Diversity of Living Things - Chapter 1 Flashcards
Species
members breed freely under natural conditions to produce fertile offspring
individuals of different species can produce hybrid organisms via hybridization
Genetic diversity
genetic diversity allows for variation within species (human races, dog breeds)
two factors can cause this overall change
time = conditions favor certain traits
space = individuals spread out and develop like traits
Interactions
two factors are involved in determining how much interaction is necessary
species diversity = quantity and types of populations in the ecosystem
structural diversity = available habitats on ecosystem provides for individuals
Types of interactions
food = photosynthetic microorganisms protection = clown fish transportation = pollen reproduction = used nest hygiene = remoras digestion = digestive bacteria
Heterotroph
a heterotroph is an organism that cannot make their own food, such as humans
Autotroph
an autotroph is an organism that is able to make their own food, such as plants through the process of photosynthesis
Biodiversity
essential to maintaining a healthy ecosystem, provides more fallbacks loss of biodiversity could mean loss of food sources medicinal sources economy biogeochemical cycles
Characteristics of life
organization reproduction metabolism irritability mobility homeostasis adaptation to environment through mutation
Taxonomy
science of classifying organisms
purpose is to identify organisms and represent relationships
Classification system
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
within the current kingdoms the array of organisms is still vast, even within species
Kingdoms
originally only had plants and animals
scientists then found single-celled organisms, called this new group the protista
6 Kingdoms = Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Protista, Archaebacteria, Eubacteria
Other taxa
From phylum to species, the number of classifications increases
Dozens of phylum, millions of species
Phylogenetic trees/cladograms
demonstrates an order in which more modern species branched away from more ancient common ancestors
relationships are inferred from physical characteristics, genetic evidence (DNA), comparative biochemistry, and fossils
Clades
a group that illustrates a single ancestor species and all of its descendents
Domains
above the kingdom taxon, there are three domains
there are two prokaryotic domains, and the third is eukaryotic
