big bio unit 7 test quizlet

The evolution of similar features in independent evolutionary lineages

An inherited characteristic of an organism that enhances its survival and reproduction in a specific environment. Adaptations are the result of natural selection acting on heritable variation.

The state of a population in which frequencies of alleles and genotypes remain constant from generation to generation

Structures in different species that are similar because of common ancestry. These structures may have different functions in different organisms but share a common evolutionary origin.

Descent with modifications; the process by which species accumulate differences from their ancestors as they adapt to different environments over time; also defined as a change in the genetic composition of a population from generation to generation.

Pertaining to a group of taxa (a taxonomic group of any rank

A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits. This process leads to the adaptation of populations to their environment over time.

A process in which chance events cause unpredictable fluctuations in allele frequencies from one generation to the next. Effects of this process are most pronounced in small populations.

Pertaining to a group of taxa (a taxonomic group of any rank

A type of genetic drift that occurs when the size of a population is reduced

A definition of a species as a group of populations whose members have the potential to interbreed in nature and produce viable

The ability to survive and reproduce

Natural selection in which intermediate phenotypes survive or reproduce more successfully than do extreme phenotypes. This tends to reduce phenotypic variation in a population over time.

Type of genetic drift that occurs when a few individuals become isolated from a larger population and form a new population whose gene pool composition is not reflective of that of the original population. The genetic diversity of the new population is limited to the alleles carried by the founders.

Natural selection in which individuals at one end of the phenotypic range survive or reproduce more successfully than do other individuals. This leads to a shift in the frequency of a trait's allele(s) in one direction over time.

The formation of new species in populations that live in the same geographic area. Speciation occurs without geographic isolation

The formation of a new species in populations that are geographically isolated from one another. Geographic barriers prevent gene flow between populations

The existence of biological factors (barriers) that impede members of two species from producing viable

Having characteristics that are similar because of convergent evolution

When individuals on both extremes of a phenotypic range survive or reproduce more successfully than do other individuals with intermediate phenotypes. This can lead to the evolution of two distinct phenotypic forms in a population.

Pertaining to a group of taxa that includes distantly related organisms but does not include their most recent common ancestor. Polyphyletic groups are not monophyletic and often arise due to convergent evolution rather than shared ancestry.

The transfer of alleles from one population to another

All the alleles present in a population.

The first species to go from fish to four limbs and go on land.

Females choose their mate based on certain traits.

Males compete with other males for a mate.

When males and females have very different features.

When two related species split and become distant over time.

The process by which new species arise after reproductive isolation.

Period of relatively little change followed by periods of rapid diversification.

A bout of unusually rapid evolutionary diversification where natural selection accelerates speciation and adaptation.

A common ancestor when the two species split.

A trait shared by different groups because they inherited it from a common ancestor.

A trait shared by different groups because they inherited it from a distant common ancestor.

Domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species.

A system used to name species.