Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The study of extant taxa, i.e. those with members that are still living in the present day, as opposed to paleontology. network evolution See reticulate evolution. neutral mutation 1. Any mutation of a nucleic acid sequence that is neither beneficial nor detrimental to the ability of an organism to survive and reproduce. 2.
This glossary of biology terms is a list of definitions of fundamental terms and concepts used in biology, the study of life and of living organisms.It is intended as introductory material for novices; for more specific and technical definitions from sub-disciplines and related fields, see Glossary of cell biology, Glossary of genetics, Glossary of evolutionary biology, Glossary of ecology ...
The comparative study of the anatomy of groups of animals shows structural features that are fundamentally similar (homologous), demonstrating phylogenetic and ancestral relationships with other organisms, most especially when compared with fossils of ancient extinct organisms.
For example, in a study to test whether plants can distinguish mechanical damage from insect herbivory attack, Korth and Dixon (1997) discovered that the accumulation of induce defence transcription products occurred more rapidly in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) leaves chewed on by caterpillars than in leaves damaged mechanically. [23]
Aristotle considered whether different forms could have appeared, only the useful ones surviving.. Several philosophers of the classical era, including Empedocles [1] and his intellectual successor, the Roman poet Lucretius, [2] expressed the idea that nature produces a huge variety of creatures, randomly, and that only those creatures that manage to provide for themselves and reproduce ...
Quantitative genetics – study of phenotypes that vary continuously (in characters such as height or mass)—as opposed to discretely identifiable phenotypes and gene-products (such as eye-colour, or the presence of a particular biochemical). Marine biology – study of ocean ecosystems, plants, animals, and other living beings.
In evolutionary biology, disruptive selection, also called diversifying selection, describes changes in population genetics in which extreme values for a trait are favored over intermediate values. In this case, the variance of the trait increases and the population is divided into two distinct groups. In this more individuals acquire ...
Hummingbirds and sunbirds, two nectarivorous bird lineages in the New and Old Worlds have parallelly evolved a suite of specialized behavioral and anatomical traits. These traits (bill shape, digestive enzymes, and flight) allow the birds to optimally fit the flower-feeding-and-pollination ecological niche they occupy, which is shaped by the birds' suites of parallel traits.