Evolutionary physiologyEvolutionary physiology is the study of the biological evolution of physiological structures and processes; that is, the manner in which the functional characteristics of organisms have responded to natural selection or sexual selection or changed by random genetic drift across multiple generations during the history of a population or species. It is a sub-discipline of both physiology and evolutionary biology.
Theodore Garland Jr.Theodore Garland Jr. (born 28 November 1956) is a biologist specializing in evolutionary physiology at the University of California, Riverside. EducationGarland earned his B.S in zoology and M.S. in biology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, working with William Glen Bradley, a mammalogist, and his Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Irvine under Albert F. Bennett, a comparative physiologist.Clifford Ladd ProsserClifford Ladd Prosser (May 12, 1907 – February 3, 2002) was an American physiologist focused on research of comparative physiology of animals. The American Physiological Society said "Ladd Prosser was among the few giants of comparative physiology in the second half of the twentieth century".
SpeciesBasic unit of taxonomic classification, below genusThe hierarchy of biological classification's eight major taxonomic ranks. A genus contains one or more species. Minor intermediate ranks are not shown.A species (pl. species) is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity.
PhysiologyPhysiology (; from Ancient Greek (phúsis)'nature, origin' and (-logía)'study of') is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and physical functions in a living system.
FossilPreserved remains or traces of organisms from a past geological ageExamples of animal fossils. Clockwise from top left: Onychocrinus, Palaeosinopa, Gryphaea, and HarpactocarcinusA fossil (from Classical Latinfossilis, lit. 'obtained by digging') is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age.
Convergent evolutionConvergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different lineages. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last common ancestor of those groups. The cladistic term for the same phenomenon is homoplasy. The recurrent evolution of flight is a classic example, as flying insects, birds, pterosaurs, and bats have independently evolved the useful capacity of flight.
EcophysiologyEcophysiology (from Greekοἶκος, oikos, "house(hold)"; φύσις, physis, "nature, origin"; and -λογία, -logia), environmental physiology or physiological ecology is a biologicaldiscipline that studies the response of an organism's physiology to environmental conditions. It is closely related to comparative physiology and evolutionary physiology. Ernst Haeckel's coinage bionomy is sometimes employed as a synonym.
PhylogeneticsStudy of evolutionary relationships between organismsOne small clade of fish, showing how venom has evolved multiple times.In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionaryhistory of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical data and observed heritable traits of DNA sequences, proteinamino acid sequences, and morphology.Krogh's principleKrogh's principle states that "for such a large number of problems there will be some animal of choice, or a few such animals, on which it can be most conveniently studied." This concept is central to those disciplines of biology that rely on the comparative method, such as neuroethology, comparative physiology, and more recently functional genomics.
OrganismAn organism is any living thing that functions as an individual. Such a definition raises more problems than it solves, not least because the concept of an individual is also difficult. Several criteria, few of which are widely accepted, have been proposed to define what constitutes an organism. Among the most common is that an organism has autonomous reproduction, growth, and metabolism. This would exclude viruses, even though they evolve like organisms.
MuseumA museum is an institution dedicated to displaying and preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have non-exhibited collections that are used by researchers and specialists. Museums hold a wide range of objects and often focus on a particular theme, such as the arts, science, natural history, or local history.
Outline of academic disciplinesAn academic discipline or academic field is a subdivision of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined (in part) and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, and the learned societies and academic departments or faculties within colleges and universities to which their practitioners belong.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.