Ecology: Evolution Review
EQ: How does evolution affect the species living in an ecosystem?
LS: I will be able to use the principles of evolution to explain why particular species are found in
certain environments.
A. a quick review of the _____________ of evolution
1. Charles Darwin was the ______________ by the science community for his ideas for _______________
a. evolution is a process by which species _____________________ as a result of changes in
______________ physical or behavioral traits
i. allow them to better _________ (adjust) to their environment in order to ____________ and have
more _____________
2. Darwin proposed _______ ideas to help support the overall _________ of evolution
a. there is ________________ in traits
b. ________________ reproduction: the environment can’t support an _____________ population growth,
so _______ the individuals in a population are ______ to reproduce to their _____ potential
c. desirable traits are _____________ to surviving offspring
d. the more _______________ a trait is in the environment, the more ____________ it becomes in the
environment
e. species will respond to _____________ in their environment through_____________, which is based on
the traits that are already _____________ in the population—natural selection
3. natural selection acts to ____________ and accumulate minor _________________ genetic mutations
a. preservation of a functional advantage that _________ a species to ______________ better in the wild
b. natural selection is a ___________________ process
4. Darwin claimed that there was a continual ________________________ in nature, and only the
____________ would survive
5. the other concept of Darwin’s theory of evolution was ________________________ (does not mean the
_____________ is going to win all the time)
a. the “fittest” refers simply to the individual who has the ________________ of traits that allows that
individual to ___________ and produce _______ offspring, that in turn will survive and reproduce
6. adaptations are inherited traits that ____________ an organisms __________________________
a. take several _________________ to have an affect
7. Darwin was the first to propose that ____ living species evolved from a ___________ ancestor, known as
__________________
a. common ancestry between organisms of different species comes about during _______________ which
is when _____ species are established from a single _______________ population
B. evidence for evolution
1. ancient remains and the __________ layers: found in _________________ rock
a. date fossils by fossil placement and ____________ (known as radioactive dating)
2. geographic _________________ of living species
a. follows patterns that are best explained by evolution in conjunction with ___________________
i. suggested that some animals on each continent were living under __________ pressure of natural
selection; therefore, they ____________ certain striking features in ____________
3. comparison _____________ molecules
4. ____________ of living animals
a. ______________ structures
b. ____________ structures
c. _____________ structures
5. similarities of the ___________
C. Patterns of evolution
1._______________: is the change of two or more species in ______________________ with each other
a. they evolve _____________ because they are connected to one another ________________
b. examples: insects and__________, humming birds and flowers, _____________ and their hosts
2. ________________ evolution: is a process in which ____________ organisms come to ______________
one another
a. evolve _____________ features ____________________ often because they live in ____________
habitats (features are analogous)
i. occurs when the environment selects ____________________________
3. ________________ evolution: is when two or more __________ populations or species become more and
more _______________
a. this is a response to ______________ habitats, and it can ultimately result in ______ species
b. _____________ radiation is a type of divergent evolution: a process in which a _________ species or
small group of species has ______________ into several different forms that live in _____________
ways
i. occurs when many ________ species evolve from a ________ ancestral species (ex: Darwin’s finches)
D. Artificial Section vs. Natural Selection
1. Farmers and breeders select ____________ traits and cross breed for those outcomes
a. process is also called ___________________
b. traits are chosen from the ____________________ of the species (traits found in nature)
2. caused major changes in _____________ species