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| The selective breeding of domesticated plants and animals to encourage the occurrence of desirable traits. |
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| The study of the past and present distribution of species. |
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| The hypothesis by Georges Cuvier that each boundary between strata corresponded in time to a catastrophe, such as a flood or drought, that had destroyed many of the species living there at that time. |
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| descent with modification |
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| Darwin’s initial phrase for the general process of evolution. |
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| All the changes that have transformed life on Earth from its earliest beginnings to the diversity that characterizes it today. |
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| An accumulation of inherited characteristics that enhance organisms’ ability to survive and reproduce in specific environments. |
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| A preserved remnant or impression of an organism that lived in the past. |
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| A view of Earth’s history that attributes profound change to the cumulative product of slow but continuous processes. |
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| Structures in different species that are similar because of common ancestry. |
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| Similarity in characteristics resulting from a shared ancestry. |
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| Differential success in the reproduction of different phenotypes resulting from the interaction of organisms with their environment. Evolution occurs when natural selection causes changes in relative frequencies of alleles in the gene pool. |
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| The scientific study of fossils. |
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| Rock formed from sand and mud that once settled in layers on the bottom of seas, lakes, and marshes. Sedimentary rocks are often rich in fossils. |
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| A set of characteristics used to assess the similarities and differences between various species, leading to a classification scheme; the branch of biology concerned with naming and classifying the diverse forms of life. |
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| Charles Lyell’s idea that geologic processes have not changed throughout Earth’s history. |
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| A structure of marginal, if any, importance to an organism. Vestigial organs are historical remnants of structures that had important functions in ancestors. |
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