Evolution and Natural Selection

Front

What are derived traits?

Back

Newly evolved traits that do not appear in fossils, such as feathers.

Front

What is fitness in the context of evolution?

Back

The measure of the relative contribution that an individual makes to the next generation.

Front

What is allopatric speciation?

Back

A form of speciation that occurs when populations are geographically isolated from each other.

Front

What type of natural selection is represented by a graph showing two extremes being favored?

Back

Disruptive selection.

Front

What is genetic drift?

Back

Any change in the allelic frequencies in a population that results from chance.

Front

What are ancestral traits?

Back

Traits that were present in a common ancestor and are passed down to descendants.

Front

What is natural selection?

Back

The process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.

Front

What is adaptation?

Back

A trait that increases an organism's fitness in its environment.

Front

What is the founder effect?

Back

A form of genetic drift that occurs when a small group of individuals establishes a new population.

Front

What is stabilizing selection?

Back

A type of natural selection that favors average individuals in a population.