| Term | Definition |
|---|
| ABO Blood Groups | An example of a trait that is determined by multiple alleles |
| Adaptive niche | The entire way of life of an organism: where it lives, what it eats, how it gets food, how it avoids predators, etc. |
| Adaptive Radiation | process by which a single species or small group of species evolves into several different forms that live in different ways; rapid growth in the diversity of a group of organisms |
| Affiliative | friendly behavior that promote social bonds |
| Agglutination | the process of coming together |
| Alfred Russel Wallace | a British naturalist, the one who independently proposing a theory of natural selection which prompted Charles Darwin to publish his own more developed and researched theory sooner than he had intended |
| Allele | one of two alternate forms of a gene that can have the same locus on homologous chromosomes and are responsible for alternative traits |
| Allometry | study of the relative growth of a part of an organism in relation to the growth of the whole |
| Alloparenting | A common behavior in many primate species whereby individuals other than the parents hold, carry, and in general interact with infants. |
| Allopatric Speciation | The formation of a new species as a result of an ancestral population's becoming isolated by a geographic barrier. |
| Altruism | Behavior that benefits another individual at some potential risk or cost to oneself |
| Amino acids | small units that are linked together chemically to form large protein molecules |
| Anagenesis | A pattern of evolutionary change involving the transformation of an entire population, sometimes to a state different enough from the ancestral population to justify renaming it as a separate species; also called phyletic evolution. |
| Analogies | Similarities between organisms based strictly on common function with no assumed common evolutionary descent. |
| Anthropocentric | interpreting everything in terms of human experience and values |
| Anthropoidea | the suborder of primates consisting of monkeys, apes, and humans |
| Anthropometry | measurement and study of the human body and its parts and capacities |
| Antibodies | Protein that is produced by lymphocytes and that attaches to a specific antigen. |
| Antigens | chemical compounds to which antibodies bind |
| Apomorphic | derived or advanced characteristics that arose relatively late in members of a group and therefore differ among them; advanced |
| Arboreal | of or living in trees |
| Arboreal hypothesis | The traditional view that primate characteristics can be explained as a consequence of primate diversification into arboreal habitats. |
| Assortative mating | the type of mating that occurs when an organism selects a mating partner that resembles itself |
| Autosome | any chromosome that is not a sex chromosome |
| Aye Aye | solitary, special finger, 1-0-1-3, 1-0-0-3 dental |
| Balanced Polymorphism | The ability of natural selection to maintain diversity in a population. |
| Behavioral ecology | Study of how behaviors increase individual reproductive success |
| Behavioral Plasticity | changing behavior because of certain circumstances |
| Binocular vision | The ability to merge visual images from both eyes, thereby providing depth perception and a three dimensional view of the world. |
| Binomial nomenclature | Naming an organism with its genus and species name |
| Biological continuum | the notion that humans aren't part of any kind of evolutionary hierarchy. It's more of a continuum, a set of relationships that all fall under one integrated spectrum. |
| Blending Inheritance | each trait of the offspring is a mixture of traits of both parents |
| Bonobos | Africa, pop down to 1000's, male/female bond=societal core. probs solved through sex, female receptive all yr. round. famous for occasionally walking on two legs |
| Brachiation | a method of movement that uses the arms to swing from branch to branch |
| Bush meat | such as a severed head of a lowland gorilla in the Congo, is consumed as a source of protein by local people in parts of West Africa and sold in the national and international marketplace |
| Callitrichidae | small body size, re-evolved claws, procumbent incisors, 2.1.3.2, new world monkey |
| Robert Fitzroy | Captain of the Beagle, advertised for a companion on his voyage, which Darwin filled. |
| Carolus Linneaus | During 1735 the view of classification in hierarchial fashion; animals, plants, minerals, etc. |
| Catarrhines | old world monkeys, apes, humans. narrow noses, nostrils point down, 2123 dental pattern (synapomorphy), some arboreal, some terrestrial, none with prehensile tails |
| Catastrophism | The hypothesis by Georges Cuvier that each boundary between strata corresponded in time to a catastrophe, such as a flood or drought, that had destroyed many of the species living there at that time. |
| Cebidae | larger of the new world monkeys, 2.1.3.3., some prehensile tails, arboreal, new world monkey |
| Cercopithecidae | Old World monkeys: guenon |
| Cercopithecines | The subfamily of Old World monkeys that includes baboons, macaques, and guenons. |
| Charles Darwin | british biologist who introduced the ideas of natural selection and evolution; argued that specific behaviors evolved because they led to advantages in survival or reproduction |
| Charles Lyell | Principles on Geology- the earth is a very old planet that is constantly changing; slowly- gradualism |
| Chimpanzee | an African ape that is related to the gorilla but is smaller and spends more of its time in trees |
| Chromosomes | thread like structures that have genetic info that is passed down from one generation to the next |
| Clade | A taxonomic grouping that includes only a single ancestor and all of its descendants |
| Cladistics | a system of phylogenetic classification using shared derived characters and the recency of ancestry is the sole criterion for grouping taxa |
| Cladogenesis | the evolutionary change and diversification resulting from the branching off of new taxa from common ancestral lineages |
| Cladogram | a diagram that is based on patterns of shared, derived traits and that shows the evolutionary relationships between groups of organisms |
| Co-dominant | When both phenotypes appear in heterozygous individuals; Examples: Blood type A crossd with B = type AB |
| Codon | a specific sequence of three adjacent bases on a strand of DNA or RNA that provides genetic code information for a particular amino acid |
| Colobines | The subfamily of Old World monkeys that includes the African colobus monkeys and Asian langurs. |
| Complex traits | "continuously distributed," no clear boundaries so no exact categories (height, hair color; involve the environment) |
| Continental Drift | theory that states that there was a supercontinent that split into the continents of today |
| Continuous Variation | The outcome of the number of enviromental factors influencing the expression of traits in a population |
| Core Area | a region in the home range that is used frequently, commonly consist of trees, shelter and buildings, and water resources |
| Crossing Over | the interchange of sections between pairing homologous chromosomes during the prophase of meiosis |
| Cultural Anthropology | The study of human society and culture, the subfield that describes, analyzes, interprets, and explains social and cultural similarities and differences |
| Cusps | The elevated portions (bumps) on the chewing surfaces of premolar and molar teeth. |
| Data | a collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn |
| Deep Time | the idea that the Earth is older than we can imagine |
| Deme | a population of related species; a local pop of closely related interbreeding species; get increase of inbreeding; can outcross as much as possible, but still be more inbreds |
| Dental Formula | a short hand method of describing the number of each type of tooth in one half of one jaw on a mammal |
| Derived Traits | characteristics found only in one descendent branch and in the ancestral form |
| Diploid Numbers | Total chromosome number in cells that have a pair of each type of chromosome characteristic of the species. |
| Directional Selection | form of natural selection in which the entire curve moves; occurs when individuals at one end of a distribution curve have higher fitness than individuals in the middle or at the other end of the curve |
| Discontinuous variation | characteristics that have either one phenotype or another eg tongue rolling, eye colour etc. |
| Displays | Highly conventionalized behaviors structured as two-part exchanges |
| Disruptive Selection | both forms at extreme endfavors are favored, intermediate forms eliminated |
| Diurnal | belonging to or active during the day |
| Divergent selection | one side or the other of the bell curve is favored |
| Dominance Hierarchies | A linear "pecking order" of animals, where position dictates characteristic social behaviors |
| Dominant traits | Tend to appear in each generation, affected individuals usually heterozygous if trait rare |
| Ecological Niches | total use of biotics and abiotic resourses in enviornment |
| Empirical | based on observation or experiment |
| Encephalization | measure of the positive deviation with respect to the average brain/body size trend for mammals |
| Endogamy | marriage within one's own tribe or group as required by custom or law |
| Erasmus Darwin | Englishman, 1731-1802, grandfather of Charles Darwin, wrote concepts of time for life to evolve, competition of resources, and the importance of environment in the evolutionary process |
| Estrus | Period of sexual receptivity in female mammals (except humans), correlated with ovulation. |
| Ethogram | A complete inventory or descriptive catalog of the behavior patterns of a given species |
| Evolution | a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage) |
| Evolutionary systematic | method of constructing phylogenies that involves weighing characters by their presumed evolutionary significance |
| Exogamy | marriage to a person belonging to a tribe or group other than your own as required by custom or law |
| Extinction | disappearance of a species from all parts of its geographical range |
| Fitness | ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment |
| Fixity of species | everything on earth is as it was created, stasis |
| Forensic Anthropology | Primarily concerned with the identification and examination of human skeletal remains, which can be used to reveal the sex, approximate age, race, and the presence of skeletal injury of a subject. |
| Founder Effect | when a few individuals become isolated from a larger population, this smaller group may establish a new population whose gene pool isn't reflective of the source population |
| Frenulum | a midline fold of tissue that connects the tongue to the floor of the mouth |
| Frugivorous | feeding on fruit |
| Galago | agile long-tailed nocturnal African lemur with dense woolly fur and large eyes and ears |
| Gametes | Reproductive Cells |
| Gene | sequence of DNA that codes for a protein and thus determines a trait |
| Gene Flow | the exchange of genes with another population |
| Gene Pool | the combined genetic information of all members of a particular population |
| Genetic Bottleneck | The concept that, when populations are severely reduced in size, they may lose some of their genetic diversity |
| Genetic drift | The gradual changes in gene frequencies in a population due to random events |
| Genome | the complete genetic material contained in an individual |
| Genotype | genetic makeup of an organism |
| Genus | a classification grouping that contains similar, closely related organisms |
| Geological time scale | A time scale established by geologists that reflects a consistent sequence of historical periods, grouped into four eras: Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic. |
| Georges Cuvier | 1769-1832, opponent of Lamarck, introduced the concept of extinction to explain the disappearance of animals represented by fossils |
| Gibbon | hominiod. brachiation, asia, longer arms than legs, tiny thumb set back, monogamous, male/females dilineate territory with whoops and songs, very tree dwelling=led to different numbers of chromosomes |
| Gorilla | largest. africa. primarily terrestrial, knuckle walking, groups consist of one large silver back and a few adult females and offspring, no meat, behave similar to us, can catch ebola. |
| Gradualism | The theory that evolution occurs slowly but steadily |
| Gregor Mendel | Augustinian monk and botanist whose experiments in breeding garden peas led to his eventual recognition as founder of the science of genetics (1822-1884) |
| Grooming | Indicates submission or reassurance in dominance hierarchies; picking through fur to remove dirt, parasites, and other materials that may be present. Reinforces social relationships. |
| Haploid Numbers | Total chromosome number in cells that have one of each type of chromosome characteristic of the species. |
| Haplorhini | (dry nose) A suborder of the primates that includes New World monkeys, Old World monkeys, tarsiers and apes (including humans). |
| Heterodont | Having different kinds of teeth; characteristic of mammals, whose teeth consist of incisors, canines, premolars, and molars. |
| Heterozygous | having two different alleles for a trait |
| HMS Beagle | Ship that set sail on December 17th, 1831, carried Charles Darwin on his legendary voyage |
| Home range | the area in which an animal normally ranges |
| Hominoidea | anthropoid apes and human beings |
| Homologies | Similarities between organisms based on descent from a common ancestor. |
| Homologous Chromosomes | chromosomes that have the same sequence of genes and the same structure |
| Homoplasy | similar structure or molecular sequence that has evolved independently in two species |
| Homozygous | having two identical alleles for a trait |
| Hylobatidae | true brachiation, gibbons and siamangs AKA lesser apes |
| Hypothesis | possible explanation for a set of observations or possible answer to a scientific question |
| Inclusive fitness | The sum of an individuals own reporductive success plus the effects the organism has on the reproductive success of related others. |
| Intermembral index | ratio of arm length to leg length |
| Jane Goodall | studied chimps, noticed tool use, cannablism, "warfare", and hunting behaviors |
| Jean Baptiste Lamarck | asserted that all forms of life had arisen through a long process of continuous adjustment to the environment-helped prepare way for Darwin |
| Karl Landsteiner | United States pathologist (born in Austria) who discovered human blood groups (1868-1943) |
| Karyotype | A picture of all the chromosomes in a cell arranged in pairs |
| Kin selection | a mechanism for increasing the frequency of one's genes in a population by helping increase the reproductive success of relatives |
| K selection | when N≅k, this type of selection favors better quality offspring |
| Lemuriformes | lemurs: ringtails, indri, aye aye |
| Linguistic anthropology | study of how people use language to relate to each other and how they develop and transmit culture |
| Locus | the specific site of a particular gene on its chromosome |
| Loris | asia, slow climbing, overlapping territories (solitary), defense behavior=omit bad smell, roll into spikey ball |
| Lorisiformes | Lorises, Pottos, Galagos |
| Lumbar curve | also secondary or acquired – develops as a result of the child being able to stand + begin to walk. Most pronounced of the curves. |
| Macroevolution | evolution on a large scale extending over geologic era and resulting in the formation of new taxonomic groups |
| Madagascar | an island in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa |
| Mary Anning | credited with discovering marine dinosaurs; lived in England |
| Matt Cartmill | "visual predation hypothesis", that primate traits derive from an ancestral adaptation to feeding on insects at night, with a need for improved vision |
| Meiosis | process by which the number of chromosomes per cell is cut in half through the separation of homologous chromosomes in a diploid cell |
| Mendel's Law | laws of dominance,segregation,and independent assortment |
| Microevolution | evolution resulting from small specific genetic changes that can lead to a new subspecies |
| Mitochondria | the organelles in which nutrients are converted to energy |
| Mitosis | cell division in which the nucleus divides into nuclei containing the same number of chromosomes |
| Modern Synthesis | a comprehensive theory of evolution that incorporates genetics and includes most of Darwin's ideas, focusing on populations as the fundamental units of evolution. |
| Molecular Anthropology | A branch of biological anthropology that uses genetic and biochemical techniques to test hypotheses about human evolution, adaptation, and variation. |
| Morphology | scientific study of the forms and structures of plants and animals |
| Mutation | change in a DNA sequence that affects genetic information |
| Natal Group | the group or community an animal has inhabited since birth. |
| Natural Selection | process by which individuals that are better suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully; also called survival of the fittest |
| Negative assortative mating | occurs when phenotypically dissimilar individuals mate preferentially |
| New world monkeys | located in the Americas, 2133 dental structure, includes Spider, Howler, Capuchin, Squirrel Monkeys, Tamarins, and Marmosets |
| Nicolaus Copernicus | Polish astronomer who produced a workable model of the solar system with the sun in the center (1473-1543) |
| Nocturnal | of or relating to or occurring in the night |
| Nodes | strategic points and foci for travel |
| Non-random mating | mating between individuals of the same phenotype or by those who live nearby |
| Nucleotides | Basic units of DNA molecule, composed of a sugar, a phosphate, and one of 4 DNA bases |
| Old World monkeys | located in asia and africa, 2123 dental structure, non-gripping tails, include Baboons, Mandrills, Macaques, and Colobus monkeys. |
| Omnivorous | feeding on both plants and animals |
| Orangutan | An arboreal anthropoid ape (Pongo pygmaeus) of Borneo and Sumatra, having a shaggy reddish-brown coat, very long arms, and no tail. |
| Osteology | the study of bones |
| Paleoanthropology | the scientific study of human fossils |
| Phenetic Classification | Classification based only on similarity of phenotype |
| Phenetics | classification based on degree of overall similarity between individuals |
| Phenotype | physical characteristics of an organism |
| Phenotypic ratio | a ratio that shows the varied outcomes that results from a genetic cross and is based on physical appearance alone |
| Phylogenetic Classification | reflecting evolutionary relationships. Darwin was the first to suggest that any classification of life should be "genealogical"and would naturally be hierarchical; now we call this "phylogenetic" |
| Phylogenetic tree | diagram showing evolutionary relationships of organisms with a common ancestor; resembles a tree |
| Phylogeny | The study of evolutionary relationships among organisms |
| Plesiomorphic | trait shared by different groups of biological organisms derived from common ancestor; primitive |
| Point Mutation | mutation in which one or just a few nucleotides in a gene are changed |
| Polyandry | a polygamous mating system involving one female and many males |
| Polygyny | a polygamous mating system involving one male and many females |
| Pongidae | great apes; orangs: arboreal; gorilla and pan: knuckle walkers |
| Population bottleneck | Usually brought on by disaster which leaves only small chance survivors with the allele alive. |
| Positive assortative mating | occurs when individuals with similar phenotypes mate preferentially |
| Postcranial | everything below skull |
| Power grip | a fist-like grip in which the fingers and thumbs wrap around an object |
| Polygentic traits | to be controlled by two or more genes |
| Precision grip | precise grip in which the tips of the fingers and thumbs come together, enabling fine manipulaiton |
| Prehensile | adapted for grasping especially by wrapping around an object |
| Primate order | the order through which humans descended from primates |
| Primatology | The study of biology and behavior of nonhuman primates |
| Prosimii | the suborder of primates that are biologically primitive compared to anthropoids |
| Quadruped | an animal especially a mammal having four limbs specialized for walking |
| Recessive traits | appear less often in their offspring |
| Regulatory gene | A gene that codes for a protein, such as a repressor, that controls the transcription of another gene or group of genes. |
| Rhinarium | the naked surface around the nostrils, typically wet in animals (primates do not have it) |
| R selection | have as many offspring as possible as fast as possible (fish, insects) |
| Selective Pressures | Forces in the environment that influence reproductive success in individuals |
| Sexual dimorphism | Differences in physical characteristics between males and females of the same species. For example, humans are slightly dimorphic for body size, with males being taller, on average, than females of the same population. |
| Sexual selection | natural selection for mating success |
| Siamang | large black gibbon of Sumatra having the 2nd and 3rd toes partially united by a web |
| Speciation | formation of new species |
| Stabilizing selection | intermediate forms are favored and extreme forms are eliminated |
| Stereoscopic vision | combination of two retinal images to give a 3-D perceptual experience |
| Stratigraphy | study of remains found in layers of soil and rock |
| Strepsirhini | (wet nose) primate taxonomy that includes lemurs and lorises, without tarsiers |
| Structural Gene | gene en coding the amino acid sequence of a protein. Non-regulatory gene. |
| Sympatric | different species sharing the same habitat |
| Synapomorphies | A trait that certain groups of organisms have that exists in no others. |
| Taphonomy | the study of what happens between death and fossilization |
| Thomas Huxley | (1825-1895) English biologist, famous for his defense of Darwinism in his public debate with Archbishop Samuel Wilberforce. Coined the term "agnosticism". |
| Thomas Malthus | an English economist who argued that increases in population would outgrow increases in the means of subsistence (1766-1834) |
| Uniformitarianism | Charles Lyell's idea that geologic processes have not changed throughout Earth's history. |
| Vitalism | the theory that the activities of living organisms are controlled by a vital force |
Combine with other sets
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