The History of Life on Earth
About this set
Created by:
Fighting4myown on September 27, 2011
Description:
Chapter 25
Log in to favorite or report as inappropriate.
Order by
16 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 macroevolution | the broad pattern of evolution above the species level |
| protocells | droplets with membranes that maintain an internal chemistry different from that of their surroundings |
| ribozymes | RNA catalysts |
| radiometric dating | based on the decay of radioactive isotopes |
| half-life | the time required for 50% of the parent isotope to decay |
| geologic record | the study of fossils that is divided into three eons |
| stromatolites | layered rocks that form when certain prokaryotes bind thin films of sediment together |
| endosymbiont theory | posits that mitochondria and plastids were formerly small prokaryotes that began living within large cells |
| serial endosymbiosis | supposes that the mitochondria evolved before plastids |
| cambrian explosion | a phenomenon in the Cambrian period that suddenly formed animal phyla in fossils |
| plate tectonics | the continents are part of great plates of Earth's crust that essentially float on the hot, underlying portion of the mantle |
| mass extinction | large numbers of species become extinct throughout Earth |
| adaptive radiations | periods of evolutionary change in which groups of organism form many new species whose adaptations allow them to fill different ecological roles, or niches, in their communities |
| heterochrony | an evolutionary change in the rate or timing of developmental events |
| paedomorphosis | reproductive organ development accelerates compared to other organs, the sexually mature stage of a species may retain body features that were juvenitle structures in an ancestral species |
| homeotic genes | master regulatory genes; determine such basic features as where a pair of wings and a pair of legs will develop on a bird or how a plant's flower parts are arranged |
First Time Here?
Welcome to Quizlet, a fun, free place to study. Try these flashcards, find others to study, or make your own.