Biological Diversity and Evolutionary Concepts Quiz

Structures in different species that are similar due to shared ancestry.

The basic unit of biological classification, consisting of individuals that can interbreed.

Photosynthesis is a metabolic process in plants, not a mechanism of biological evolution.

Traits or behaviors that increase an organism's chances of survival and reproduction in its environment.

Genetic drift is a random change in allele frequencies unrelated to the fitness of organisms.

The branch of biology that deals with the normal functions of living organisms and their parts.

The theory that explains how species adapt and evolve over time through the process of natural selection.

Independent evolution of similar features in species that do not share a recent common ancestry.

The accumulation of differences between groups, leading to the formation of new species.

Evolutionary adaptation where one species evolves to resemble another for protection or other benefits.

The study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time.

The presence of different alleles and genotypes within a population, which allows for differential survival and reproduction.

A sudden reduction in population size due to a catastrophic event, leading to random changes in gene frequencies.

The theory suggesting that evolution occurs in rapid bursts followed by long periods of stability.

The diversification of a group of organisms into forms filling different ecological niches.

Lamarck's theory, which proposed the inheritance of acquired traits, is not accepted in modern evolutionary biology.