Natural Selection

1. process by which individuals that are better suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully; the process called natural selection
4. A naturalist who formulated a theory of evolution by natural selection (1809-1882)
8. Ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment
11. A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits.
12. An inherited trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce.
13. Environmental factors which affect an organism's ability to survive in a given environment. Ex) Predation, climate change, pollution.
14. Change over time; process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient organisms.
15. By comparing fossils from older rock layers with fossils from younger layers, scientists could document the fact that life on Earth has changed over time

2. Structures in different species that are similar because of common ancestry.
3. Formation of new species
5. Evidence in DNA that shows evolution has occurred.
6. Competition among members of a species for food, living space, and the other necessities of life
7. A form of natural selection in which individuals with certain inherited characteristics are more likely than other individuals to obtain mates.
9. Change in a DNA sequence that affects genetic information
10. A structure that is present in an organism but no longer serves its original purpose.