bio ch22 key terms

  1. uniformitarianism
    The principle stating that mechanisms of change are constant over time. See catastrophism.
  2. adaptation
    inherited characteristic of an organism that enhances its survival and reproduction in specific enviroments
  3. convergent evolution
    The evolution of similar features in independent evolutionary lineages
  4. biogeography
    The study of the past and present distribution of species.
  5. evolutionary tree
    A branching diagram that reflects a hypothesis about evolutionary relationships among groups of organisms
  6. stratum
    (strah'-tum)(plural,strata) A rock layer formed when new layers of sediment cover older ones and compress them.
  7. homology
    (ho-mol'-uh-je−) Similarity in characteristics resulting from a shared ancestry
  8. analogous
    Having characteristics that are similar because of convergent evolution, not homology
  9. continental drift
    The slow movement of the continental plates across Earth's surface
  10. evolution
    Descent with modification; the idea that living species are descendants of ancestral species that were different from the present-day ones; also defined more narrowly as the change in the genetic composition of a population from generation to generation
  11. vestigial structure
    A structure of marginal, if any, importance to an organism. Vestigial structures are historical remnants of structures that had important functions in ancestors
  12. fossil
    A preserved remnant or impression of an organism that lived in the past
  13. Pangea
    (pan-je'-uh) The supercontinent that formed near the end of the Paleozoic era, when plate movements brought all the landmasses of Earth together
  14. natural selection
    A process in which organisms with certain inherited characteristics are more likely to survive and reproduce than are organisms with other characteristics.
  15. homologous structures
    Structures in different species that are similar because of common ancestry
  16. paleontology
    (pa'-le-un-tol'-o-je) The scientific study of fossils
  17. endemic
    (en-dem'-ik) Referring to a species that is confined to a specific, relatively small geographic area.
  18. catastrophism
    (kuh-tas'-truh-fiz'-um) The principle that events in the past occurred suddenly and were caused by different mechanisms than those operating today. See uniformitarianism
  19. artificial selection
    The selective breeding of domesticated plants and animals to encourage the occurrence of desirable traits
Author
Davefungi
ID
202415
Card Set
bio ch22 key terms
Description
19 terms and defs
Updated