Exam 2 Flashcards
Scala Naturae
An idea that was in vogue through the 19th century.
All things were put on a ladders and the simplest things were at the bottom and it keeps getting complex as they go up the ladder.
Inheritance of acquired traits (Lamarckism)
All organisms have an inner drive to be better.
The things that you do to your body in your lifetime can be inherited by your offspring.
Natural Selection
A mechanism for evolution.
Differential survival and reproduction of phenotypic (what it looks like) and genotypic (genes that create that phenotype) variant.
The branching bush of evolution
The branch tree Darwin draw to understand the concept of how species evolve and we obtain new species.
Competition for limited resources
Some organism are better able to survive and reproduce, better competidors than others, so they can utilise their resources better, they can get to their resources better, than other ones.
Stabilizing Selection
Extremes are eliminated, leading to a narrowing of the variation. Individuals closer to the mean of the population produce more offsprings than the ones that are at then extremes. (bell shaped curve example)
Directional Selection
One extreme is eliminated or at a disadvantage, shifting the curve. Population is shfited to one direction.
Disruptive Selection
Individuals with intermediate variation are eliminated, producing two bell-shaped curves at the extremes. You start getting invidivuals from both extremes and less individuals from the in betweens.
Allopatric Divergence
When there is one species and then a barrier appears, the barrier allows differences to develop in 2 populations. The differences so great that 2 species are evident. When the barrier is removed, species do not interbreed.
Microevolution
evolution within a species (adaptation)
Macroevolution
the creation of new species and higher taxonomic categories.
Sexual selection
selection in which members of one gender select mates from the opposite gender based on some measures of quality.
Founder effect
a change in allele frequency (generally a loss of genetic variation) in a new population as the result of creating the population from a subset of a larger population.
Genetic drift
a change in allele frequency by chance alone
Population Bottleneck
a severe reduction in the number of individuals in a population with subsequent recovery of the population’s size.
Allometric growth and ontogeny
Ontogeny: development of an individual
Allometric growth: differential growth of body parts
Phylogeny and heterochrony
Phylogeny: development of an evolutionary lineage
Heterochrony: a change in the pattern of allometric growth, a change in the timing of life-history events.
Paedomorphosis
evolutionary process in which an organism retains juvenile features into adulthood.
Peramorphosis
evolutionary process in which an organism develops exaggerated adult features or characteristics beyond those of its ancestors.
Hox gene
(master gene), control other genes, operate by controlling the functioning of structural genes
Structural genes are responsible for making the structure of the body.
Reciprocal induction
responsible for making limbs, two or more cells, tissues, or organs influence each other’s development through mutual signaling.
the rock cycle
is how you make the 3 different primary rock
Sedimentary: bury the body of dinosaurs, can be melted and cool and turned into igneous.
Igneous: change by temperature and pressure
Metamorphic: through erosion can break down and create sedimentary rock.
Sedimentary rock
Rock where people can find fossils of dinosaurs.
type of rock formed from the accumulation and compaction of mineral and organic particles, such as sand, silt, and clay, or from the precipitation of minerals from water.
Metamorphic rock
type of rock that forms when existing rock (sedimentary) is transformed by high heat, pressure, or chemical processes within the Earth.
Igneous rock
type of rock formed from the cooling and solidification of molten rock, either magma below the Earth’s surface or lava at the surface.
Magma
melted material still underground.
Lava
melted rock that is not underground.
Stratigraphy
the study of the order and relative position of strata
Superposition principle
it believes that the youngest layers of the earth at the top and the oldest layers at the bottom.
Relative dating
it has to do with the superposition principle that the fossils at the bottom are older than the fossils at the top, they don’t know how much older but they are older based on the layer that they are at
Numerical dating
calculating a real date of things, radiometric dating, looking at radioactive material
The internal structure of the Earth
inner core (at the very center) solid
outer core (2nd inner ) liquid
mantle
crust
Inner core
solid and the outer core is liquid it allows the inner core to rotate
Outer core
liquid and it allows the inner core to rotate, creating a magnetic field
Asthenosphere
partly melted, plastic mantle, fluid not completely solid, has convection cells, molten rocks that move in a certain manner.
Molten material is pushed to the surface and breaks the crust to make space for new material, this causes one part of the crust to move to one side and the other to move to the other side.
lithosphere
integrates the solid mantle, oceanic crust, and continental crust, plate isv the lithosphere
Oceanic crust
is more dense, gets pushed into the continental shelf,
Continental crust
is the thick, less dense outer layer of Earth’s surface that makes up the continents.
Convection cell
are all around the planet.
circulating flow of fluid, such as air or liquid, that moves in a loop as it heats up, rises, cools down, and then sinks.
Mid-ocean ridge
is an underwater mountain range formed by tectonic plates pulling apart, allowing magma to rise and create new oceanic crust.
Subduction zone
is where the crust is pushed down from the crust to the asthenosphere where it gets melted in the asthenosphere.
Trench
Trenches are a deeper part of the ocean.
Divergent
Plates where new material is pushed up causing plates to move away from each other
Convergent
Two plates go towards each other, and then one of them moves up, and the other one submerges under the other.
Transform plates boundaries
where plates one move to the north, the other moves to the south (one moves up the other moves down)
Hot spot
is a fixed area in Earth’s mantle where unusually hot magma rises to the surface, creating volcanic activity.
Biogeographic realms
the study of the distribution of organisms.
North America
Neotropical
Afrotropical
Indo-Malay
Australasia
Palearctic
Endothermic
obtaining heat from an internal (endogenous) source
Ectothermic
obtaining heat from the environment
Poikilothermic
a variable body temperature
Hoemothermic
a constant body temperature
inertial homeothermy (gigantothermy)
Ability of certain animals to maintain a stable body temperature due to their body temperature mass and low heat loss
scaling
when an organism gets bigger the ration of the surface are to volume ration changes. Surface area increase at a certain rate
challenge of predicting how changes in size or scale affect the structure, function, or behavior of systems or organisms. It highlights how certain properties do not simply scale up or down proportionally, requiring adjustments in design, physiology, or modeling.
oviparous
egg-laying
viviparous
live birth
ovoviviparous
live birth without direct maternal contribution to the embryo
parthenogenetic
development of an egg without the help of a male
precocial young
young are able to move aroudn easily shortly after birth
altricial young
young are nest-bound, wholly dependent on parent for food.
heterodont dentition
having teeth of variable shape
homodont dentition
having teeth of the same shape
gastroliths
stones swallowed for the purpose of grinding food
cheeks
pouches outside of the teeth for retaining food in the mouth
mastication
the process of chewing or grinding food with teeth to break it down before swallowing.
chewing in it the mouth or grind it and get it chewed somewhere else
dental battery
All teeth fuse together, pivoted from side to side, teeth design for mastication
whole group of teeth grouped together
serrated teeth
serretation in the teeth meant to tear, teeth are not smooth
beak
flat noses teeth associated with molars
Topics Related to the readings in the text
The island effect and its relationship to European dinosaurs
Dinosaur diversity and the principle of niche partitioning.
Europe: island dwafism bigger animals in small islands become small and smaller animals become larger
Dinosaur diversity: where different species adapted to occupy distinct ecological roles or “niches” within the same environment, reducing competition and allowing multiple species to coexist.
Ceratosaurs versus Tetanurae
flexible tail and fused nasal bone vs. stiffer tail and 3 fingered hand
Arctometatarsalia versus Maniraptora
No graspy hands vs. small graspy hands.
Deinonychosauria versus Availae
Terrible claw on the foot vs. birds that fly.
Diplodocoidea versus Camarasauromorpha
Smaller front legs, head doesnt go up vs. larger front legs, head goes up
Pachycephalosauria versus Ceratopsia
big skull vs. facial horns
Chasmosaurinae versus Centrosaurinae
Brow horn vs. big horn on the nose
Iguanodontoidea versus Hadrosauridae
6ft long tube, nothing in the head (ornamentation) vs Oranmientation crest on the head
Stegosauria versus Ankylosauria
Big plates on the back, spikes on the tail vs. Spikes on the back no spikes on the tail
Ankylosauridae versus Nodosauridae
Big rock atthe end of the tail vs. no rock at the end of the tail
Describe how natural selection, sexual selection, genetic drift, the founder effect and
population bottlenecks affect evolution by changing the genetic make-up of a population.
natural and sexual selection favor traits that improve survival or mating success, while genetic drift, founder effects, and bottlenecks randomly reduce genetic diversity, potentially reshaping the population’s gene pool.
Describe how developmental processes such as reciprocal induction and Hox gene regulation can regulate evolutionary changes.
guide evolutionary changes by controlling when, where, and how specific body structures develop, enabling shifts in form and function that can lead to new species traits and adaptations.
Describe the role of Hox genes in peramorphosis of the dinosaurs.
extending or enhancing developmental processes, allowing certain species to develop exaggerated adult features, such as elongated necks or larger body sizes, which contributed to their evolutionary diversity.
Describe the rock cycle and how one form of rock can be transformed into another.
continuous process in which rocks transform between igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic forms through melting, cooling, weathering, compaction, and heat and pressure, driven by Earth’s internal and surface forces.
Define and describe the relationship between the principle of superposition and faunal succession.
principle of superposition states that in undisturbed sedimentary rock layers, older layers are found beneath younger ones, while faunal succession describes how fossil organisms within those layers succeed one another in a recognizable order, allowing geologists to determine relative ages and correlate rock layers based on their fossil content.
Describe the mechanism of plate tectonics and how it relates to continental movement, volcanoes, earthquakes, and mountain building.
Plate tectonics is the mechanism by which Earth’s lithosphere is divided into tectonic plates that move and interact at their boundaries, causing continental drift, volcanic activity, earthquakes, and mountain building through processes such as subduction, rifting, and collision.
Articulate both pro and con arguments in relation to several lines of evidence related to dinosaurs being endothermic.
Pro: Large body size in living organisms is associated with endothermy (there are no ectotherms of the body size of our largest endotherms)
Con: large body size would have allowed dinosaurs to practice inertial homeothermy, however small dinosaurs would ahve not been able to use inertial homeothermy.
Pro: Modern endothermic organism have high EQ and some dinosaurs have high EQ also
Con: EQ does not necessarily have a cause and effect relationship with endothermy.
Identify types and structure-function relationships among various types of dinosaur teeth
flat, serrated teeth for herbivores like hadrosaurs, sharp, pointed teeth for carnivores like theropods, and conical teeth for piscivorous dinosaurs—each adapted in structure to efficiently process specific types of food, reflecting their diet and ecological niche.
Describe what teeth with ridges and serration, the presence of cheeks, and the possibility of gastroliths tell us about how dinosaurs processed food.
Teeth with ridges and serrations indicate that some dinosaurs, particularly herbivores, were adapted for grinding and slicing tough plant material, while the presence of cheeks suggests they could retain food in their mouths for better processing, and the use of gastroliths implies they relied on these stones to aid in grinding food in their digestive system.
