Definition of macroevolution in English:
macroevolution
noun ˌmakrəʊiːvəˈluːʃ(ə)nˌmakrəʊɛvəˈluːʃ(ə)nˌmakrō-evəˈlo͞oSHən
mass nounBiology Major evolutionary change, especially with regard to the evolution of whole taxonomic groups over long periods of time.
Example sentencesExamples
- Creationists are usually more careful about distinguishing between microevolution and macroevolution at this point.
- In our science curriculum standards, we called this microevolution and macroevolution - changes within kinds and changing from one kind to another.
- The creation science folks accept microevolution but not macroevolution.
- In antievolution literature, vertical change equates with macroevolution, or evolution above the species level.
- The next generation of advances in macroevolution and evolutionary paleoecology will not occur until a well-tested phylogenetic classification is established.
Derivatives
adjective
Biology This article borrows macroevolutionary concepts derived from paleontology and applies them to one of the longest-standing puzzles in genome biology, namely the evolution of genome size.
Example sentencesExamples
- Despite these findings, one would think that natural selection could produce macroevolutionary changes in bristle number without the inevitable derangement of either ribosome production or the PNS.
- And, though some would disagree, I do not think we can make further serious progress in our understanding of macroevolutionary phenomena without drawing phylogeny into a central role.
- The association between environmental changes and biogeographic and macroevolutionary changes is potentially an important area of paleontological research.
- Thus, adaptation-oriented studies of characters have expanded from microevolutionary studies of function and fitness to include macroevolutionary studies of phylogenetic patterns.