Mircoevolution
the change in distribution of allele frequencies and their traits within a population/species over time
Speciation
the formation of distinct species (groups between which individuals can successfully interbreed)
Macroevolution
substantial changes in form over time
Common Ancestry
All organisms descended from a common ancestorial stock of genes
Transitional forms
Species showing a mix of traits between known ancestor and descendants
Homology
similarity in structure due to same developmental evolutionary background (COMMON ANCESTOR!!)
Convergence + Analogy
independent evolution of similar traits due to similar environments and lifestyles. analogy. opp. of homology. similarity in function or structure due to similar selective pressures not due to inheritance.
Vestigial Structures
structures that lack their original function. structures that have gone missing.
Adaptation
the development of traits that give individuals with the trait higher chance of survival and successful reproduction than others in their population.
a trait that increases an individual's ability to survive and reproduce compared to individuals without the trait
Externalist View
(Adaptationist Programme + constraints)
organisms are malleable to natural selection and anything in the environment can cause a trait to be passed on
Adaptationist programme- Natural selection is the only cause of evolution and everything developed due to selective pressures
problems: assumes all traits are optimal, if a trait is incapable of variation, then it can't be adapted (color of blood), spandrels: random things that are not optimal adaptations they just are, this is a error in reasoning
Internalist View
basic body plans must be considered as a whole system that adapts *with constraints*
Exaptation
a structure that increases ability to survive that has changed function from the previous structure
VIDA
variation, inheritance, differential survival, adaptation
Darwinian Fitness
an individual's relative ability to survive and reproduce and contribute to the next generation compared to other individuals in the population
Artificial Selection
breeding. choosing traits to pass on to the next generation
Natural Selection
predictable, algorithmic, inefficient, non-random selection that acts upon individuals' phenotypes to change allele frequencies withing a population according to the rules of the game at the present moment.
Sister Taxa
share the most common ancestor. look down and straight back up to find matches
Polytomy
when 3 or more descendants are shown sharing a common ancestor that is unsure. tree is incomplete and the differentiating ancestor is missing
Clade
a common ancestor and ALL of its descendants
and NO ONE else
Artificial Groups
like a clade but more random. a common ancestor and some descendants and maybe others that are not descendants but share qualities with the clade
Reversal
secondary loss of characters. can be convergent reversal
Evidence for Phylogenic Trees
Shared derived characters- new characters that pop up. not ancestral characters
Morphological characters- similarity in form
Genetic homology- similarity in sequence positions of DNA and RNA and proteins
Rare genomic events- weird big things that happen that make big changes and differentiation
Parsimony
the simplest solution is usually the correct solution. always assume the solution with the least number as changes
Maximum Likelihood
a model of sequence evolution to evaluate trees based on branch orders and lengths of time
Bootstrapping
duplicating data randomly multiple times over to get a larger set of data to analyze results from
Genetic Drift
change in allele frequencies in a population due to natural disasters. is random
Observational Studies
go out and watch. no manipulation.
Experimental Manipulation
manipulate the environment or phenotype
Comparative Methods
investigate how sets of traits evolve/pop up across populations/species to find evidence of adaptation
WATCH OUT for common descent. not all adaptation is adaptation for real and can just be traits passed down
ask the question when species diverge from a common starting point, if a trait change is there a predictable change in the other
PIC
phylogenically independent contrasts. divergence considering common ancestors