What is biogeography?
Study of patterns in the geographic distribution of species and communities
Biogeography helps understand how species are distributed across different regions.
Who is Darwin and what concept did he coin?
Naturalist who studied species diversity and coined ‘Natural selection’
Darwin’s observations during his voyage significantly influenced evolutionary theory.
What is comparative morphology?
Scientific study of similarities and differences in body plans
This field helps in understanding evolutionary relationships among species.
Define evolution.
Change in a line of descent
Evolution explains how species adapt and change over time.
What is another term for a line of descent?
Lineage
Lineage refers to the ancestral line from which a species descends.
What do fossils represent in the context of evolution?
Records of extinct species that show the line of descent
Fossils provide evidence for the evolutionary history of organisms.
How do we determine the age of fossils?
Radiometric dating
This method measures the decay of radioactive materials in fossils.
What is half-life?
Characteristic time it takes for half of a quantity of a radioisotope to decay
Half-life is crucial for dating fossils accurately.
What is the geological time scale?
Chronology of Earth’s history
It provides a framework for understanding the timing of events in Earth’s past.
What does the Plate Tectonic Theory explain?
Earth’s outermost layer of rock is cracked into plates that move over geologic time
This theory helps explain the distribution of species and geological features.
True or false: Elephants found in Asia and Africa are the same species.
FALSE
They are two different species that share a common ancestor.
Which statement is true regarding the phylogeny of elephants?
- These two species lived on one continent and moved to different locations
- These species share a common ancestor and have a lineage that connects them
Understanding phylogeny helps trace the evolutionary history of species.
