Lecture 28 Flashcards

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1
Q

What were the pre-cambrian animals (580-545 Million years ago)? -Ediacaran fauna=580 mya

A

-pre-cambrian complex metazoans may have been cnidarians (they resemble jellyfish, corals and anemones) -there are many specimens that defy categorisatioj

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2
Q

How is geological time divided?

A

-divisions based on differences in rocks

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3
Q

Why is the Ediacaran fauna remarkable?

A

-preservation of soft-bodied animals in sandstone -earliest known complex animals -previously thought that such animals arose in cambrian explosion

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4
Q

When did the Cambrian explosion take place and what was it?

A

545-510 Mya -Most major animal phyla appeared within a relatively short time period -in cambrian time platyhelmines= don’t have fossils but probably evolved then too

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5
Q

Where does most our knowledge of the Cambrian explosion come from?

A

-one site in the Canadian Rocky Mountains= Mount Burgess -enormous number of fossilised animals found in the Burgess shale (510 Million years old) -fossil bed was once the base of a cliff where anoxic mud (and dead animals) collected -shows most modern phyla and also some that we can’t classify

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6
Q

Why did the Cambrian explosion occur? 4 reasons!

A

1.Body plans: appearance of the triploblastic body allowed more diversity 2. Genetics: the origin of Homeobox (Hox) genes(Hox genes= set of genes, control body plan, up and bottom etc.= then can get adaptations) 3. Environment: oxygen levels reached optimum (known to increase at the end of the pre-Cambrian -break up of land masses (more shallow seas) more movement 4. Ecological communities: greater interactions between organisms led to evolution of many forms including more advanced sensory structures

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7
Q

What were trilobites ancestors of?

A

-arthropods (they were early ones) -sub phylum: Trilobita -more than 17 000 species known -marine -exoskeleton, segmentation, one pair of antennae, biarmous appendages -diversity of forms -existed from early Cambrian (530Mya) to the end of Permian (250 Mya) but declined after the end of Devonian (360Mya) -sexual dimorphism emerging mechanism for protection= curling up

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8
Q

What is extinction what causes it etc?

A

–species (class/subphylum) can either go extinct or evolve -average life span for a species is surprisingly short- mammals= avg 1 million years no mammals currently older than 10 million -on average, the fossil record indicates that between 10 to 100 species go extinct each year -there is enormous variation in extinction rates

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9
Q

How many mass extinctions were there in history?

A

5 -sudden mass declines in biodiversity = extinction events or mass extinctions

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10
Q

When did the Permian-Triassic extinction occur?

A

-250 Mya -the largest extinction event in Earth’s history -about 90% of species were lost- 95% marine, 70% terrestrial -happened within 1 million, maybe as little as 10 000 years

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11
Q

Why did the Permian-Triassic extinction occur?

A

-more volcanic activity (geological evidence form Siberia) created nuclear winter followed by -global warmin- more than 5C rise from rise in CO2 levels led to= -more global warming caused by release of methane hydrate locked in the sea beds-led to another 5-10 C rise in temp

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12
Q

Who were some of the losers of the Permian-Triassic extinction event?

A

trilobites, blastoids=sea buds,eurypterids(seas scorpions)

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13
Q

What happened after the Permian-Triasic mass extinction?

A

-radiation -reptiles saw an enormous explosion in diversity in the Triassic -there had been large reptiles in the Permian which also fell in the mass extinction -terrestrial lizards= dinosaurs -predominant land vertebrates for 165 million yrs from triassic (230Mya) until the end of Cretaceous (65Mya) -over 1000 species known

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14
Q

Why were dinosaurs so successful?

A

-niche availability- from previous large reptiles dying out at the end of Permian -appearance of flowering plants enriched the terrestrial ecosystem (130Mya) -warm blooded? -upright posture?(would regulate temp better= less sun exposure) -or just luck?

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15
Q

When did the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction occur and who were the losers?

A

-65Mya -end of the dinosaurs -70% of species lost(only 10% of fish died, even fewer amphibians, almost all mammal lineages survived -most of the ammonites (cephalopod molluscs= lived from 400-65mya, similar to nautilus but 1000s of species) -organisms that relied on photosynthesis (land plant lost 50%) phytoplankton and corals (98%) -herbivores(molluscs,echinoderms, dinosaurs) -top carnivores- dinosaurs, mossaurs, pterosaurs etc. =detritivores, insectivores and omnivores more likely to survive!

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16
Q

What caused the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction?

A

-volcanic activity= evidence in India of heavy volcanic eruptions starting 68Mya resulted in climate change= 8C rise in global temperatures -dinosaurs and ammonites were declining prior to 65Mya -also a giant impact= caused the final bit (EVidence: high level of iridium in deposits from that time, and existence of Chicxulub crater in Mexico)

17
Q

What were the consequences of the impact 65Mya?

A

-enormous dust cloud(nuclear winter) -high rise in atmospheric sulphur dioxide -global firestorms (O2 levels decreased) -raised level of CO2 (from burning/rotting) -greenhouse effect (futrher rise in planetary temperature)

18
Q

Who were the beneficiaries of the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction?

A

-mammals and birds -great increase in diversity in the Tertiary

19
Q

Are we going through 6th mass extinction now?

A

current rate of extinction is 27000 (normal 10-100)

20
Q

What are the causes of the extinction today?

A

1.Habitat loss destruction 2.overkill= to support human needs 3.introduced species 4.extinction cascades= one species dies and more do because the need it (coral reefs)

21
Q

What are two unexpected discoveries?

A

lord howe insect= believed to have been extinct as the bridled nail wallaby…