Final Exam Flashcards
What is a tetrapod?
Vertebrates with 4 feet
What groups are tetrapods?
Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals
What is Ichthyostega?
The First “Amphibian”
What is a Caecilian?
snake like creature, usually blind
Class Amphibia Order Gymnophiona
What are some general characteristics of Order Caudata?
Salamanders and Newts Tail, Carnivores Moist habitats with aquatic larva Internal Fertilization Respiration - gills, lungs, and cutaneous Sensitive to environmental changes
What are some of the factors that allow for life in terrestrial environments?
Body Support
Desiccation - keep from drying out
Respiration
Temperature fluctuations
What are some general characteristics of Order Anura?
Frogs and Toads
Moist environments, skin is water permeable
External fertilization, aquatic larva
What are some differences between larval and adult Anurans?
Larvae - herbivores, no legs, tail, aquatic
Adults - predators, four legs, no tail, both aquatic and terrestrial
How does the skin help amphibians?
Skin Resists: desiccation and UV rays
Secretions: Protect against bacterial and fungal infections
Apoematic Coloration: Warning coloring
How many chambers does the amphibian heart have? What are the two circuits of the circulatory system?
3 Chambered Heart
Pulmonary and Systematic Circulation
What is Pulmonary Circulation?
Goes to lungs and distributes oxygen
What is Systematic Circulation?
Goes to the body and picks up oxygen through the skin
What are some of the ways that amphibians exchange gases?
Cutaneous - through the skin
Buccopharyngeal - across the mouth and pharynx
Pulmonary Ventilation - forcing air into the lungs
What are some ways in which amphibians regulate their temperature?
Basking
Cool burrows
What are some ways in which amphibians conserve water?
Skin is water permeable
Live in high humidity
Nocturnal
What is the amniotic egg and why is it important?
Key to success in terrestrial environments
What are the main structures in the amniotic egg?
Amnion - moisture and shock absorption Allantois - waste sac Chorion - protection and gas exchange Yolk sac - nutrients Albumin - moisture and protection
What are some general characteristics of Order Testudine?
Turtles
Horny beak, no teeth
very vulnerable
Long life span
Describe the external structure of turtles
Dorsal - Carapace
Ventral - Plastron
What are some general characteristics of Order Squamata?
Snakes and Lizards Oviparous, ovoviviparous or vivparous some are venomous Skin of thick, dry, keratinized scales skin not used for diffusion
What is a worm lizard?
Rare
Most legless
Burrowers
Oviparous
Why is the secondary palate important?
Allows for eating/drinking and breathing simultaneously
What is Autotomy?
Can self sever limbs
How do snakes feed? What adaptations do they have for feeding?
Swallow prey whole
They have an unhingable jaw to allow swallowing of large prey items
What are neurotoxins and hemotoxins?
Neuro - attacks the nerve centers
Hemo - attacks blood cells
How many chambers does the reptilian heart have?
3 Chambered Heart
How do reptiles regulate their temperature?
Basking, Panting, Burrowing
Discuss some of the nervous and sensory functions of reptiles.
Increased smell and vision
Forked tongue
Pit vipers possess pit organs allowing them to locate warm blooded prey
Turtles can sense magnetic fields
What is a three eyed reptile?
Parietal eye
Reacts to shadows
What are some general characteristics of Order Crocodylia?
Crocodiles and Alligators Elongated Snout Predators Oviparous Parental Care
What are some characteristics of Archaeopteryx?
Long tail, clawed fingers, toothed beak and feathers
What are some adaptations that birds have for flight?
Wings, Feathers, Endothermic, High Metabolic Rate, Light Bones
What are the two types of feathers we discussed?
Pennaceous feathers - rachis (stalk)
Plumalaceous feathers - wispy/down feathers
What are the Proventriculus and Ventriculus?
Pro - true stomach
Ventriculus - gizzard
How many chambers does the avian heart have?
4
What is binocular vision? What type of bird might have more monocular vision or more binocular vision?
Binocular - using both eyes to see
Active hunters have more binocular vision than non active hunters
What are the three mating strategies that we discussed?
Monogamous
Polygynous
Polyandrous
Define Monogamous mating
Mate for life
Define Polygynous mating
One male mates with more than one female
Usually young require less parental care
Happens when resources are more limited
Define Polyandrous mating
One female mates with multiple males
Many resources available but also many predators
Define Altricial
Young is entirely dependent on parent’s at birth
Define Precocial
Young is fully functional and requires limited parental care
What are the three infraclasses of mammals?
Ornithodelphia
Metatheria
Eutheria
Why is hair important to mammals?
temperature regulation
sensory
protection
What are Vibrissae?
Whiskers
What are the four types of glands that we discussed for mammals?
Sebaceous glands
Sudoriferous glands
Scent/musk glands
Mammary gland
What is the function of the Sebaceous glands?
Oil glands associated with hair follicles
What is the function of the Sudoriferous glands?
Sweat glands associated with evaporative cooling
What is the function of the scent/musk glands?
Secrete pheromones
What is the function of the mammary glands?
secrete milk
Homodont versus heterodont?
Homodont - teeth are uniform (reptiles)
Heterodont - teeth are specialized
Incisors, Canines, Premolars, and Molars
How might the digestive tract differ between a herbivore and a carnivore?
Herbivores have a longer digestive tract than carnivores
How many chambers does the mammalian heart have?
4
What are the difference between hibernation and aestivation?
Hibernation - sleeping through the cold months
Aestivation - sleeping through the summer months
What class does the Order Urodela belong to?
Amphibia
What class does the Order Gymnophiona belong to?
Amphibia
What Class does the Order Anura belong to?
Amphibia
What Class does the Order Squamata belong to?
Reptilia
What Class does the Order Testudines belong to?
Reptilia
How many described species are there?
1.4-1.7 million
How many Animal species are there?
1 million
Who was the creator of Binomial Nomenclature?
Karl von Linne
What is a Cell?
The smallest independent unit of life
What is a prokaryote?
Lack nuclei and organelles
What is a eukaryote?
Contains a membrane bound nucleus with DNA, larger, more complex
What are the basic parts of a Eukaryotic Cell?
Plasma Membrane
Cytoplasm
Nucleus
What is Diffusion?
movement of particles from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration through a semi-permeable membrane.
What is Osmosis?
movement of water across a semipermeable membrane
What is Simple Diffusion?
Diffusion
What is Facilitated Diffusion?
process by which polar molecules diffuse across cell membranes with the help of transport proteins.
What is Endocytosis?
process whereby cells absorb material outside their cell membranes
What is Pinocytosis?
“Cell Drinking”
What is Phagocytosis?
“Cell Eating”
What is Exocytosis?
Process whereby cells expel waste
What does it mean to be Isotonic?
Same concentration both inside and outside the cell
What does it mean to be Hypertonic?
Cells have a water concentration that is greater
inside the cell rather than outside of the cell
What does it mean to be Hyptonic?
Cells often have a water concentration that is lower than outside of the cell.
What is “Darwin’s Theory of Evolution”
Perpetual Change Common Descent Multiplication of Species Gradualism Natural Selection
What is Perpetual Change?
All species are in a continuous state of change
What is meant by Common Descent?
All species have descended from a common ancestor through branching lineages
Define Multiplication of Species
New species are created via the transformation of existing species
What is Gradualism?
Large differences in characteristics between species developed gradually over time
What is meant by Natural Selection?
Organisms produce more offspring than can survive
There is variation within populations
Some of these variations are passed on to offspring
Survival and reproduction are not random
What is Microevolution
Change in allele frequencies over time
What is Macroevolution
Large scale evolutionary changes
What is Genetic Drift?
Changes in allele frequencies due to chance events
Greatest effects in small populations
What is a Population Bottleneck?
Change in gene frequency due to a reduction in population size
What is the Founder’s Effect?
Colonization of an island or patch by a small number of individuals
Very small population sizes
What is Stabilizing Selection?
genetic diversity decreases as the population stabilizes on a particular trait value.
What is Directional Selection?
a single phenotype is favored, causing the allele frequency to continuously shift in one direction.
Occurs most often under environmental chnages
What is Disruptive Selection?
extreme values for a trait are favored over intermediate values.
What is the hierarchy of Ecological Systems?
largest to smallest
Biosphere Ecosystem Community Population Organism
What is a fundamental niche?
Habitats without the threat of predation, competition, or resource limitation
What is a realized niche?
Habitats where a species naturally (or actually) lives
What are Density Dependent Factors?
Influence on individuals in a population varies with the degree of crowding within the population.
(Food Supply, Places to live, Predators, Parasites, and diseases)
What are Density Independent Facotrs?
Influence on individuals in a population does not vary with the degree of crowding
(Temperature, Precipitation, Catastrophic Events)
Define Cryptic Coloration
coloring that conceals or disguises an animal’s shape
Define Countershading
Camouflage
Define Aposematic Coloration
Warning coloration
What is an Autotroph?
Primary Producer
an organism that assimilates energy from sunlight or inorganic compounds
What is a Heterotroph?
Secondary Producer
an organism that uses organic (once living) materials as a source of energy and nutrients
What phyla display radial symmetry?
Cnidaria and Ctenophora
What are some implications of Radial Symmetry?
Low mobility
Confront the environment equally from a variety of directions
Less complex systems
Frontal Plane
Top and Bottom
Transverse Plane
Front and Back
Sagittal Plane
Left and Right
Diploblastic Organization
Body parts are organized into layers derived from two embryonic tissue layers
Ectoderm
Endoderm
Cnidaria and Ctenophora
What is a Cladogram?
Diagram that shows the evolutionary history of taxa
Define Character?
Attribute or feature that indicate relatedness
What is a Synapomorphy?
New characters that have arisen in a specific group since it diverged from a common ancestor
What is a Monophyletic Group?
includes a single ancestral species and all of its descendants
What is a Polyphyletic Group?
includes a group comprising species that arose from two or more different immediate ancestors
What is a Paraphyletic Group?
includes some, but not all members of a lineage
