PSYC 280

Students of the forms and classification of organisms

• 1. Reproduction will increase a population rapidly unless factors limit it
• 2. Individuals of a species are not identical 
• 3. Some variation among individuals is inherited 
• 4. Not all offspring will survive to reproduce

A trait that increases the probability that an individual will leave offspring in subsequent generations.

Darwin’s theoretical mechanism for the evolution of anatomical and behavioral differences between males and females.

The evolution- ary process by which responses to similar ecological features bring about similarities in behavior or structure among animals that are only distantly related (i.e., that differ in genetic heritage).

A physical resemblance be- tween physical or behavioral characteristics due to convergent evolution, such as the similar body form of tuna and dolphins.

A physical resemblance that is based on common ancestry, such as the similarity in forelimb structures of different mammals.

Similarity of function, although the structures of interest may look different. The human hand and an elephant’s trunk are analogous features.

A change in the nucleotide sequence of a gene as a result of unfaithful replication.

The study of inheritance, including the genes encoded in DNA.

A complex of condensed strands of DNA and associated protein mol- ecules; found in the nucleus of cells.

A length of DNA that encodes the in- formation for constructing a particular protein.

A group of species that resemble each other because of shared inheritance.

The order of categories, from most broad to most narrow, is this: kingdom, phylum, class, or- der, family, genus, species. (Here’s a handy mnemonic to help you remember them: kindly put clothes on, for goodness’ sake.)

The outer covering of the cerebral hemispheres that consists largely of nerve cell bodies and their branches.

Cerebral cortex that is made up of six distinct layers.