By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe how life history patterns are influenced by natural selection
Explain different life history patterns and how different reproductive strategies affect species’ survival

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe how ecologists measure population size and density
Describe three different patterns of population distribution
Use life tables to calculate mortality rates
Describe the three types of survivorship curves and relate them to specific populations

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Give examples of how the carrying capacity of a habitat may change
Compare and contrast density-dependent growth regulation and density-independent growth regulation, giving examples
Give examples of exponential and logistic growth in wild animal populations
Describe how natural selection and environmental adaptation leads to the evolution of particular life-history patterns

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Define species and describe how scientists identify species as different
Describe genetic variables that lead to speciation
Identify prezygotic and postzygotic reproductive barriers
Explain allopatric and sympatric speciation
Describe adaptive radiation

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe pathways of species evolution in hybrid zones
Explain the two major theories on rates of speciation

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe how scientists developed the present-day theory of evolution
Define adaptation
Explain convergent and divergent evolution
Describe homologous and vestigial structures
Discuss misconceptions about the theory of evolution

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Compare homologous and analogous traits
Discuss the purpose of cladistics
Describe maximum parsimony

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Discuss the need for a comprehensive classification system
List the different levels of the taxonomic classification system
Describe how systematics and taxonomy relate to phylogeny
Discuss a phylogenetic tree's components and purpose

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe horizontal gene transfer
Illustrate how prokaryotes and eukaryotes transfer genes horizontally
Identify the web and ring models of phylogenetic relationships and describe how they differ from the original phylogenetic tree concept

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Explain the different ways natural selection can shape populations
Describe how these different forces can lead to different outcomes in terms of the population variation

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Define population genetics and describe how scientists use population genetics in studying population evolution
Define the Hardy-Weinberg principle and discuss its importance

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe the different types of variation in a population
Explain why only natural selection can act upon heritable variation
Describe genetic drift and the bottleneck effect
Explain how each evolutionary force can influence a population's allele frequencies

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Explain pharmacogenomics
Define polygenic

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe gel electrophoresis
Explain molecular and reproductive cloning
Describe biotechnology uses in medicine and agriculture

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Explain systems biology
Describe a proteome
Define protein signature