recombinationthe genetic process by which one chromosome breaks off and attaches to another chromosome during reproductive cell divisionevolution by artificial selectionThe process in which humans determine which individuals breed, typically with a preconceived set of traits in mindevolution by natural selectionThe process in which the environment determines which individuals survive and reproduce.fitnessan individuals ability to survive and reproduceadaptationa trait that improves an individuals fitnessgene flowThe process by which individuals move from one population to another and thereby alter the genetic composition of both populationsgenetic drifta change in the genetic composition of a population over time as a result of random matingbottleneck effecta reduction in the genetic diversity of a population caused by a reduction in its sizeextinctionthe death of the last member of a speciesgeographic isolationphysical separation of a group of individuals from others of the same speciesallopatric speciationthe process of speciation that occurs with geographic isolationreproductive isolationThe result of two populations within a species evolving separately to the point that they can no longer interbreed and produce viable offspringsympatric speciationthe evolution of one species into two without geographic isolationgenetically modified organisman organism produced by copying genes from a species with a desirable trait and inserting them into another speciesrange of tolerancethe limits to the abiotic conditions that a species can toleratefundamental nicheThe suite of abiotic conditions under which a species can survive, grow, and reproducerealized nichethe range of abiotic and biotic conditions under which a species actually livesdistributionareas of the world in which species liveniche generalista species that can live under a wide range of abiotic or biotic conditionsniche specialista species that is specialized to live in a specific habitat or to feed on a small group of speciesmass extinctionA large extinction of species in a relatively short period of timefounder effectA change in the genetic composition of a population as a result of descending from a small number of colonizing individuals
