Chapter 15.

1 Reading Guide Name ___________________________

1. The modern theory of ________________ is the fundamental concept in biology.
2. Many explanations about how species evolve have been proposed, but the ideas
first published by __________are the basis of modern evolutionary theory.
3. He began in 1831 at age 22 when he took a job as a naturalist on the English ship
__________________ which sailed around the world for five years.
4. On the ________________ Islands, Darwin studied many species of animals and
plants that are unique to the islands but similar to species elsewhere.
5. English economist ____________ ____________ had proposed an idea that
Darwin modified and used in his explanation.
6. Malthus’s idea was that the human population grows faster than Earth’s
___________ _____________ .
7. Breeding organisms with specific traits in order to produce offspring with
identical traits is called __________________ _______________ .
8. ______________ ______________ is a mechanism for change in population
and it occurs when organisms with favorable variations survive, reproduce, and
pass their variations to the next generation.
9. Organisms without these variations are less likely to __________________ and
___________________ .
10. ______________ _____________, another British naturalist, reached a
similar conclusion after studying islands near Indonesia.
11. Darwin proposed the idea of natural selection to explain how species _________
over time.
12. The _______ __________ of human life spans makes it difficult to comprehend
evolutionary processes that occur over ________________ of years.
13. Almost all of today’s biologists ____________ the theory of evolution by
natural selection.
14. Recall that an __________________ is any variation that aids an organism’s
chances of survival in its environment.
15. Darwin’s theory of evolution explains how adaptations may develop in _________
16. According to Darwin’s theory, adaptations in species develop over ___________
__________________________ .
17. ____________ is a structural adaptation that enables one species to resemble
another species.
18. ____________________is an adaptation that enables species to blend with
their surroundings.
19. In general, most structural _________________ develop over millions of years.
20. However, there are some adaptations that evolve much more _____________ .
21. Today, ______________________ no longer affects as many species of
bacteria because some species have evolved __________________ adaptations
to prevent being killed by penicillin.
22. Physiological adaptations are changes in an organism’s ___________________
____________________ .
23. Physiological resistance in species of bacteria, insects, and plants is _________
evidence of evolution.
24. However, most of the evidence for evolution is _______________, coming from
sources such as fossils and studies of anatomy, embryology, and biochemistry.
25. Although the fossil record provides ___________________ that evolution
occurred, the record is _____________________ .
26. Structural features with a common evolutionary origin are called
___________________ _____________________ .
27. These structures can be similar in ____________________, in ___________
or in both. (example ____________________________________________)
28. The body parts of organisms that so not have a common evolutionary origin but
are similar in function are called _________________ ______________ .
(example ____________________________________________________)
29. Another type of body features that suggests an evolutionary relationship is a
___________________ _________________ -a body structure in a present-
day organism that no longer serves its original purpose, but was probably useful
to an ancestor. (example _________________________________________)
30. An _________________ is the earliest stage of growth and development of
both plants and animals.
31. ____________________ also provides strong evidence for evolution.
32. Biologists compare the differences that exist among species in the __________
____________ sequence of _________________ __ .
33. Today, scientists combine data from fossils, comparative anatomy, embryology,
and biochemistry in order to interpret the _________________________
_______________________ among species.