Evolution and Diversity

Question 1

The frequency with which a particular allele for a certain characteristic appears among all alleles for that characteristic in a population.

Answer 1

allelic frequency

Question 2

The movement of genes, within a population or between populations, through mating.

Answer 2

gene flow

Question 3

An organism with membrane-bound intracellular organelles including a nucleus containing multiple chromosomes. Unlike prokaryotes, ____ undergo sexual reproduction via meiosis, are more complex, and arose later in evolutionary history. ____ include protists, fungi, plants and animals.

Answer 3

eukaryote

Question 4

A virus capable of infecting bacteria and using its host’s replication apparatus to replicate itself. It is also known as bacteriophage.

Answer 4

phage

Question 5

A single-celled organism that completely lacks membrane-bound organelles such as a nucleus or mitochondria. They possess a single circular strand of DNA. They are simpler than eukaryotes, arose earlier in evolutionary history, and include all bacteria. They are in the kingdom Monera.

Answer 5

prokaryote

Question 6

A single-celled fungus that thrives in moisture or water and reproduces either sexually or asexually (budding).

Answer 6

yeast

Question 7

Animals that have developed fat and fur, hair or feathers in order to retain heat produced by metabolic activities. Also known as endothermic. These animals are able to thrive in various climates because they are minimally affected by environmental fluctuations in temperature.

Answer 7

warm-blooded

Question 8

The bodily structures that developed in the past, but no longer serve any function for an organism.

Answer 8

vestigial structures

Question 9

A live birth animal that retains an embryo in the uterus, feeding it with a placenta that connects to the mother’s bloodstream.

Answer 9

viviparous

Question 10

An animal that has a skeletal rod of bone or cartilage running up its back, surrounding the nerve cord. Segments of this rod are called vertebrae. These animals belong to subphylum Vertebrata, part of the phylum Chordata.

Answer 10

vertebrate

Question 11

A trait found in different species that are morphologically and functionally similar and that come from the same ancestral condition. A whale’s fin and a human’s arm are examples.

Answer 11

homologous trait

Question 12

The theory that new species evolve by several slow, minute changes over a long stretch of time. This was replaced by the theory of punctuated equilibrium, which better explains the radical changes in the fossil record that occur between long periods of no change.

Answer 12

gradualism

Question 13

The second lowest form of taxonomic classification (6th lowest of 7), right below family and above species. The full scientific name of an organism includes ____ and species, as homo in homo sapiens.

Answer 13

genus

Question 14

The grouping of fossilized remains according to relative and absolute age.

Answer 14

fossil record

Question 15

The genetic contribution an individual makes to the next generation, relative to other individuals in the population. A relative measure of an individual’s success in passing on its genes to the next generation. Also called Darwinian fitness.

Answer 15

fitness

Question 16

One of the lower forms of taxonomic classification (5th lowest of 7), right below order and above genus (eg. Canidae, Hominidae, Felidae).

Answer 16

family

Question 17

A terrestrial plant with a vascular system.

Answer 17

tracheophyte

Question 17

The study of biological classification.

Answer 17

taxonomy

Question 18

The evolution of a new species based on intrinsic factors such as genetic changes or nonrandom mating. Capable of forming a new species within the same range as the parent species. Contrasts with allopatric speciation.

Answer 18

sympatric speciation

Question 19

The state in which selection pressures favor the average form of a trait.

Answer 19

stabilizing selection

Question 20

One of two coelomate divisions (the other is protostomes) characterized by a radical cleavage pattern in early development, indeterminate cleavage (every divided cell can potentially form a complete embryo), and the development of the blastopore into the anus. Includes echinoderms and chordates.

Answer 20

deuterostome

Question 21

An organism, such as bacteria or fungi, that consumes waste products and dead organic material. Also called saprophytes, these liberate inorganic elements such as nitrogen and carbon and allow those elements to move back into their respective chemical cycles.

Answer 21

decomposer

Question 22

English naturalist (1809-1882) who proposed the modern theory of evolution through natural selection. Traveled aboard the HMS Beagle to the Galapagos Islands where his revolutionary observations took shape.

Answer 22

Charles Darwin

Question 23

Usually unicellular and microscopic, these are produced by protist molds, fungi, and plants and can develop into new individuals. It can survive without food or water for long periods. Most fungi spend part of their lifestyle as hyphae and part as ____.

Answer 23

spores

Question 24

An evolutionary model marked by a rapid explosion of changes from the parent species followed by long-term stasis. Explains the short yet radical changes in the fossil record that punctuate long periods of no change.

Answer 24

punctuated equilibrium

Question 25

A major coelomate branch (the other is deuterostomes) that includes mollusks and annelids. Protosomes have spiral cleavage patterns in early development, determinate cleavage (each divided cell has a predetermined fate), and a blastopore that develops into the mouth.

Answer 25

protostome

Question 26

Any herbivore, such as a cow, with a specialized digestive system for processing cellulose. They have a multi-compartmented stomach and a symbiotic relationship with microorganisms in the digestive tract capable of cellulose breakdown.

Answer 26

ruminant

Question 27

An infectious nucleic acid (virus) with a complex replication cycle. _____ are RNA viruses that can transcribe themselves into DNA and insert themselves into the host's genome. The host's own cellular apparatuses transcribe new retrovirus or translate viral protein. HIV is one kind of ___.

Answer 27

retrovirus

Question 28

The inability of individuals within a species to create offspring with members of any other species. The mark of a species is its ______ from all other species.

Answer 28

reproductive isolation

Question 29

An infectious protein believed to be misfolded proteins capable of replicating by converting correctly folded proteins. Not to be mistaken as viruses (which are infectious nucleic acids), ____ are the method of transmission in infectious diseases like mad cow disease.

Answer 29

prion

Question 30

The sedentary, mouth-up form of cnidarians such as sea anemones.

Answer 30

polyp

Question 30

On the ocean's surface, the microscopic organisms constituting the base of many aquatic food chains. Two important _____ are copepods (tiny heterotrophic crustaceans) and phytoplankton (eukaryotic algae and prokaryotic cyanobacteria that account for half of global photosynthetic activity).

Answer 30

plankton

Question 31

The second largest taxonomic classification, right below kingdoms (eg. Chordata)

Answer 31

phylum

Question 32

The evolutionary relationships of a group of organisms.

Answer 32

phylogeny

Question 32

The aggregate changes that create a new species from a previously existing one.

Answer 32

phyletic evolution

Question 32

The development of a species through evolution. A species forms when its members become reproductively isolated from all other organisms. _____ can occur through geographic separation that eliminates gene flow, or through adaptive radiation.

Answer 32

speciation

Question 33

A group of organisms defined by their ability to interbreed with only each other.

Answer 33

species

Question 33

An animal that retains a fertilized egg inside the mother's body. The embryo gains nourishment from the egg yolk and hatches in the uterus.

Answer 33

ovoviparous

Question 34

An animal that lays eggs outside the mother's body.

Answer 34

oviparous

Question 34

The fourth largest taxonomic classification, right below class (eg, primata, carnivora)

Answer 34

order

Question 35

A heterotroph that consumes both plant and animal matter.

Answer 35

omnivore

Question 35

The theory proposed by Darwin that organisms produce as many offspring as possible and compete for limited resources. Certain characteristics allow organisms to survive and reproduce more effectively and become more prevalent in subsequent generations. It is the engine of evolution.

Answer 35

natural selection

Question 36

The organization in fungi of several hyphae into a large and interwoven network.

Answer 36

mycelium

Question 37

A molecule or gene sequence that has a constant rate change through accumulation of neutral substitutions, and is therefore a good measuring stick for the time of divergence of different species.

Answer 37

molecular clock

Question 38

The free-floating, mouth-down form of cnidarians such as a jellyfish.

Answer 38

medusa

Question 39

An evolutionary theory (proved false by Darwin) stating that species change over time by the use and disuse of structures, and the inheritance of acquired traits.

Answer 39

Lamarckism

Question 40

The second-broadest category (after domain) of biological taxonomy.

Answer 40

kingdom

Question 41

Any animal lacking a backbone. Animals such as parozoa, radiata, acoelomates, pseudocoelomates, protostomes, and some deuterostomes (such as echinoderms) are all ________.

Answer 41

invertebrate

Question 42

Referring to actions, relations, or associations between individuals of the same species.

Answer 42

intraspecific

Question 43

A crucial, and incorrect, aspect of Lamarck's theory of evolution. Lamarck believed that the traits a parent acquired during its lifetime would be passed on to its offspring.

Answer 43

inheritance of acquired traits

Question 44

An individual's fitness, including both the genes that an individual passes on directly to the next generation and those shared genes the individual helps close relatives to pass on. This concept helps explain altruistic behavior.

Answer 44

inclusive fitness

Question 45

Instinctual behavior in which social bonds are formed during early development. Typically used with the example of a newly hatched bird or other animal identifying and treating the first moving object it sees as its mother.

Answer 45

imprinting

Question 46

The individual building blocks of a multicellular fungi. They are made of thin threads of tubular walls surrounding eukaryotic type cells.

Answer 46

hyphae (plural - hyphae)

Question 47

The largest division of the gymnosperms, characterized primarily by the cone as a reproductive structure and secondarily by its needle-like leaves and evergreen life cycle (eg. pines, spruces, firs, junipers)

Answer 47

conifer

Question 48

A category of animals that is unable to retain heat produced by metabolic activities. Also known as ectothermic. The metabolism of _____ animals is greatly influenced by climate and temperature.

Answer 48

cold-blooded.

Question 49

The linked changes in two species as they adapt to each other's ongoing evolution.

Answer 49

coevolution

Question 49

Any animal with a fluid-filled body cavity lining the digestive tract, derived from embryonic tissues.

Answer 49

coelomate

Question 50

A taxonomic classification whose rank is below phylum and above order

Answer 50

class

Question 51

The formation of a new species from a previously existing and still-surviving one.

Answer 51

cladogenesis

Question 52

The science of grouping organisms according to shared characteristics, both morphological and molecular. Cladistic analysis produces branching tree diagrams (cladograms) which represent evolutionary relationships among organisms.

Answer 52

cladistics

Question 52

A lower terrestrial plant (often a moss or liverwort) that lacks a vascular system and is dependent on environmental moisture for reproductive and nutritive functions.

Answer 52

bryophyte

Question 53

A trait that is morphologically and functionally similar in two different species, but which arose from different ancestors.

Answer 53

analogous trait

Question 54

The fluctuations between the diploid (sporophyte) and haploid (gametophyte) life stages that occur in plants.

Answer 54

alternation of generations

Question 54

Evolution of a new species based on the block in gene flow caused by geographic barriers. Contrasts with sympatric speciation

Answer 54

allopatric speciation

Question 55

The evolutionary process by which ancestral forms of a group of organisms are diversified through adaptation to new environments.

Answer 55

adaptive radiation

Question 56

Any animal, such as flatworms, that are completely solid, lacking a tubular cavity between the digestive tract and the body covering.

Answer 56

acoelomate