Evolution and Biodiversity Vocabulary
Chapter 4
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
natural selection
biological evolution
mutations
differential reproduction
adaptation or adaptive trait
coevolution
fitness
tectonic plates
ecological niche
niche types (fundamental, realized)
generalist species
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
specialist species
evolutionary divergence
speciation
geographic isolation
reproductive isolation
extinction
endemic species
artificial selection
genetic engineering
GMOs
resource partitioning
Evolution and Biodiversity Reading Guide (Chapter 4)
CORE CASE STUDY – Earth: The Just-Right Adaptable Planet (p.82)
1. What two planetary conditions determine the earth’s just-right temperature?
2. What earthly condition keeps oxygen molecules from flying off into space?
ORIGINS OF LIFE (pp.83 – 85)
3. T / F Darwin is famous for proposing that organisms change over time and are descended from a single common
ancestor. Defend your choice.
4. T / F Paleontologists have easy jobs. Dig up bones and piece them together, just like a puzzle. Defend your
choice.
EVOLUTION, NATURAL SELECTION, AND ADAPTATION (pp.85 – 87)
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
List the two ways mutations occur.
Are mutations good or bad? Explain.
What three conditions are necessary for biological evolution?
Do populations always adapt? Why/why not?
Describe three common myths about evolution through natural selection.
GEOLOGIC PROCESSES, CLIMATE CHANGE, CATASTROPHES, AND EVOLUTION (pp.87 – 89)
10. The following three processes have important effects on the evolution and location of life on earth. List the
effects for each:
Geologic Processes
Climate Change
Catastrophes
ECOLOGICAL NICHES AND ADAPTATION (pp.89 – 91)
11. Use a personal analogy (use the book’s analogy as a guide to your thinking) to distinguish between a
fundamental niche and a realized niche.
12. Is it better to be a specialist or a generalist? Explain.
SPECIATION, EXTINCTION, AND BIODIVERSITY (pp. 91 – 94)
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
How do new species evolve?
How do populations become separated?
Distinguish between mass extinctions and background extinction.
How many mass extinctions have occurred and how often do they occur?
The scientific consensus is that human activities are increasing/decreasing the earth’s biodiversity.
GENETIC ENGINEERING AND THE FUTURE OF EVOLUTION (pp. 94 – 98)
18. Differentiate between artificially selected organisms and transgenic organisms.
19. If you (or your parents) could design a baby from a list of genetic traits, would you? List the moral, legal, and
environmental implications.