ANTH 2700 Chapter 5: Natural Selection
Document Summary
Natural selection and the origin of species [physical anthropology] Microevolution: "small-scale" evolution; genetic changes within a population over time. Macroevolution: "large-scale" evolution; the evolution of new species and higher categories. Artificial selection: the deliberate breeding of domesticated animals or plants. Physical environment: inanimate elements that surround an organism. Cultural environment: products of human endeavor, including technology and social institutions surrounding the organism. Microenvironment: a specific set of physical, biological, and cultural factors immediately surrounding an organism. Habitat: place in which a particular organism lives. Microhabitat: a very specific habitat in which population is found. Ecological niche: specific microhabitat in which a particular population lives and the way that population exploits that microhabitat. Selective agent: any factor that brings about differences in fertility and mortality. Selective pressure: pressure placed by a selective agent on certain individuals within the population that results in the change of allelic frequencies in the next generation.
