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| Descent with modification; the idea that living species are descendants of ancestral species that were different from the present-day ones; also defined more narrowly as the change in the genetic composition of a population from generation to generation |
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| a preserved remnant or impression of an organism that lived in the past |
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| a rock layer formed when new layers of sediment cover older ones and compress them |
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| the scientific study of fossils |
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| the principle that events in the past occurred suddenly and were caused by different mechanisms than those operating today. |
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| the principle stating that mechanisms of change are constant over time |
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| inherited characteristic of an organism that enhances its survival and reproduction in specific environments |
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| the selective breeding of domesticated plants and animals to encourage the occurrence of desirable traits |
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| similarity in characteristics resulting from a shared ancestry |
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| structures in different species that are similar because of common ancestry |
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| a structure of marginal, if any, importance to an organism. ___ are historical remnants of structures that had important functions in ancestors. |
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| a branching diagram that reflects a hypothesis about evolutionary relationships among groups of organisms |
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| the evolution of similar features in independent evolutionary lineages. |
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| having characteristics that are similar because of convergent evolution, not homology |
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| the study of the past and present distribution of species |
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| the slow movement of the continental plates across Earth's surface |
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| referring to a species that is confined to a specific, relatively small geographic area. |
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