Unit 3 Study Guide

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What is Natural Selection?

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Natural selection is the process where organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. It leads to adaptations in species.

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What is Genetic Drift?

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Genetic drift is a mechanism of evolution that refers to random changes in the frequency of alleles in a population, often having a more significant effect in small populations.

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What are ecological niches?

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Ecological niches are the roles or functions of an organism within its environment, including its habitat, resource use, and interactions with other organisms.

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What is the significance of habitat barriers in speciation?

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Habitat barriers prevent different populations from interbreeding, leading to speciation as populations adapt to their specific environments.

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What is Biochemistry in the context of evolutionary relationships?

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Biochemistry involves comparing the DNA and protein sequences of different organisms to determine their evolutionary relationships.

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How does Natural Selection differ from other mechanisms of evolution?

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Natural selection is non-random and leads to adaptations, while other mechanisms like genetic drift and gene flow can be random.

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What is Non-Random Mating?

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Non-random mating occurs when individuals select mates based on specific traits, which can affect allele frequencies in a population.

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What is Gene Flow?

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Gene flow is the transfer of genetic material between populations, which can introduce new alleles and increase genetic diversity.

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What are Mutations?

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Mutations are changes in the DNA sequence that can lead to new traits in organisms, serving as a source of genetic variation.

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What is the Fossil Record?

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The fossil record is the collection of all known fossils and their placement in the earth's rock layers, providing evidence of past life and evolution.