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Darwin's finches. Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes (natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the diversity of life on Earth.
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities often vary in a regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude , elevation , isolation and habitat area . [ 1 ]
Zoogeography is the branch of the science of biogeography that is concerned with geographic distribution (present and past) of animal species. [ 1 ] As a multifaceted field of study, zoogeography incorporates methods of molecular biology, genetics, morphology, phylogenetics , and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to delineate evolutionary ...
Phylogenetic trees of species and higher taxa are used to study the evolution of traits (e.g., anatomical or molecular characteristics) and the distribution of organisms (biogeography). Systematics, in other words, is used to understand the evolutionary history of life on Earth.
In biology, evolution is the process of change in all forms of life over generations, and evolutionary biology is the study of how evolution occurs. Biological populations evolve through genetic changes that correspond to changes in the organisms ' observable traits .
Beginning of animal evolution. [54] [55] 720–630 Ma Possible global glaciation [56] [57] which increased the atmospheric oxygen and decreased carbon dioxide, and was either caused by land plant evolution [58] or resulted in it. [59] Opinion is divided on whether it increased or decreased biodiversity or the rate of evolution. [60] [61] [62 ...
As the gaps in the fossil record had been used as an argument against Darwin's gradualist evolution, de Beer's explanation supported the Darwinian position. [23] However, despite de Beer, the modern synthesis largely ignored embryonic development to explain the form of organisms, since population genetics appeared to be an adequate explanation ...
Evolutionary biology, in particular the understanding of how organisms evolve through natural selection, is an area of science with many practical applications. [1] [2] Creationists often claim that the theory of evolution lacks any practical applications; however, this claim has been refuted by scientists.