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* ] – branch of biological classification that classifies organisms based on phylogenetic relationship (shared descent), progenitor-descendant relationship (serial descent), and degree of evolutionary change * ] – branch of biological classification that classifies organisms based on phylogenetic relationship (shared descent), progenitor-descendant relationship (serial descent), and degree of evolutionary change
* ] – study of evolution using controlled experiments to test hypotheses and theories * ] – study of evolution using controlled experiments to test hypotheses and theories
* ] – * ] – study of change in sequence composition of cellular molecules such as DNA, RNA, and proteins across generations
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Revision as of 14:47, 19 November 2015

See also: Index of evolutionary biology articles and Evolution (disambiguation)

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to evolution:

A diagram showing the relationships betweens various groups of organisms

Evolution – change in heritable traits of biological organisms over generations due to natural selection, mutation, gene flow, and genetic drift. Also known as descent with modification. Over time these evolutionary processes lead to formation of new species (speciation), changes within lineages (anagenesis), and loss of species (extinction). "Evolution" is also another name for evolutionary biology, the subfield of biology concerned with studying evolutionary processes that produced the diversity of life on Earth.

Fundamentals about evolution

Introduction

Basic principles

  • Macroevolution – change above level of species, including:
    • Speciation – evolutionary process by which new biological species arise
    • Despeciation – loss of a unique species due to combining with another previously distinct species
    • Anagenesis – changes in a lineage that result in a new morphospecies distinct in form from an ancestral species ("phyletic transformation")
    • Extinction – end of a lineage such that there are no longer living populations of a species (or other taxon)
  • Microevolution – change within species or populations, due to mutation, selection (natural and artificial), gene flow, and genetic drift
    • Artificial selection – the process by which humans increase particular traits in a lineage or population by choosing which individuals have offspring together (also called Selective breeding)
    • Natural selection – differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in heritable traits (phenotype), a key mechanism of evolution
      • Sexual selection – a mode of natural selection wherein members of one gender choose mates of the other gender to mate with, resulting in distinct gender-based differences
    • Mutation – a permanent change of the genome of an organism (nucleotide sequence), a key mechanism of evolution
    • Gene flow – movement of genes from one population to another (through migration, dispersal, transport of pollen, etc.)
    • Genetic drift – change in frequency of a gene variant (allele) in a population due to random sampling

Subfields

  • Biogeography – the study of distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time
  • Ecological genetics – the study of genetics in natural populations
  • Evolutionary developmental biology – the study of developmental processes to determine the ancestral relationships and discover how developmental processes evolved (informally called evo-devo)
  • Evolutionary ecology – the study of ecology with explicit consideration of evolutionary histories of species, or conversely the study of evolution that incorporates an understanding of ecological interactions between the species
  • Evolutionary physiology – the study of changes in functional characteristics over generations as the result of selection
  • Evolutionary taxonomy – branch of biological classification that classifies organisms based on phylogenetic relationship (shared descent), progenitor-descendant relationship (serial descent), and degree of evolutionary change
  • Experimental evolution – study of evolution using controlled experiments to test hypotheses and theories
  • Molecular evolution – study of change in sequence composition of cellular molecules such as DNA, RNA, and proteins across generations
  • Phylogenetics
  • Population genetics
  • Paleontology
  • Systematics

History

Evolutionary theory and modelling

See also Basic principles (above)

Population genetics

Evolutionary phenomena

Modelling

Taxonomy, systematics, and phylogeny

Fundamentals

Basic concepts of phylogenetics

Inference methods

Current topics

Group Traits

Group Types

Evolution of biodiversity

Origin and evolutionary history of life

Evolution of organisms

Evolution of tetrapods

Evolution of other animals

Evolution of plants

Evolution of other taxa

Evolution of cells, organs, and systems

Evolution of molecules and genes

Evolution of behaviour

Evolution of other processes

Applications in other disciplines

Evolutionary issues

Controversy about evolution

Religious and philosophical views of evolution

Publications and organizations concerning evolution

Books

Journals

Organizations

Evolution scholars and researchers

Prominent evolutionary biologists

See also



References

External links


General information
Experiments concerning the process of biological evolution
Online lectures
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