LIFE 121 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Gene Pool, Geologic Time Scale, Macroevolution
Document Summary
Mechanism: inheritance of acquired characteristics by using or not using body parts, an individual develops traits which is passed to its offspring. Natural selection: mechanism causing a change in population over time. Process whereby some individuals in a population with favored traits produce more offspring which survive and reproduce than individuals lacking these traits. Evolution: gradual genetic change in a population or a change in allele frequency in a population. Population: groups of individuals (usually a single species) that occurs in a given area. Species: members of same species are generally capable of interbreeding with another to produce fertile offspring (kind of organism) Macroevolution: changes over long periods of geologic time in the species of animals and plants as a result of natural selection. Microevolution: change in population gene pool over relatively short time period. Adaptive trait: any trait that makes organism better suited to its environment and to survive and reproduce in that environment.
