diversity of living things CHAPTER 1 Flashcards
what is the census of marine life ?
a 10-year project with the goal of learning more about the diversity and distribution of marine life
- several countries
- classifying everything they catch
- there is a fear that the marine life has limited time
for every species found, there are estimated __ others that are unknown
estimated to be 4 others that are unknown (we only discover about 25%
definition of species
a group of organisms that can interbreed in nature and produce fertile offspring
how many species have scientists identified ?
2 million species on earth
what is the estimated total number of species on earth ?
5 million to 20 million
when and where was the titi monkey discovered ?
2005 in Bolivia
how was the titi monkey named ?
the right to name the monkey was sold on ebay, instead of the traditional way
- $650 000
- the money was used to turn the jungle into a reserve
what are the advantages and disadvantages of the biological species concept ?
advantage- the species concept is widely used by scientists
disadvantage- when the populations are physically separated
-when the organisms reproduce asexually through mitosis
-fossil species/extinct species
definition of taxonomy
the branch of biology that identifies, names and classifies species
who is the father of taxonomy ?
carolus Linnaeus created the system for naming species: binomial nomenclature
definition of binomial nomenclature
the system of giving a two-word Latin name to each species-the first part is the genus and the second part is the species
how do you write/type binomial nomenclature ?
italicized when typed
both parts are underlined when written by hand
genus name is capitalized and the species is in lower case (Homo sapien)
definition of hierarchical classification
the method of classifying organisms in which species are arranged in categories from most general to most specific
what is a rank ?
each of the 8 taxonomic categories
what is a taxon ?
the name of each rank
name the 8 taxonomic ranks
domain kingdom phylum class order family genus species
what is morphology ?
body shape, size, structural features
how do scientists determine how much of the evolutionary histories of two species is shared ?
three main types of evidence: anatomy, physiological, DNA
definition of anatomy
the branch of biology that deals with structure and form, including internal systems
give an example of anatomy
archaeopteryx (#1 piece of evidence)
shows that dinosaurs have evolved into birds
both have bones with large hollow spaces
the arrangement of bones is similar
scales and feathers
name some animals with homologous structures
the same bones are formed in the forelimbs of these mammals: whale, bat, human, horse
definition of physiology
the branch of biology dealing with the physical and chemical functions of organisms, including internal processes
-also includes studying the biochemistry of organisms including the proteins they make
give 2 examples of physiological evidence
- guinea pigs are considered to be in the rodent order, studies of protein structures suggest that guinea pigs are sufficiently different from other rodents that they should be placed in a separate order
- studies of blood proteins of the horseshoe crab shows that they are more closely related to modern spiders than crabs
example of DNA evidence
animals and fungi are more closely related to each other than plants and fungi
a mushroom and alligator are more closely related than a mushroom and a flower
canadas turkey vulture appears similar to vultures from Asia and Africa
DNA indicates that turkey vultures are more closely related to storks
we share 98% the same DNA as chimpanzees
every human is different by only 0.1%
every organism was either a plant or an animal until ___
the 1800s
up until the 90s, bacteria and archaea were one kingdom
called monera
there were only __ kingdoms until the 90s
5 kingdoms
what kingdom are viruses in ?
they don’t belong to a kingdom because they are thought to be both alive and dead
what are the two major cell types
- prokaryotic
2. eukaryotic
‘before the nucleus”
prokaryotic
“true nucleus”
eukaryotic
difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic
prokaryotic (archaea, bacteria) -doesn't have a membrane bound nucleus -primitive cells, the ones that came first -found in magma and deep in the earth -usually small eukaryotic (Protista, fungi, plantae, Animalia) -up to 1000x larger than prokaryotic -more complex -have a membrane bound nucleus -contains lots of organelles
definition of dichotomous key
an identification tool consisting of a series of two-part choices that lead the user to a correct identification
-field guides
what is an autotroph ? what is a heterotroph ?
autotroph - called producers - plants and algae heterotroph - called consumers -animals that eat autotrophs to obtain energy
definition of species diversity
the variety and abundance of species in a given area
definition of genetic diversity
the variety of inherited traits within a species
what is the key to survival ?
high genetic diversity
animals with the same genes can die from a disease
i.e. Tasmanian devils
what is a gene pool ?
genetic dive3rsity within a population
the gene pool is the sum of all the versions of all genes in a population
what happened to Hawaii’s state bird ?
the nene bird was hunted to make stew
a giant tidal wave killed several Nenes
the mongoose were brought in to kill rats but instead ate nene eggs
ancient nenes had way more genetic diversity than nenes today
once down to 30 birds
what are the benefits of genetic diversity ?
- provides resistance to disease
- allows populations and species to survive changing environmental conditions
- if none of the individuals in a population have the ability to survive the disease, the entire population could be eliminated - supports conservation biology
- the florida panthers had been reduced to 30-50 individuals
- scientists introduced female panthers from a population in Texas
- scientists have begun to use their knowledge to help struggling populations
what is a monoculture ?
harvesting 1 type of species
-if a drought comes or locust disturbs the crops, all the crops can die if they’re not genetically diverse
what are DNA bar codes ?
- invented at the University of Guelph by Paul Herbert
- with small pieces of tissue (no larger than the head of a pin), Herbert and his colleagues are working to assign DNA bar codes to every living species
- a database using species-specific DNA sequences that can act as tags or markers to identify unknown biomaterial
what percent of fish sold in supermarkets are mislabelled ?
25%
who would benefit/buy DNA barcodes ?
a doctor may use it to pinpoint disease-causing organisms quickly
health inspectors could scan foods for plant and animal contaminants
farmers would be able to identify pests and use species-specific methods for their removal
