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Bio Chapter 16

Terms in this set (23)

_______ change over time; the process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient organisms.
Evolution
Darwin developed a scientific theory of biological evolution that explains how modern organisms evolved over long periods of time through __________________________.
descent from common ancestors
Darwin noticed that different, yet ecologically similar, animal species inhabited separated, but ecologically similar, habitats - ________________.
around the globe
Darwin noticed that different, yet related, animal species often occupied different habitats ____________.
within a local area
_____________: preserved remains or traces of ancient organisms.
Fossil
_________________ noticed that some fossils of extinct animals were similar to living species.
Darwin
__________________ concluded that Earth is extremely old and that the processes that changed Earth in the past are the same processes that operate in the present.
Hutton and Lyell
___________ suggested that organisms could change during their lifetimes by selectively using or not using various parts of their bodies. He also suggested that individuals could pass these acquired traits on to their offspring, enabling species to change over time.
Lamarck
________________ reasoned that if the human population grew unchecked, there wouldn't be enough living space and food for everyone.
Malthus
______________: Heritable characteristic that increases an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in an environment.
Adaptation
_______________: how well an organism can survive and reproduce in its environment.
Fitness
_________________: Process by which organisms that are most suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully; also called survival of the fittest.
Natural Selection
According to the principle of ______________, all species - living and extinct - are descended from ancient common ancestors.
common descent
_____________: Study of past and present distribution of organisms.
Biogeography
Many recently discovered _______________ form series that trace the evolution of modern species from extinct ancestors.
fossils
________________: structures that are similar in different species of common ancestry.
Homologous structures
_______________: body parts that share a common function, but not structure
Analogous structures
______________: structure that is inherited from ancestors but has lost much or all of its original function.
Vestigial structure
Similar patterns of ____________________ provide further evidence that organisms have descended from a common ancestor.
embryological development
All living cells use information coded in _______ and ______ to carry information from one generation to the next and to direct protein synthesis.
DNA; RNA
At the _________________, the universal genetic code and homologous molecules provide evidence of common descent.
molecular level
The Grant Study documents that natural selection takes place in wildfinch populations frequently, and sometimes _____________.
rapidly
The Grant Study shows that variation within a species _____________ the likelihood of species' adapting to and surviving environmental change.
increases
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