Evolutionary biology

thumb|right|Brachiopods and [[bryozoans in an Ordovician limestone, southern Minnesota]] Paleobiology (or palaeobiology) is an interdisciplinary field that combines the methods and findings found in both the earth sciences and the life sciences. An investigator in this field is known as a paleobiologist.

parental expenditure (e.g. time, energy, resources) that benefits offspring

cause that reduces reproductive success in a proportion of a population

set of morphological features common to members of a clade of animals

behaviour whereby an organism acts in a manner that temporarily reduces its fitness while increasing another organism's fitness

part of mainstream economics

thumb|right|250px|Phylogenetic divergence (phyletic gradualism) (above) shows relatively slow changes during geologic epoch: the broken balance (below) illustrates morphological stability and (rarely) the relatively rapid evolutionary change.

mutational change from one generation to the next

study devoted to understanding the acute and chronic responses to physical activity

Toxicofera (Latin for "toxin-bearers") is a clade of scaled reptiles (squamates) that includes the Serpentes (snakes), Anguimorpha (monitor lizards, beaded lizards, and alligator lizards) and Iguania (iguanas, agamas, and chameleons). Toxicofera contains about 4,600 species (nearly 60%) of extant Squamata. It encompasses all venomous reptile species, as well as numerous related non-venomous species. There is little morphological evidence to support this grouping; however, it has been recovered by all molecular analyses as of 2012.

multi-layered sheet of microorganisms

hypothesis proposed by Louis Dollo which states evolution is not reversible

effect of learned behavior on evolution

Exaptation or co-option is a shift in the function of a trait during evolution. For example, a trait can evolve because it served one particular function, but subsequently it may come to serve another. Exaptations are common in both anatomy and behaviour.

speciation within a population where subpopulations are reproductively isolated

ecogeographical rule in evolutionary biology stating that members of a species get smaller or bigger depending on the resources available in the environment

application of modern evolutionary theory to understanding health and disease

putative fossilized microorganisms found near hydrothermal vents

Self-preservation is a behavior or set of behaviors that ensures the survival of an organism. It is thought to be universal among all living organisms.

Phylogeography is the study of the historical processes that may be responsible for the past to present geographic distributions of genealogical lineages. This is accomplished by considering the geographic distribution of individuals in light of genetics, particularly population genetics.

Dysgenics refers to any decrease in the prevalence of traits deemed to be either socially desirable or generally adaptive to their environment due to selective pressure disfavouring their reproduction.

thumb|upright=1.5|Painting of Hugo de Vries, making a painting of an evening primrose, the plant which had apparently produced new forms by large mutations in his experiments, by [[Thérèse Schwartze, 1918]] Mutationism is one of several alternatives to evolution by natural selection that have existed both before and after the publication of Charles Darwin's 1859 book On the Origin of Species. In the theory, mutation was the source of novelty, creating new forms and new species, potentially instantaneously, in sudden jumps. This was envisaged as driving evolution, which was thought to be limite

study of how interactions among species and between species and their environment affect species through selection and adaptation

competition of sets of genes, traits, or species, that develop adaptations and counter-adaptations against each other

type of selection in evolution where a trait stabilizes around the average value

thumb|In palaeontology, the evidence for [[species and evolution comes mainly from the comparative anatomy of fossils. A chronospecies is defined in a single lineage (solid line) whose morphology changes with time. At some point, palaeontologists judge that enough change has occurred that two forms (A and B), separated in time and anatomy, once existed. If only sporadic examples of each survive in the fossil record, the forms will appear sharply distinct.]] A chronospecies is a species derived from a sequential development pattern that involves continual and uniform changes from an extinct anc

Research institute in the Galapagos

method used in protein engineering that mimics the process of natural selection to steer proteins or nucleic acids toward a user-defined goal

how sexually reproducing multicellular organisms could have evolved from a common ancestor species

branch of science

subfield of evolutionary biology and virology concerned with the evolution of viruses

speciation in which a new species is formed from an isolated smaller peripheral population

since heritable information is passed from generation to generation almost exclusively by DNA, natural selection and evolution are best considered from the perspective of genes

controversial term for uncontrolled dispersal of contaminated altered genes from genetically engineered organisms to natural organisms

process of selection a romantic or sexual partner

measure of the rate at which mutations occur during some unit of time

right|thumb|220px|During pregnancy, a two-way traffic of immune cells may occur through the placenta. Exchanged cells can multiply and establish long-lasting cell lines that are immunologically active even decades after giving birth. Microchimerism is the presence of a small number of cells in an individual that have originated from another individual and are therefore genetically distinct. This phenomenon may be related to certain types of autoimmune diseases although the responsible mechanisms are unclear. The term comes from the prefix "micro" + "chimerism" based on the hybrid Chimera of G

body of theoretical work examining communication between individuals

A postulation pertaining to evolution

Philopatry is the tendency of an organism to stay in or habitually return to a particular area. The causes of philopatry are numerous, but natal philopatry, where animals return to their birthplace to breed, may be the most common. The term derives from the Greek roots philo, "liking, loving" and patra, "fatherland", although in recent years the term has been applied to more than just the animal's birthplace. Recent usage refers to animals returning to the same area to breed despite not being born there, and migratory species that demonstrate site fidelity: reusing stopovers, staging points, a

biological homology between protein or DNA sequences resulting from shared evolutionary ancestry

thumb|upright=1.5|A lobster is heavily cephalized, with eyes, antennae, multiple mouthparts, and the brain (inside the armoured [[exoskeleton), all concentrated at the animal's head end.]]

process where the limited gene pool of an endangered species diminishes even more when reproductive individuals die off before reproducing with others in their endangered low population

observation in evolutionary biology

use of laboratory and field experiments to explore evolutionary dynamics

evolutionary concept regarding the process between populations in the occupation of the same geographic range that leads to distinct species

study of E. coli bacteria evolution in controlled conditions

process of evolving from a complex organism to a simpler organism

study of biological populations

evolutionary model that explains the sex ratio

passing of genes on to the next generation in a way that they too can pass on those genes

process by which an organism shapes its environment

Alloenzymes (or also called allozymes) are variant forms of an enzyme which differ structurally but not functionally from other allozymes coded for by different alleles at the same locus. These are opposed to isozymes, which are enzymes that perform the same function, but which are coded by genes located at different loci.

In evolution, a maladaptation () is a trait that is (or has become) more harmful than helpful, in contrast with an adaptation, which is more helpful than harmful. All organisms, from bacteria to humans, display maladaptive and adaptive traits. Like adaptation, maladaptation may be viewed as occurring over geological time, or within the lifetime of one individual or a group.

evolutionary process where groups of organisms work or act together for common or mutual benefits

Mechanism which genetically encodes phenotypes through evolutionary processes

backbreeding

term in evolutionary biology

Sexual selection mechanism

any process that contributes to the success of sperm fertilization in multiply-mated females.