Evolution Vocabulary

2. two parents combine genetic information to produce offspring
4. the living and nonliving things that surround and act on an organism
5. a group of individuals of a species that live in the same place and time
6. process by which a population becomes better suited to its environment by natural selection; or a particular trait of an organism that makes it especially suited for its environment
8. a pattern of behavior in which organisms travel from one habitat to another
13. specific, distinct characteristic or feature of an organism
15. a mechanism of evolution characterized by random, chance variations in allele frequencies within a population over generations
16. a change in heritable characteristics of a population over generations

1. process by which humans consciously select specific, desirable traits in plants or animals and breed them over generations to enhance those traits
3. process by which individuals better suited for their environment tend to survive and reproduce offspring with favorable, inheritable traits
7. a particular variant of a specific gene
9. differences in characteristics of individuals of the same species
10. range of different, inherited traits within a species
11. a permanent, random change in an organism's DNA or RNA, resulting in variation
12. a measure of an organism's success in passing its genes to the next generation
14. external factors (such as climate, predators, or food availabilty) that affect an organism's ability to survive and reproduce
15. transfer of genetic material from one population to another