| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Phyletic gradualism | transformation of an unbranched lineage to a different state (species) |
| Cladogenesis | branching of new species from a parent species |
| Punctuated equilibria | long periods of stasis punctuated with "sudden" episodes of speciation |
| Exaptations | structures that evolved in one context becomes co-opted for another function |
| Allometric growth | slight changes in relative growth rates can have substantial changes in adults |
| Heterochrony | evolutionary changes in the timing or rate of development |
| Paedomorphosis | retention of ancestral juvenile structures in a sexually mature adult |
| Hypermorphosis | adult morphology of the descendant is produced by a prolongation of the growth trajectory of its ancestor |
| Homeosis | alteration in the placement of different body parts |
| Hox gene | provides positional information in an animal embryo |
| Permian extinction | extreme volcanism and formation of Pangaea |
| Cretaceous extinction | asteroid hypothesis and/or climate change |
| Character | an observable heritable feature |
| Plesiomorphy | an ancestral character |
| Apomorphy | a derived character |
| Outgroup | a taxon designated as the least related to the other taxa being compared |
| Parsimony | a principle that states that the simplest explanation that explains the greatest number of observations is preferred to more complex explanations |
| Homology | similarity in characteristics resulting in shared ancestry |
| Analogy | similarity between two species that is due to convergent evolution rather than to descent from a common ancestor with the same trait |
| Homoplasy | similar structure or molecular sequence that has evolved independently in two species |
| Monophyletic | pertaining to a grouping of species consisting of an ancestral species and all its descendants; a clade. |
| Paraphyletic | pertaining to a grouping of species that consists of an ancestral species and some, but not all, of its descendants. |
| Polyphyletic | pertaining to a grouping of species derived from two or more different ancestral forms |
| DNA-DNA hybridization | test for differences between species by gluing two strands of DNA together and melting them apart |
| Restriction mapping | a process which involved cutting up DNA by using restriction enzymes; used for designing and identifying recombinant DNA |
| Non-Darwinian evolution | neutral evolution |
| Neutral evolution | evolution by genetic drift in which proportions of neutral alleles change by random chance |
| Molecular clock | rate of substitution of neutral alleles is relatively constant when not under control of natural selection |
| Intact fossils | preserved fossils containing original materials |
| Compressed fossils | very thin fossils still containing original materials |
| Casts | fossils formed by minerals substituting the place of a decomposing organism |
| Permineralized fossils | casts which still contain some of the original materials |
| Sedimentary rock | the only place where fossils are found |
| Steno's law of superposition | states that older fossils are on the bottom and younger ones are on the top |
| Index fossils | used to recognize strata |
| Origin of the universe | ~15 billion years ago |
| Sun forms | 5 billion years ago |
| Conditions for life on Earth | 3.9 billion years ago |
| Earth forms | 4.5 billion years ago |
| Replicator | any entity of which copies are made (ex. DNA) |
| Stromatolites | Earth's earliest fossils formed by prokaryotes |
| Prokaryotes | organisms that lack membrane bound nucleus and organelles |
| Rust | evidence of photosynthetic prokaryotes |
| Eukaryotes | multicellular diploid organisms that have chromosomes,membrane-bound nuclei and organelles |
| Paleozoic era | (542 - 251 mya) cambrian, ordovician, silurian, devonian, carboniferous, permian |
| Mesozoic era | (251 - 65 mya) triassic, jurassic, cretaceous |
| Cenozoic era | (65 mya - present) paleogene, neogene |
| Alfred Wegener | came up with the theory of continental drift |
| Pangaea | supercontinent |
| Laurasia | northern subsupercontinent |
| Gondwana | southern subsupercontinent |
| Herbert Spencer | coined the term "survival of the fittest" |
| Sociobiology | systematic study of the biological basis of all social behavior based on evolutionary theory |
| Altruism | behavior of organisms in which they do things that benefit other organisms without benefiting themselves |
| Inclusive fitness | sum of an individual's fitness quantified as the reproductive success of an individual and its relatives |
| Kin selection | selection that favors altruistic behavior by enhancing reproductive success of relatives |
| Evolutionary medicine | the application of principles of evolutionary theory to the practice and research of medicine |
| Humans | are not perfect |
| Precambrian era | (~4.6billion - 542 million years ago) much happened, prokaryotes, eukaryotes |
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