Natural Selection - Process for change where some organisms survive better due to certain variations in a population-aka: Survival of the Fittest, Fitness - Ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment., Adaptation - Any inherited characteristic that increases an organism’s chance of survival., Homologous Structure - Structures that have different phenotypes in different organisms but develop from the same embryonic tissues. (anatomical homology), Analogous Structures - Structures with similar functions that did not come from sharing a common ancestor, but from sharing a similar environment., Molecular homology - comparing DNA or amino acid sequences to determine evolutionary relationships, Development homology - comparing embryonic development to determine evolutionary relationships, Vestigial Organs - Organs or structures that are ancestral and serve no useful function in an organism anymore., Cladogram - a branching diagram showing the cladistic relationship between a number of species., Speciation - The formation of a new species., Allele Frequency - Number of times an allele occurs in a gene pool versus the number of times other alleles occur., Gene Pool - Combined genetic information of all the members of a particular population., DirectionalSelection - Form of natural selection in which the entire curve moves; occurs when individuals at one end of a distribution curve have higher fitness. The curve moves in one distinct direction and selects one extreme., Stabilize Selection - Form of natural selection which occurs when individuals near the center of the curve are favored. It is good to be average., Disruptive Selection - Form of natural selection which occurs when a single curve splits into two; occurs when individuals at the upper and lower ends of a normal distribution curve have greater fitness. It’s bad to be average but good to be both extremes., Behavioral Isolation - Form of reproductive isolation in which two populations have differences in courtship rituals or other types of behavior that prevent them from interbreeding., Temporal Isolation - Form of reproductive isolation in which two populations reproduce at different times., Geographic Isolation - Form of reproductive isolation in which two populations are separated physically by geographic barriers such as rivers, mountains, or stretches of water., Adaptive Radiation - Process by which a single species or small group of species evolves into several different forms that live in different ways., Convergent Evolution - Process by which unrelated organisms independently evolve similarities when adapting to similar environments., Coevolution - Process by which two species evolve in response to changes in each other., Extinction - the fact or process of a species, family, or other group of animals or plants becoming extinct (no longer living),

Evolution Vocab

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