Final Exam deck! Flashcards
Aristotle
Viewed organisms as “fixed and unchanging”. Said that there are certain “affinities” among organisms, and concluded that organisms could be arranged on a ladder of complexity: “scala naturae”. This was contradictory to Darwin’s view
Compare Darwin’s concept of descent with modification to the other prevailing ideas of his time
Darwin asserted that organisms are well-suited for life because of small changes that occur over large periods of time, instead of an intelligent Creator that finely-tuned organisms to be suited for their environment.
Georges Cuvier
Paleontologist (studied fossils) - noted that the older the stratum, the more dissimilar the fossils were to current life-forms. Also noticed that some species appeared / disappeared. Even with these findings, he staunchly opposed the idea of evolution. Darwin used these findings to verify
Jean-Baptiste de Lamark
Thought that use and disuse would dictate how parts would be genetically past down through generations - the more something was used, the stronger (and larger) it became, and vice versa. These characteristics were then genetically passed down. Although Darwin did not agree with use/disuse, he did agree with advantageous characteristics being passed down to offspring as acquired traits.
Alfred Russel Wallace
Developed an hypothesis of natural selection that was nearly identical to Darwin’s. Darwin published his Origin of the Species book after reading Wallace’s hypothesis
James Hutton
Earth’s geologic features can be explained by gradual mechanisms, like valleys being formed by rivers.
Charles Lyell
Incorporated Hutton’s thinking into his proposal that the same geologic processes (gradual mechanisms) are operating today, at the same rate.
How did Hutton and Lyell’s findings influence Darwin’s thoughts on descent with modification?
Their thinking confirmed that the world was much older than the projected ages that were widely circulated at the time. Therefore, if the world were older, it would allow for descent with modification
Explain how, over time, natural selection results in organisms’ adaptation to their environment
In a genetically diverse population, traits that are more advantageous in some environments will be present (due to mutation, genetic drift, or gene flow). The challenges posed by a certain environment creates pressure (selective pressure) and these traits give their organisms advantage over other organisms with different traits, which means that the organisms with the more advantageous traits are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing along these advantageous traits to their offspring. Over time, this will result in the organism population adapting to its selective pressure via natural selection
Use examples to show how evolution is supported by scientific evidence
Homologous structures: structures in different species that are similar because of common ancestry
Vestigial structures: A biological feature of an organism that is no longer functional and is a remnant of a structure that served a function in the organism’s ancestors
Biogeography: the distribution of species indicates the presence of a unifying Pangea state where all continents were connected and then broke off
Convergent evolution: evolution of similar features that are independent from evolutionary lineages. Analogous structures are structures that are similar as a result of convergent evolution (not to be mistaken for homologous structures)
Describe factors that affect earth’s climate and explain how they influence patterns at different scales
Climate is affected by seasonality, large bodies of water, and mountains
Seasonality: variation in light and temperature with latitude, and how the sun hits the earth via the earth’s tilt
Bodies of Water affect climate: oceans (and their currents) along by nearby lakes moderate the climate of nearby land. Ocean currents flow between hot and cold depending on geolocation and have impacts on the land it passes
Mountains affect climate: rain shadow effect of sunlight and temperature wet - colder on the windward side, warmer, drier on the leeward side of the mountains
If an ecologist were studying the regional interactions among multiple populations of different species and how they influence the exchange of materials between their various environments, then this would be an example of which kind of research?
Question 1 options:
population ecology
landscape ecology
ecosystem ecology
global ecology
landscape ecology
What would happen to the seasons if Earth were tilted 35 degrees off its orbital plane instead of the usual 23.5 degrees?
Question 2 options:
The seasons would disappear.
The seasons would be shorter.
Winters and summers would be less severe.
Winters and summers would be more severe.
Winters and summers would be more severe.
Which of the following might be an investigation of microclimate?
Question 3 options:
the effect of ambient temperature on the onset of caribou migration
the seasonal population fluctuation of nurse sharks in coral reef communities
competitive interactions among various species of songbirds during spring migration
how sunlight intensity affects plant community composition in the zone where a forest transitions into a meadow
how sunlight intensity affects plant community composition in the zone where a forest transitions into a meadow
In creating global climate patterns, which of the following factors is the primary cause of all of the other factors that are listed?
Question 4 options:
global wind patterns
global ocean currents
precipitation differences between tropical and polar regions
variation in the heating of Earth’s surface
Variation in the heating of Earth’s surface
For mountain ranges that are subjected to prevailing winds, why is the climate drier on the leeward (downwind) side?
Question 5 options:
The sun illuminates the leeward side of mountain ranges at a more direct angle, converting to heat energy, which evaporates most of the water present.
Air masses pushed by the prevailing winds are stopped by mountain ranges and the moisture is used up in the stagnant air masses on the leeward side.
Deserts create dry conditions on the leeward side of mountain ranges.
Pushed by the prevailing winds on the windward side, air is forced to rise, cool, condense, and drop its precipitation, leaving drier air to descend the leeward side.
Pushed by the prevailing winds on the windward side, air is forced to rise, cool, condense, and drop its precipitation, leaving drier air to descend the leeward side.
Imagine some cosmic catastrophe jolts Earth so that its axis is perpendicular to the orbital plane between Earth and the sun. The most obvious effect of this change would be ________.
Question 6 options:
an increase in the length of a year
the elimination of tides
a decrease in temperature at the equator
the elimination of seasonal variation
the elimination of seasonal variation
Flycatcher birds that migrate from Africa to Europe feed their chicks a diet that is almost exclusively moth caterpillars. The graph shows the peak dates of flycatcher arrival in Europe, bird hatching, and peak caterpillar season for the years 1980 and 2000. The y-axis is a measure of the abundance of birds, hatching chicks, and caterpillars.
The shift in the peak of caterpillar season is most likely due to ________.
Question 7 options:
acid precipitation in Europe
global warming
an innate change in the biological clock of the caterpillars
earlier migration returns of flycatchers
global warming
The main cause of the increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere over the past 150 years is ________.
Question 8 options:
the burning of larger amounts of wood and fossil fuels
an increase in the amount of infrared radiation absorbed by the atmosphere
increased worldwide primary production
additional respiration by the rapidly growing human population
the burning of larger amounts of wood and fossil fuels
Examine the figure, which notes the average barrels of oil used per person per year in different countries. What can be concluded?
Question 9 options:
Residents of more populated countries use more energy per person.
English-speaking countries tend to use more energy per person.
Residents in warmer climates use more energy per person.
Residents of more affluent, industrialized countries use more energy per person.
Residents of more affluent, industrialized countries use more energy per person.
Describe Earth’s energy balance and how humans have altered it through the emission of greenhouse gases
Earth’s energy balance: 1) Solar Radiation passes through Earth’s atmosphere (some is reflected off the atmosphere) while most makes it through, 2) Radiation is absorbed on the Earth’s surface, warming it. 3) Energy is released as IR heat - some leaves the atmosphere while other parts get trapped in atmosphere via GHGs.
Humans have increased the levels of GHGs through carbon emissions, which leads to improper warming of the climate
Explain how the distribution of species is limited by abiotic and biotic factors
Organisms have certain temperature/water/etc needs in order to survive (abiotic) and thus they are confined to areas that provide those things in the quantity that it needs.
Organisms can also be confined to certain areas because of predators, species that can outcompete them for resources, and harmful microorganisms (biotic) causing them to be limited by biotic factors
Describe how ecological change and evolution affect one another over short and long periods
Example of long-term effects of ecological change and evolutionary change : origin and diversification of plants: the origin of plants themselves altered the chemical cycling of carbon leading to the removal of large quantities of CO2 in the atmosphere. As plant species continued to adaptively radiate over time, the appearance of new plant species allowed for new ecological niches, habitats, and sources of food for animals and insects, which stimulated speciation in animals too (as they adapted to fit these niches).
Example of short-term effect of ecological change on evolution: fisheries fishing for older cod will create selective pressure that favors younger cod that reproduce earlier. Younger cod do not reproduce at the same rate as older cod (slower) so the cod species may not be able to keep up with fish harvesting rates of the fishery
Darwin and Wallace’s theory of evolution by natural selection was revolutionary because it ________.
Question 1 options:
proved that individuals acclimated to their environment over time
was the first theory to refute the ideas of special creation
dismissed the idea that species are constant and emphasized the importance of variation and change in populations
was the first time a biologist had proposed that species changed through time
dismissed the idea that species are constant and emphasized the importance of variation and change in populations