which of the following are considered to be key innovations in the course of animal evolution?

The proverbial "fish out of water," tetrapods were the first vertebrate animals to climb out of the sea and colonize dry (or at least swampy) land, a key evolutionary transition that occurred somewhere between 400 and 350 million years ago, during the Devonian period.

Full Answer

What is key innovation?

Why is the theory of key innovations under attack?

What is novel niche invasion?

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What is evolution in animals?

Animals evolved through a process known as evolution which is the change in a species' characteristics over several generations. Evolution can be caused by mutation, migration, natural selection, genetic drift, and non-random mating.

What is an adaptation in evolution?

In evolutionary theory, adaptation is the biological mechanism by which organisms adjust to new environments or to changes in their current environment.

What are key features that allow for adaptive radiation to occur?

Adaptive radiations can be triggered by extrinsic factors such as the arise of new ecological opportunity via emergence of novel environments, and/or by intrinsic factors ('key adaptive innovations') that increase the availability of niches to a diversifying lineage [1–3, 7, 9].

What are examples of evolution?

Over many generations, ostriches and emus evolved to have larger bodies and feet made for running on land, which left them without the ability (or need) to fly. The same goes for penguins, who traded typical wings for swim-friendly flippers over many thousands of generations.

What are 3 adaptations of animals?

There are three types of adaptations: structural, physiological, and behavioral.

What is an evolutionary adaptation quizlet?

Evolutionary adaptation. A genotype of inherited traits that enhance an individuals ability to survive and reproduce in a particular movement.

What are 3 causes of adaptive radiation?

According to the naturalists of the first half of this century, adaptive radiation is the outcome of three ecological processes: phenotypic differentiation of populations by resource-based divergent natural-selection, phenotypic differentiation through resource-competition(ecological opportunity and divergent character ...

Which is most likely to be a factor that increases the probability of speciation by adaptive radiation?

What is least likely to be a factor that increases the probability of speciation by adaptive radiation? Genetic drift in a population increases. What do scientists focus on to distinguish between species?

What is adaptive radiation give an example quizlet?

Adaptive radiation. The development of many different forms from an originally homogeneous group of organisms as they fill different ecological niches. Darwin's finches.

What are 4 types of evolution?

There are four forces of evolution: mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, and natural selection.

What are the 5 theories of evolution?

For Darwin himself these five theories were apparently much more a unity than they appear to a person who analyzes them with modern hindsight. The five theories were: (1) evolution as such, (2) common descent, (3) gradualism, (4) multiplication of species, and (5) natural selection.

Which of the following is the best example of evolution?

Which of the following is the best example of evolution occurring? Strains of bacteria can become immune to antibiotics that once killed them effectively is the best example of evolution occurring.

What is adaptation short answer?

“Adaptation is the physical or behavioural characteristic of an organism that helps an organism to survive better in the surrounding environment.” Living things are adapted to the habitat they live in. This is because they have special features that help them to survive.

What is an example of evolutionary adaptation?

Snakes lost their legs to fit into underground spaces, mice grew large ears to hear predators at night, and giraffes developed long necks to reach the leaves on tall trees and bend down to drink water.

What are 2 examples of an adaptation?

Examples include the long necks of giraffes for feeding in the tops of trees, the streamlined bodies of aquatic fish and mammals, the light bones of flying birds and mammals, and the long daggerlike canine teeth of carnivores.

What is adaptation in biology?

Adaptation, in a biological sense, is a characteristic of an organism that makes it fit for its environment or for its particular way of life.

Why are nectar spurs important?

The nectar spurs in Aquilegia, a diverse genus of flowering plant, are considered a key innovation because of this. Nectar spurs aid in pollination by making the nectar further from the stamen, ensuring that insect or bird pollinators pick up pollen as they access it. These led rapid speciation within the genus as plants and their pollinators can become specialised to each other i.e. a species of pollinator exclusively feeds from a species of plant, and thus plant populations could easily become reproductively isolated from one another. In addition the shape and size of the nectar spur can evolve in response to pollinator adaptations, developing a co-evolutionary relationship. The genus Aquilegia has over 50 species.

What are the long nectar spurs on Aquilegia?

The long nectar spurs on this Aquilegia allow specialisation for a certain pollinator.

What is novel niche invasion?

Novel niche invasion. A human molar with four cusps. A key innovation may allow a species to invade a new region or niche and thus be freed from competition, allowing subsequent speciation and radiation .

How do latex and resin canals help plants?

Latex and resin canals in plants are used to deter predators by releasing a sticky secretion when punctured which can immobilise insects and some contain toxic or foul tasting substances . They have evolved independently approximately 40 times and are considered a key innovation. By increasing the plant's resistance to predation the canals increase the species fitness and allow them to escape being eaten, at least until the predator evolves an ability to overcome the defence. During the period of resistance the plants are less likely to become extinct and can diversify and speciate, and as such taxa with latex and resin canals are more diverse than their canal lacking sister taxa.

What is key innovation?

In evolutionary biology, a key innovation, also known as an adaptive breakthrough or key adaptation, is a novel phenotypic trait that allows subsequent radiation and success of a taxonomic group. Typically they bring new abilities that allows the taxa to rapidly diversify and invade niches that were not previously available.

Why is the theory of key innovations under attack?

The theory of key innovations has come under attack because it is hard to test in a scientific manner, but there is evidence to support the idea.

What was the theme of vertebrate evolution?

After dinosaurs, pterosaurs and marine reptiles vanished off the face of the earth 65 million years ago, the big theme in vertebrate evolution was the rapid progression of mammals from small, timid, mouse-sized creatures to the giant megafauna of the middle to late Cenozoic Era, including oversized wombats, rhinoceroses, camels, and beavers. Among the mammals that ruled the planet in the absence of dinosaurs and mosasaurs were prehistoric cats, prehistoric dogs, prehistoric elephants, prehistoric horse, prehistoric marsupials and prehistoric whales, most species of which went extinct by the end of the Pleistocene epoch (often at the hands of early humans).

What were the first marine reptiles?

At least some of the ancestral reptiles of the Carboniferous period led partly (or mostly) aquatic lifestyles, but the true age of marine reptiles didn't begin until the appearance of the ichthyosaurs ("fish lizards") during the early to middle Triassic period. These ichthyosaurs, which evolved from land-dwelling ancestors, overlapped with, and were then succeeded by long-necked plesiosaurs and pliosaurs, which themselves overlapped with, and were then succeeded by the exceptionally sleek, vicious mosasaurs of the late Cretaceous period. All of these marine reptiles went extinct 65 million years ago, along with their terrestrial dinosaur and pterosaur cousins, in the wake of the K/T meteor impact .

What is a pterosaur?

Often mistakenly referred to as dinosaurs, pterosaurs ("winged lizards") were actually a distinct family of skin-winged reptiles that evolved from a population of archosaurs during the early to middle Triassic period.

What is Bob Strauss's book?

Bob Strauss is a science writer and the author of several books, including "The Big Book of What, How and Why" and "A Field Guide to the Dinosaurs of North America.". Vertebrate animals have come a long way since their tiny, translucent ancestors swam the world's seas over 500 million years ago.

How long have vertebrate animals been around?

Vertebrate animals have come a long way since their tiny, translucent ancestors swam the world's seas over 500 million years ago . The following is a roughly chronological survey of the major vertebrate animal groups, ranging from fish to amphibians to mammals, with some notable extinct reptile lineages (including archosaurs, dinosaurs, ...

What was the first tetrapod?

Crucially, the first tetrapods descended from lobe-finned, rather than ray-finned fish, which possessed the characteristic skeletal structure that morphed into the fingers, claws, and paws of later vertebrates.

When did dinosaurs skittered across trees?

All we know for sure is that small, furry, warm-blooded, mammal-like creatures skittered across the high branches of trees about 230 million years ago, and coexisted on unequal terms with much bigger dinosaurs right up to the cusp of the K/T Extinction.

What is key innovation?

In evolutionary biology, a key innovation, also known as an adaptive breakthrough or key adaptation, is a novel phenotypic trait that allows subsequent radiation and success of a taxonomic group. Typically they bring new abilities that allows the taxa to rapidly diversify and invade niches that were not previously available.

Why is the theory of key innovations under attack?

The theory of key innovations has come under attack because it is hard to test in a scientific manner, but there is evidence to support the idea.

What is novel niche invasion?

Novel niche invasion. A human molar with four cusps. A key innovation may allow a species to invade a new region or niche and thus be freed from competition, allowing subsequent speciation and radiation .