BIOL 1020U- Midterm Exam Guide - Comprehensive Notes for the exam ( 37 pages long!)
Document Summary
Evolution: accumulation of inherited changes in populations over time, leading to related species. The pattern of evolution is an accepted fact in science. Evolution by natural selection" is the dominant mechanism for evolution acknowledges that other processes contribute to evolutionary change. Darwinian fitness: an individual"s ability to survive and reproduce relative to other members of a population. Population: group of individuals of one species living in one geographic area & sharing the same gene pool. Species: group of populations composed of organisms with common ancestry, sharing similar structures, functions, behaviours, etc. and able to freely interbreed in nature. Community: group of species that live together & interact in a given area. Ecosystem: an interactive system composed of one or more communities and their abiotic (physical) environment. Proposed by charles darwin and is based on four observations: 1. variation in phenotype (size, shape, behaviour) exists among individuals.
