Diversity Exam Prep Flashcards
Ecology
the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.
Anthropause
the dramatic slowdown in human activity caused by the pandemic.
What is biodiversity
the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem. Earth is unique in its capacity for life.
Why is biodiversity important
Biodiversity is essential for the processes that support all life on Earth, including humans. Without a wide range of animals, plants and microorganisms, we cannot have the healthy ecosystems that we rely on to provide us with the air we breathe and the food we eat.
Biodiversity is the key to the future of humanity. There will be no jobs on a dead planet. Biodiversity equals stability. Civilization won’t work without biodiversity. Animal lives are intimately connected to the lives of others around them. The evolution of life changed the planet from a desolate wasteland to comfortable conditions for life. Productivity of the living world increases with more animal diversity
Taxonomy
The science of identifying, naming, and classifying organisms
Binomial nomenclature
Developed by Carl von Linne (Carolus Linnaeus) in 1735
Scientific name has two parts:
Genus
Species
Phylogeny
Evolutionary tree showing relationships between groups
Cladogram
a branching diagram showing the cladistic (common characteristics) relationship between a number of species.
biological species concept
Groups of actually or potentially interbreeding populations which are reproductively isolated from other such groups
reproductive isolation and isolating mechanisms
no exchange of genetic material.
Physical
Physiological
Chromosomal
Behavioral
parthenogenesis
a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization by sperm. Occurs when an animal does not encounter conspecifics over a period of time.
conspecifics
a member of the same species
evolutionary species concept
A single lineage of ancestor-descendent populations that maintains its identity from other such lineages and that has its own evolutionary tendencies and historical fate
phylogenetic species concept
The concept of a species as an irreducible group whose members are descended from a common ancestor and who all possess a combination of certain defining, or derived, traits
biological species concept
A species is a group of members who can interbreed and produce viable, fertile offspring. Must be reproductively compatible. Members of different species cannot mate and produce viable offspring. They remain their own distinct species.
morphological species concept
A species is a group of members of the same body shape or features.
ecological species concept
Members of the same species occupy the same ecological niches. Interaction with biotic and abiotic parts of the environment. (soil type, cold toleration, climates, elevation
evolution
The process by which species of organisms arise from earlier life forms and undergo change over time through natural selection.
natural selection
the process through which populations of living organisms adapt and change. Individuals in a population are naturally variable, meaning that they are all different in some ways. This variation means that some individuals have traits better suited to the environment than others.
divergent evolution
The evolutionary pattern in which species sharing a common ancestry become more distinct due to differential selection pressure which gradually leads to speciation over an evolutionary time period.
(Lions, cheetahs, and leopards (all family felidae). These three cats evolved from the same ancestor. Their habitats overlap)
convergent evolution
the process whereby distantly related organisms independently evolve similar traits to adapt to similar necessities.
(Dolphins and sharks have several morphological similarities(streamlined bodies, dorsal fins, pectoral fins, etc.) because of the environment they are from but they are not closely related. Sharks are fish and thus are ectotherms (do not have lungs, lay eggs, etc). Dolphins are mammals and therefore are endotherms (have lungs, and give live birth, etc). Sharks and their ancestors are believed to have been always aquatic whereas it is believed that dolphins evolved from a once terrestrial mammalian ancestor.)
continuous distribution
Eurytopic or wide-ranging animals are adapted to a wide variety of environmental conditions and are not specific to any particular type of food or may have special power to cross barriers either by flight, rafting or swimming and adapt to new environmental conditions.
discontinuous distribution
When continuity of distribution of a type of animal is broken by uninhabited areas which are sometimes very large stretches of oceans.
habitats
Places where animals live, defined by climate, latitudes, altitudes, types of soil, etc
Examples: coastal cliffs, talus slopes, sand dunes, alpine meadows
niche
Precise part of the habitat which is occupied by a species
Includes:
Resources used
How resources are exploited
“How the animal makes a living”
biome
a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat, e.g. forest or tundra.
autotroph
an organism that is able to form nutritional organic substances from simple inorganic substances such as carbon dioxide. (Photosynthesis/ plants)
heteretroph
an organism deriving its nutritional requirements from complex organic substances. (Porifera)
Phylum cnidaria
sea anenomes, hydras, jellyfish, coral
Nematocysts- stinging cells
Radial symmetry
Polyp and medusa body types
Hydrostatic skeleton
Nerve net
Symbiotic relationship
mutually beneficial
Phylum Cnetophora
comb jellies
comb plates used for propulsion
nerve net
all marine
0.4cm to 1 meter long
sticky colloblasts
bioluminescent
swims oral end upward
Phylum platyhelminthes
flatworms
bilateral symmetry
cephalization
dorsoventrally flattened
Phylum nematoda
roundworms
0.1 mm to 9 mm
probably most abundant animals on earth
beneficial- used as biological pest control in AG
non-beneficial- many are parasites
Phylum Arthropoda
Jointed appendages
Chitinous exoskeleton
4 subphylum
Chelicerata
Myriapoda
Crustacea
Hexapoda
subphylum chelicerata
horseshoe crabs, sea spiders, spiders, mites, ticks, scorpions, harvestmen
segmented bodies: Cephalothorax and abdomen
6 pairs jointed appendages: 1 pair chelicerae, 1 pair pedipalps, 4 pairs walking legs
scavengers/predators
no mandibles or antennae
subphylum myriapoda
centipedes and millipedes
paired, uniramous appendages on most or all trunk segments
one pair antennae
Class Chilopoda- Centipede- venemous predator
Class Diplopoda- Millipede- detritivores
subphylum crustacea
crabs, lobsters, shrimp, krill
2 pairs antennae
biramous appendages in some species
three body sections: head, thorax, abdomen. head+thorax sometimes fused
gills for respiration
subphylum hexapoda
class insecta
1 pair antennae
thorax w/ three pairs of legs, usually two pairs of wings
seperate sexes or pathogenesis
metamorphasis
eggs laid or may be internally withheld by female
