Unit 5 Vocabulary

Population

A group of interacting individuals of the same species located in the same area

Species

A group of organisms with similar characteristics that are able to interbreed or exchange genetic material (DNA)

Physiology

The study of internal and external functions in living systems

Dichotomous Key

Tool used to sort organisms by paired similarities or differences based a series of questions

Selective breeding

a form of artificial selection whereby deliberate breeding results in desired traits in plants or animals

Adaptation

a process by which a population becomes better suited to its environment by increasing the frequency of alleles that provide benefits to survival and reproduction

Natural Selection

a process by which organisms with favourable traits produce more successful offspring than organisms with less favourable traits causing the favourable traits to become more common in the population

hibernation

a slowed physiological state of an organism to survive long periods of cold temperature or reduced food supplies

Xylem

dead cells transport water from roots to leaves

Phloem

living cells transport food from leaves

Migration

movement to a different geographical region where conditions are more favourable

Taxonomy

the branch of science that formally names and classifies organisms by their structure, function and relationships

Variation

the occurrence of an organism trait, or gene in more than one form