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Natural Selection and Evolution exam Flashcards

Natural Selection and Evolution exam
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  • Natural Selection
    A process where the environment selects organisms with advantageous traits, enhancing their fitness.
  • Fitness
    An organism's ability to survive and reproduce in its environment.
  • Adaptation
    The process that enables organisms to improve survival and reproduction in their environments.
  • What is an example of adaptation in giraffes?
    Giraffes with longer necks can access food better, enhancing their survival and reproduction.
  • Who first described the process of natural selection?
    Charles Darwin
  • What are the two requirements for natural selection?
    Genetic diversity within a population and selective pressure for heritable traits that affect fitness.
  • Evolution
    Changes in the DNA of a population over multiple generations.
  • How does natural selection contribute to evolution?
    By selecting organisms with advantageous traits, leading to changes in the population's DNA over time.
  • What is an example of natural selection in crickets?
    Brown crickets blend into their environment better than green crickets, leading to higher survival and reproduction rates.
  • What does 'fitness' mean in the context of natural selection?
    The ability of an organism to survive and reproduce.
  • Selective Pressure
    Environmental factors that favor certain traits over others, affecting an organism's fitness.
  • What happens to organisms that are not well adapted to their environment?
    They are less likely to survive and reproduce.
  • Genetic Diversity
    The variety of different genetic traits within a population.
  • How does adaptation improve an organism's fitness?
    By enabling the organism to better survive and reproduce in its environment.
  • What is the result of natural selection over many generations?
    Evolution, or changes in the DNA of a population.
  • Biodiversity
    The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.
  • What is an example of a selective pressure?
    Predation, where predators preferentially eat certain types of prey.
  • How does natural selection affect a population's traits?
    It increases the frequency of advantageous traits over time.
  • What is the relationship between adaptation and natural selection?
    Adaptation is the result of natural selection.
  • What is an example of fitness in camels?
    Camels are well adapted to hot and dry climates, enhancing their survival and reproduction.
  • Heritable Traits
    Traits that can be passed on to the next generation.
  • What does 'survival of the fittest' mean?
    Organisms that are most fit to their environment are the ones that will survive and reproduce.
  • How does genetic diversity contribute to natural selection?
    It provides a range of traits that natural selection can act upon.
  • What is an example of natural selection in birds and crickets?
    Birds preferentially eat green crickets, leading to a higher survival rate for brown crickets.
  • What is the significance of long necks in giraffes?
    Long necks allow giraffes to access food at higher levels, improving their fitness.
  • How does natural selection lead to adaptation?
    By favoring traits that improve an organism's fitness in its environment.
  • What is the main cause of evolutionary changes in a population?
    Natural selection acting on genetic diversity over many generations.
  • What role does the environment play in natural selection?
    The environment acts as a selective pressure, favoring certain traits over others.
  • How does natural selection drive biodiversity?
    By favoring different traits in different environments, leading to a variety of adaptations.