Chapter 6 Lesson 3 Notes: Period 3

Vocabulary Words:
- Geographic Isolation- When landforms become barriers for
species/organisms
o Ex of landform: volcanoes, lakes and rivers, valleys,
mountains
- Convergent Evolution- The independent evolution in similar
environments of similar species but with no common ancestor
o Species within similar environmental conditions that do not
have a common ancestor
Continental Drift
- Earths surface changes slowly and its difficult to recognize the
change
- Alfred Wegener proposed the idea of continental drift in 1912
o Continental drift: shifting of tectonic plates- slowly moving
the continents
Geographic Isolation
- Other geographic features such as rivers and large bodies of
water can lead to geographic isolations
- Geography of a location plays a roll in how organisms evolve
- According to Darwins research, geographic isolation was
responsible for many of the organisms described in Darwins
journals
- Geographic isolation leads to closely related species that look
different (opposite of convergent evolution- when a species look
or seem similar in an environment, they did not originate from a
common ancestor)
Visualizing Isolation- Ex: All the salamanders originate from the same species, but
look different due to geographic isolation

Chapter 6 Lesson 3 Notes

Vocabulary Terms:
- Geographic Isolationo A type of evolution that occurs when populations of species are
divided or separated by a physical barrier
o A certain species is divided by a landform- and they change based
on their environmental conditions
- Convergent evolution- The independent evolution in similar
environments of similar species but with no common ancestor
o Similar species have evolved over time in similar living
conditions- but no common ancestor
Continental Drift
- Its difficult to notice the changes of earth as it evolves
- Alfred Wegener made a theory that the continents used to be
one big landmass (continental drift)
Geographic Isolation
- Mountains and volcanoes form when lithospheric plates move together
- Sometimes landforms become barriers between populations of species
and breeding between these populations is prohibited
o Barriers limit the species due to the obstruction
- Darwin discovered that species on the Galapagos Islands were more
similar to the Ecuador mainland even though the environmental
conditions are different
o Species are similar despite different environmental conditions
- Geographic isolation leads to closely related species that seem different,
and convergent evolution results in distantly related species that seem
similar
- Sometimes distant locations with similar environmental conditions have
species with similar traits.
- The moving of lithospheric plates that can change earths surface such as
mountains valleys and bodies of water.