evolution
Gradual biological transformation
Evolution is the verbal noun of evolve, which means to develop or change gradually.
Without further context, it typically refers to biological evolution, the process by which organisms adapt to their environments through natural selection.
Outside of the biological sphere, evolution is used to describe anything that develops or changes gradually, from psychological evolution to the evolution of views on marriage equality.
Differential reproductive success
- survival of the fittestAdaptive advantage perpetuates species
- DarwinismNatural selection theory
- fitnessGood physical shape
- reproductive successOffspring contribution to future generations
selection pressure · sexual selection · predation · mimicry · camouflage · struggle for existence · ecological niche · artificial selection
British naturalist, species theorist
- DarwinismNatural selection theory
- common descentAll organisms share forebears
- endosymbiotic theoryOrganelles from engulfed microbes
- gradualismPhilosophy of incremental change
neo-Darwinism · Wallace · tree of life · natural history · scientific theory · evidence · mechanism · framework
Evolutionary relationships among organisms
- common descentAll organisms share forebears
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- common ancestorOrigin point of descendants
- speciationFormation of distinct species
divergence · extinction · fossil record · paleontology · vestigial structures · homology · comparative anatomy · biogeography
Fitting to new conditions
- mutationPermanent DNA alteration
- variationChange from a norm
- fitnessGood physical shape
- acclimatizationAdjusting to new conditions
modification · resilience · plasticity · diversification · optimization · morphology · physiology · metamorphosis
Sequential forward movement
- transformationThorough change in form
- developmentProgress toward maturity
- transitionChange from one state
- advancementForward movement or promotion
growth · maturation · shift · gradual change · gradualism · emergence · unfolding · stages
Hereditary code molecule
- genesUnits of heredity
- genotypeOrganism's complete allele set
- alleleGene variant at one locus
- chromosomeDNA strand carrying genes
mutation · heredity · inheritance · genomics · gene pool · recombination · genetic drift · phenotype
Energy propagation through space
- monophyleticFrom one ancestral lineage
- hybridizationMixing distinct genetic lines
- gene flowAllele transfer between populations
- subspeciesTaxonomic rank beneath species
endemic · biodiversity · branching · splitting · isolation
natural selection
Differential reproductive success
- survival of the fittestAdaptive advantage perpetuates species
- DarwinismNatural selection theory
- fitnessGood physical shape
reproductive success · selection pressure · sexual selection · predation · mimicry · camouflage · struggle for existence · ecological niche · artificial selection · adaptation
Darwin
British naturalist, species theorist
- DarwinismNatural selection theory
- common descentAll organisms share forebears
- endosymbiotic theoryOrganelles from engulfed microbes
gradualism · neo-Darwinism · Wallace · tree of life · natural history · scientific theory · evidence · mechanism · framework
phylogeny
Evolutionary relationships among organisms
- common descentAll organisms share forebears
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- common ancestorOrigin point of descendants
speciation · divergence · extinction · fossil record · paleontology · vestigial structures · homology · comparative anatomy · biogeography · cladistics
adaptation
Fitting to new conditions
acclimatization · modification · resilience · plasticity · diversification · optimization · morphology · physiology · metamorphosis · specialized
progression
Sequential forward movement
- transformationThorough change in form
- developmentProgress toward maturity
- transitionChange from one state
advancement · growth · maturation · shift · gradual change · gradualism · emergence · unfolding · stages · phases
DNA
Hereditary code molecule
chromosome · mutation · heredity · inheritance · genomics · gene pool · recombination · genetic drift · phenotype · nucleotide
radiation
Energy propagation through space
- monophyleticFrom one ancestral lineage
- hybridizationMixing distinct genetic lines
- gene flowAllele transfer between populations
subspecies · endemic · biodiversity · branching · splitting · isolation
- biologycells, DNA, cell, biology, gene
- historyancient civilizations, past events, historian, epochs, era
- sciencebiology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, geology
- evolutionnatural selection, mutation, adaptation, speciation, fitness
- natural historynatural history, natural history museum, naturalist, naturalists, natural philosophers
- natural sciencesbiology, ecology, botany, zoology, geology
evolutionrevolution
Violent governmental overthrow
saltation · cataclysm · punctuation · upheaval · creation
evolutiondevolution
Transferring power locally
regression · retrogression · degeneration · deterioration · decay
evolutioncreationism
Divine origin doctrine
intelligent design · creation · divine creation · special creation · Genesis
- Darwinian evolutionSpecies change through selection
- theory of evolutionBiological change over generations
- human evolutionOur species' biological origin
- evolutionary theoryScience of species change
- evolutionary treeDiagram of ancestral relationships
- biological evolutionInherited trait change across generations
revolution, revolutionary, revolutionize, devolution, revolutionist, revolutionaries, revolutionized, evolutionist, evolutionary