Macroevolution: Speciation, Diversification, and Evolutionary Patterns

All flashcards

What is macroevolution?

The study of evolutionary processes and patterns at and above the species level, including speciation and the histories of higher groups.

What is the extrapolation view of macroevolution?

The view that macroevolutionary patterns result from microevolutionary changes accumulating over long periods.

What does the decoupled view of macroevolution emphasize?

Macroevolution is compatible with microevolution but also requires questions and evidence suited to its own scale.

What was the Eclipse of Darwinism?

A period, roughly from the 1880s to the 1930s, when evolution was accepted but natural selection's role was disputed.

What is Stanley's rule?

A general pattern in which taxa with higher origination rates also tend to have higher extinction rates.

Quiz questions

1. Under the biological species concept, what distinguishes separate species?Answer: Reproductive isolation that prevents successful interbreeding.
2. According to the resource-use hypothesis, how can climatic change affect diversification?Answer: Biome-specialized lineages may undergo more geographic separation and speciation.
3. What does the Red Queen hypothesis propose about interacting species?Answer: They continually affect one another's fitness, creating pressure for ongoing adaptation.
4. What developmental change has been linked to elongated finger bones in bat wings?Answer: Increased expression of the growth factor Bmp2.
5. What kind of evidence can reveal changes in marine animal diversity across the Phanerozoic?Answer: Fossil-based counts of marine animal families through geological time.