Evolutionary biology

Evolutionary Biology

Evolutionary biology (pronunciation: /ˌiːvəˈluːʃənəri baɪˈɒlədʒi/) is a subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes that produced the diversity of life on Earth.

Etymology

The term "evolutionary biology" is derived from the word "evolution," which comes from the Latin evolutio, meaning "unrolling" or "unfolding," and the Greek word bios, meaning "life." The term "biology" is derived from the Greek words bios, meaning "life," and -logia, meaning "study of."

Related Terms

• Natural selection: A process in nature in which organisms possessing certain genotypic characteristics that make them better adjusted to an environment tend to survive, reproduce, increase in number or frequency, and therefore, are able to transmit and perpetuate their essential genotypic qualities to succeeding generations.

• Genetic drift: A change in the gene pool of a population due to chance.

• Mutation: A permanent transmissible change in the genetic material (usually in a single gene).

• Speciation: The formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution.

• Adaptation: The process of change by which an organism or species becomes better suited to its environment.

• Phylogenetics: The study of the evolutionary history and relationships among individuals or groups of organisms.

See Also

• Population genetics
• Molecular evolution
• Evolutionary developmental biology
• Evolutionary ecology

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