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GEOL 2155 > Mid Term #1 > Flashcards

Mid Term #1 Flashcards

1
Q

What is a fossil?

A

Remains or traces of past life preserved in the rock record

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2
Q

What did people originally think about fossils?

A

Placed in rocks via supernatural processes
Not related to extinct organisms
Fish swan into cracks in rock
Thought to be mythical creatures

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3
Q

The Lying Stones

A

Beringer (1667-1738)
Given ‘fossils’ by students
Published book about his ‘findings’

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4
Q

Nicholas Steno

A

1638-1686

Observed shark teeth in fossils record and recognized that they were produced by modern organisms

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5
Q

Taphonomy

A

Study of processes involved between the death of an organism and its discovery in the fossil record

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6
Q

Why study taphonomy?

A

Better understand what can and cannot be done with the data found in the fossil record

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7
Q

Original Remains

A

Little or no alteration of remains (relatively rare)

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8
Q

Permineralization

A

Space in microstructure are filled with minerals (calcite or silica)

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9
Q

Replacement

A

Growth of a secondary mineral at the expense of the original material
Silicification (SiO2)
Pyritization (FeS2)

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10
Q

Recrystallization

A

Change in mineral structure from aragonite to more stable calcite
Most bivalves construct shell out of aragonite
Results in loss of anatomical detail

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11
Q

Dissolution

A

Original material is completely removed while not being replaced
Results in a void if surrounding sediments are sufficiently rigid

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12
Q

Trace Fossils

A

Non-body fossils caused by organisms

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13
Q

What are some types of Trace Fossils?

A 
Feed traces
Footprints
Root casts
Burrows
Coprolites
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14
Q

The Devil’s Corkscrew

A

First discovered in 1800s
Up to 10m in height/depth
Initially thought to be a massive root system
Burrows of terrestrial beaver Paleocastor

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15
Q

Preservational Control Factors

A 
Rate, quantity and composition or remains
Environmental conditions (pre-burial)
Time to burial
Post-depositional sedimentary conditions
Fate of sediments once lithified
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16
Q

Taphonomic assesment

A 
Biochemical fidelity
Anatomical fidelity
Spatial fidelity
Temporal resolution
Compositional fidelity
Completeness of time series
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17
Q

Biochemical Fidelity

A

How the chemical composition of the specimen has been altered since death
How the chemistry of the environment has aided or restricted preservation

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18
Q

Anatomical Fidelity

A

How the physical structure of the specimen been modified since death
What is responsible ofr the changes

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19
Q

Types of Biochemical Fidelity

A

Permineralization
Replacement
Original Material

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20
Q

Types of Anatomical Fidelity

A

Disarticulation/Dismemberment

Decomposition

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21
Q

Spatial Fidelity

A

How the specimen has been transported since death

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22
Q

Temporal Fidelity

A

How can we control for time-averaging withing unites and assemblages

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23
Q

Compositional Fidelity

A

Is given fossils assemblage an accurate representation of the source ecosystem
Eventually not worth the time to find more fossils

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24
Q

Completeness of Time Series

A

How consistent is the overall fossil record in the area in question
How might htis affect your interpretations of change through time

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25
How do we control for taphonomic biases?
Recognition of biases Statistical methods Understanding general depositional characteristics of relevent environments/ages
26
What are the subdivisions of Time Scale?
Eons Eras Periods Epochs
27
Eon
Greatest expanse of time | Phanerozoic (visible life)
28
Era
Subdivision of an eon Cenozoic (recent life) Mezozoic (middle life) Paleozoic (ancient life)
29
Steno's Principles
Superposition Original Horizontality Lateral Continuity Principle of Cross Cutting
30
Superposition
Younger sediments overlie older sediments
31
Original Horizontality
Sediments are depositied in horizontal layer (no matter what they look like in outcrop)
32
Lateral Continuity
Gaps between outrops do not necessarily indicate gaps in deposition
33
Principle of Cross Cuttin
New things disrupt older things
34
Correlation of Rocks
The process of demonstrating correspondence between geographically disparate stratigraphic units
35
Types of Correlation
Lithostratigraphic Correlation | Temporal Correlation
36
Lithostratigraphic Correlation
Link rock units of similar types
37
Temporal Correlation
Linking rock units of a similar age
38
Biostratigraphy
The correlation of rock units on the basis of their characteristic fossil taxa
39
Index Fossil
A species or genus whose fossils are characteristic of a particular span of geologic time and are used for relative dating
40
What makes a good index fossil?
Abundant Easily identified Geographically widespread Evolve quickly
41
Absolute ages
Calculated using radiometric dating methods
42
Antoine-Henri Bacquerel
1853-1908 French physicist who discovered radioactivity of Uranium in 1895 Radioactive decay forms basis for radiometric dating
43
Dating with Radioactivity
Provides numeric ages that specify the actual number of years that have passed since an event occurred
44
Radioacivity
Each atom has a nucleus of protons and neutrons orbited by electrons Some nuclei spontaneously break apart and emit energy in a process called radioactivity Radioactive decay
45
Radioactive Decay
Breakdown of a radioactive isotope
46
Isotopes
Atoms of the same atomic number that have different atomic masses
47
Atomic Number
Number of protons in nucleus of atom
48
Atomic Mass
Sum of masses of protons and neutrons in an atom
49
Parents
Unstable isotopes
50
Daughter Products
Isotopes formed by the decay of parents
51
Radiometric Dating
Provides reliable means to calculate ages of rocks and minerals that contain particular radioactive isotopes
52
Radiometric Decay
Radioactive isotopes decay at known rates | Need igneous rocks
53
Dating with Radioactivity
Increase in daughter atoms just matches the drop in parent atoms, which makes radiometric dating work
54
What can you radiometrically date?
Igneous rocks Organic Tissue Metamorphism
55
Importance of Radiometric Dating
Radiometric dating is a complex procedure that requires precise measurement Rocks have been dated at more than 3 billion years Confirms the idea that geologic time is immense
56
Carbon 14
Half-life is 5,530 yrs, not useful for dates older than 70,000
57
Taxonomy
Science of naming organisms and placing them into classifications Base unit is species
58
Species
Members of a population who can breed and produce viable offspring
59
Taxon
A group of organisms united by the possessions ofa particular suite of characteristics
60
Synapomorphy
Shared derived characteristics
61
Taxonomic Hierarchy
``` Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species ```
62
Carl Linnaeus
1707-1778 Swedish naturalist Developed taxonomic hierarchy Devised universal rules of taxonomic nomenclature
63
Biological Species
Members of a population who can breed and produce viable offspring
64
Morphological Species Concept
Species differentiated on the basis of morphological differences
65
Species Characteristics
Large Cranial capacity, reduced brow ridges and relatively gracile skeleton
66
Genus Characteristics
Enlarged cranial capacity relative to earlier taxa | Tool use
67
Family Extinct Species
Hominidae - Pan, Gorilla, Pongo
68
Genus Extinct Species
H. erectus H. neaderthalensis H. habilis
69
Family Characteristics
Large body size Lack of a tail Long gestation period Alticial young (require nourishment at birth)
70
Order Characteristics
``` Primates Five digits Presence of nails Enlarge cranial capacity Closed orbits ```
71
Class Characteristics
``` Mammalia Mammary glands Sweat glands Hair Three ossicles ```
72
Phylum Characteristics
``` Chordata Notochord Post-anal tail Dorsal hollow nerve cord Pharyngeal gill slits Endostyle ```
73
Kingdom Characteristics
Animalia Eukaryotic Heterotrophic Go through blastula stage
74
Protostomes
Blastopore becomes mouth | Sponges, Cnidarians, Lophotrochozoa, Arthropods
75
Deuterostomes
Blastopore becomes the anus | Echinoderms, Chordates
76
Systematics
Branch of biology that deals with the classification and taxonomy of organisms
77
Jean Baptiste Lamark
Species adapted to their environments | Organisms do not pass down acquired traits
78
Biogeography
Distribution of organisms in nature is not random
79
Key Points from On the Origin of Species
Individuals in a population are not all identical This variation is heritable Variation affords different abilities to individuals in a population Through selective breeding, man can alter species If man can artificially direct change, it can also happen in nature
80
Natural Selecetion
Fitness = probability of successful reproduction Inheritable traits that increase fitness are more likely to be passed on to subsequent generations Advantageous traits become more frequent in the population as disadvantageous traits are selected against
81
Who does Selection act on?
Individual | Either survives to reproduce or doesn't
82
Who does evolution act on?
Population | Change in gene frequency within a population from generation to generation
83
Genetics
Offspring inherit genetic material from their parents | Traits are coded for by DNA which joins together to form genes, which are linked to form chromosomes
84
Sexual Reproduction
Results in constant recombination of genetic material within a population Constant source of variation
85
Types of Mutations
Deletion Inversions Duplication
86
Deletions
DNA base pair is removed from strand
87
Inversions
DNA bases are reversed
88
Duplications
DNA sequence is erroneously repeated
89
Large Populations
More genetic material New traits take longer to express themselves More variability in which to respond to a selective pressure
90
Small Populations
Can evolve rapidly Traits that increase fitness can be spread throughout the population easily Vulnerable to rapid extinction
91
Speciation
The process through which a new species is formed
92
Modes of Speciation
Phyletic Gradualism | Punctuated Equilibrium
93
Phyletic Gradualism
Evolution occurs at a constant rate, with speciation being a gradual process
94
Punctuated Equilibrium
Taxa exist for long periods of time with little net genetic and morphological change, with speciation occurring rapidly
95
Convergent Evolution
Taxa from separate evolutionary lineages converge upon similar body plans or adaptations
96
Dollo's Law
Evolution is not a reversible process | The probability of reversing a lengthy series of environmental and internal variables is extremely low
97
Origination Rate
Rate at which new taxa evolve/are found in the fossil record | Can increase rapidly when new niches are invaded
98
Extinction
The end of a genetic lineage
99
Mass Extinctions
``` End Ordovician End Devonian Permo-Triassic End Triassic End Cretaceous ```
100
Accretion Disks
The sun formed within such a cloud of gas and dust, shrinking in on itself by self- gravitational collapse until it began to undergo nuclear fusion
101
Early Earth's Atmosphere
Compose primarily of volcanic gases | CO2, N2, H2, CO, NH3, CH4, HCl
102
Origin of the Oceans
Formed from water vapour emitted during volcanism | Some input from comets
103
Atmosphere
O2 is produced by photosynthesis | Oldest producers are photosynthetic cyanobacteria
104
Living Cells
Prokaryotes | Eukaryotes
105
Prokaryotes
Single celled organisms that lack a cell nucleus | Include domains Archaea and Bacteria
106
Eukaryotes
Single and multicellular organisms that posses a cell nucleus Include Kingdoms: Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia
107
Ancient Stromatolites
Giant, reef-forming stratolites from the Archean would have contributed oxygen to the atmosphere
108
Alive
Grow Metabolize Reproduce Maintain homeostasis
109
Building Blocks of Life
Protein Nucleic acids Organic phosphorous compounds A container
110
Synthesis of Amino Acids
Heat Ultraviolet Light Sunlight Radioactivity

GEOL 2155 (3 decks)

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