BIOL 1070 Study Guide - Quiz Guide: Ontogeny, Zebra Mussel, Cladistics
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Genera (singular: genus) - homo (humans and extinct relatives, e. g. , neanderthals) Species (singular is also species, not specie) - sapiens (humans) Biologists use the word diversity to refer to the number of species in a taxonomic group or a geographical area. Each species has morphological (physical) traits that can be used to distinguish it from other mussels. Our development what biologists call ontogeny involves significant changes in morphology from youth to old age. Female mussels have a wider posterior while males come to a point. Dreissena polymorpha, is one such example: polymorpha means many forms . To be evolutionarily relevant, variation among individuals must be heritable. In other words, there must be a genetic basis for the observed trait such that it will be passed on in similar form to offspring. Cases in which the same set of genes (genotype) can result in differing features (phenotype) according to environmental conditions are known as phenotypic plasticity .
