolution.

Front 25

Cladistics

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The study of evolutionary history; specifically, the scientific search for monophyletic taxa (clades), taxonomic groups composed of an ancestor and all its descendants.

Front 26

Clade

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An evolutionary branch that consists of an ancestors and all its descendants.

Front 27

Three-domain system

Back 27

A system of taxonomic classification based on three basic groups: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.