Ch.2: The Evolution of Evolution
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Created by:
GemaRodriguez on February 2, 2010
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12 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 evolution | Change through time. |
| fossils | Remains of life-forms of the past. |
| strata | Layers; here, the layers of rock and soil under the earth's surface. |
| stratigraphy | The study of the earth's strata. |
| catastrophists | Those who believe the history of the earth is explained by a series of global catastrophes, either natural or divine in origin. |
| comparative anatomy | The study of physical features--shared or different--among animal species. Used to reconstruct a fossil species from fragmentary remains. |
| uniformitarianism | The idea the present-day geological processes can also explain the history of the earth. |
| adaptation | The state in which an organism is adjusted to and can survive in its environment through its physical traits and behaviors. Also, the process by which an organism develops this state through natural processes. |
| progressive | In evolution, the now-discounted idea that all change is toward increasing complexity. |
| inheiritance of acquired characteristics | The incorrect idea that adaptive traits acquired during an organism's lifetime can be passes on to its offspring. |
| fitness | The relative adaptiveness of an individual organism, measured ultimately by reproductive success. |
| natural selection | Evolutionary change based on the differential reproductive success of individuals within a species. |
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