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Darwinian Evolution Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

Charles Darwin

1809-1882
British naturalist
proposed the idea of evolution by natural selection

Voyage of the HMS Beagle

travel around the world
1831-1836
made observ­ations about the natural world
main mission was to chart South American coastline

Unique Species of Galapagos

Galapagos birds
22 of the 29 species of birds on the Galapagos are endemic (found only on those islands)
Darwin studied the finches and their different breaks
 

The Theory of Natural Selection

variation exists in natural popula­tions
many more offspring are born each season than can possibly survive to maturity
as a result, there is a struggle for existence
charac­ter­istics beneficial in the struggle for existence will tent to become more common in the popula­tion, changing the charac­ter­istics of a species
over time, and given a steady input of new variation into a popula­tion, these processes lead to the emergence of new species

Mutations and Adapta­tions

genetic variation and mutation play roles in natural selection
a diverse gene pool is important for the survival of a species in a changing enviro­nment
an adaptation is a genetic variation that is favored by selection and is manifested as a trait that provides advantage to organisms
 

Forms of Natural Selection

predation selection
camouf­lage, speed, behaviors and habits, defenses (physical and chemical)
physio­logical selection
fitness, physiology effici­ency, disease resist­ance, protection from injury, bioche­mical versat­ility
sexual selection
attrac­tiv­eness to potential mate, fertility of gametes, differ­ential reprod­uctive success