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This glossary of biology terms is a list of definitions of fundamental terms and concepts used in biology, the study of life and of living organisms.It is intended as introductory material for novices; for more specific and technical definitions from sub-disciplines and related fields, see Glossary of cell biology, Glossary of genetics, Glossary of evolutionary biology, Glossary of ecology ...
Also called functionalism. The Darwinian view that many or most physiological and behavioral traits of organisms are adaptations that have evolved for specific functions or for specific reasons (as opposed to being byproducts of the evolution of other traits, consequences of biological constraints, or the result of random variation). adaptive radiation The simultaneous or near-simultaneous ...
If the lineages in the phylogenetic tree stand for species, a polytomy shows the simultaneous speciation of three or more species. [6] In particular situations, they may be common, for example when a species that has rapidly expanded its range or is highly panmictic undergoes peripatric speciation in different regions.
Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms. [1][2][3] It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar working in the 19th century in Brno, was the first to study genetics scientifically. Mendel studied "trait inheritance ...
Canopy (biology) In biology, the canopy is the aboveground portion of a plant cropping or crop, formed by the collection of individual plant crowns. [1][2][3] In forest ecology, canopy refers to the upper layer or habitat zone, formed by mature tree crowns and including other biological organisms (epiphytes, lianas, arboreal animals, etc..).
Definition. An ecotype is a variant in which the phenotypic differences are too few or too subtle to warrant being classified as a subspecies. These different variants can occur in the same geographic region where distinct habitats such as meadow, forest, swamp, and sand dunes provide ecological niches. Where similar ecological conditions occur ...
The term genome was created in 1920 by Hans Winkler, [7] professor of botany at the University of Hamburg, Germany.The website Oxford Dictionaries and the Online Etymology Dictionary suggest the name is a blend of the words gene and chromosome.
Lineage (evolution) An evolutionary lineage is a temporal series of populations, organisms, cells, or genes connected by a continuous line of descent from ancestor to descendant. [1][2] Lineages are subsets of the evolutionary tree of life. Lineages are often determined by the techniques of molecular systematics.