Vocabulary Vocabulary ReviewReview

Ch 15 – Theory Ch 15 – Theory of Evolutionof Evolution

A heritable change in the characteristics within a population

from one generation to the next; the

development of new types of organisms

from preexisting types of organisms over time

Evolution

Layers of rock

Strata

The process by which individuals that are

better adapted to their environment survive and

reproduce more successfully than less

well adapted individuals do; a theory to explain

the mechanism of evolutionNatural Selection

The process of becoming adapted to an environment; an

anatomical, physiological, or

behavioral trait that improves an

organism’s ability to survive and reproduce

Adaptation

In evolutionary theory, a measure of an individual’s

hereditary contribution to the

next generation

Fitness

The trace or remains of an organism that lived long ago, most commonly

preserved in sedimentary rock

Fossil

A principle that states that

younger rocks lie above older rocks if the layers have

not been disturbed

Superposition

The age of an object in relation

to the ages of other objects

Relative age

The numeric age of an object or event, often stated in years before

the present, as established by an absolute-dating process, such as

radiometric dating

Absolute age

The study of the geographical

distribution of living organisms

and fossils on Earth

Biogeography

Anatomical structures in one species that,

compared to other anatomical structures in

another species, originated from a single anatomical structure in a

common ancestor of the two species

Homologous structure

An anatomical structure in one species that is

similar in function and appearance, but not in evolutionary origin, to

another anatomical structure in another

speciesAnalogous structure

A structure in an organism that is

reduced in size and function and that may have been complete and functional in the organism’s ancestors

Vestigial structure

The evolutionary history of a species or taxonomic group; the relationships by

ancestry among species or taxonomic

groups

Phylogeny

The process by which unrelated species become more similar as

they adapt to the same kind of environmentConvergent evolution

The process by which two or more

related but reproductively

isolated populations

become more and more dissimilarDivergent

evolution

An evolutionary pattern in which

many species evolve from a

single ancestral species

Adaptive radiation

The selective breeding of

organisms (by humans) for

specific desirable characteristics

Artificial selection

The evolution of two or more species that

is due to mutual influence, often in a way that makes the relationship more

mutually beneficial

Coevolution