Exam 5: Ecological Genetics: Adaptation and Natural Selection

Genetic variation is essential for natural selection.

Reversible phenotypic changes of an individual organism in response to changing environmental conditions are referred to as

An individual evolves during its lifetime.

Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of a population to adapt to changing environmental conditions.

The process by which one species gives rise to multiple species that exploit different features of the environment is called ________.

Researcher Beren Robinson has studied sticklebacks inhabiting two habitat types: benthic and ________.

Often, characteristics that give an individual an advantage in one environment will be a disadvantage in other environments.

The position occupied by a gene on the chromosome is called the ________.

Explain how the effects of mutation, genetic drift, and gene flow influence the genetic variation of a population.

Use an example to explain how and why the genotype and environment influence the phenotype of an organism.

The mechanism of evolution that Darwin presents in The Origin of Species is

________ mating occurs when individuals choose mates non-randomly.

Phenotypic evolution is a change in ________ over time, within a population.

Describe the general relationship between an autotroph and a heterotroph.

A(n)________ is a population that has adapted to its unique local environmental conditions.

Evolution is a process of perpetual change against a backdrop of

The proportionate contribution that an individual makes to future generations is called its ________.

If birds with larger beaks are favoured by the environment, it is likely that ________ selection will occur.

________ are inheritable changes in a gene or chromosome.

Some of the best examples of phenotypic plasticity occur among plants.