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Dinosaurs > Mid-term > Flashcards

Mid-term Flashcards

1
Q

In evolutionary biology, “dinosaurs” and other groups of organisms are defined by _____ ______

A

Genealogical (or phylogenetic) relationships

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2
Q

What are igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks?

A

Igneous: cooled down/solidified molten rock/magma. Metamorphic: transformation of previously formed rock by heat or pressure. Sedimentary: accumulation of sedimentary particles or precipitation of dissolved materials.

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3
Q

What is permineralisation?

A

Process of minerals filling up empty pore spaces in bones. These spaces were previously filled by living tissue and blood cell reproduction.

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4
Q

When are soft tissues preserved?

A

When there is a low rate of decay (no oxygen) or a high rate of lithification (rapidly transforming sediments into sedimentary rocks)

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5
Q

Exposure usually requires…

A

Erosion

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6
Q

What are fossils?

A

The physical or chemical remains of ancient organisms ( > 10,000 years old)

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7
Q

What is the time order of the periods from Permian to Quaternary and the three Eras?

A

Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene, Neogene, Quaternary. Palaeozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic.

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8
Q

How are footprint fossils created?

A

The sediment which the animal left its footprint in will eventually be covered in a second sediment which eventually lithifies to become sedimentary rocks. This preserves them as part of the topography until one erodes and leaves the original footprint open.

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9
Q

What is coprolite?

A

Fossilised faeces

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10
Q

What is relative dating?

A

Putting events in a sequence from oldest to youngest, without giving numbers for exactly how old any of them were.

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11
Q

What is the principle of superposition?

A

Younger layers of rock are above older layers of rock.

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12
Q

What is the principle of original horizontality?

A

Sedimentary layers always start out horizontal. Tilting or folding is due to later disturbance.

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13
Q

What is the principle of lateral continuity?

A

Sedimentary layers were originally continuous laterally (side to side) unless there was something else in the way.

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14
Q

What is the principle of cross-cutting relationships?

A

A feature can only cut across older features, you can’t break or deform something that didn’t already exist.

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15
Q

What is the principle of fossil succession?

A

Because new species are constantly evolving and old species are constantly becoming extinct, particular fossils are characteristic of particular times in earth history.

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16
Q

What is absolute dating?

A

Saying exactly how many years ago an event took place based on radioactive decay. Only works for igneous and metamorphic rocks.

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17
Q

When is an atom unstable?

A

When an atom has more neutrons than protons it produces different isotopes. When there are too many more neutrons, it can become unstable and is susceptible to radioactive decay, turning it into another element.

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18
Q

What is alpha decay?

A

Radioactive parent produces a helium nucleus of 2 protons and 2 neutrons and a daughter nucleus)

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19
Q

What is beta decay?

A

1 neutron of parent isotope ejects an electron to become a proton in daughter nucleus.

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20
Q

How do we measure radioactive decay?

A

Half-lives

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21
Q

How are the absolute ages for sedimentary rock made?

A

By combining the absolute and relative dating methods.

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22
Q

What is evolution?

A

Descent with modification.

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23
Q

What is natural selection?

A

A mechanism of evolutionary change that explains the existence of adaptations.

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24
Q

What is a species?

A

Biological population reproductively isolated from other species.

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25
Q

What is speciation?

A

The splitting of an old species into a new species.

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26
Q

What are 3 ways natural selection occurs?

A
  1. Variation. 2. Inheritance. 3. Different survival/reproductive success.
27
Q

What are three other modes of evolution within lineages?

A
  1. Artificial selection. 2. Sexual selection. 3. Genetic drift.
28
Q

Is natural selection random?

A

No, mutations help the organism in some way.

29
Q

What is a monophyletic group?

A

Includes an LCA and all of its descendants.

30
Q

What is a paraphyletic group?

A

LCA and some of its descendants but not all of them.

31
Q

What is a polyphyletic group?

A

Just a bunch of random unrelated lineages.

32
Q

What is the principle of parsimony?

A

The simplest explanation is the one which requires the fewest evolutionary changes.

33
Q

What is a homologous character?

A

two organisms share a character because their LCA had that character and they each inherited it from that character.

34
Q

What is an ancestral character?

A

Plesiomorphy. Retained from a distant ancestor of all the organisms you are studying.

35
Q

What is a novel character?

A

Evolutionary novelty, synapomorphy. Newly evolved within the set of organisms you are studying.

36
Q

What is a convergent character?

A

two organisms share a character that was NOT present in their LCA, they evolved it independently of one another.

37
Q

What is a polytomy?

A

An uncertainty in a cladogram of relationships.

38
Q

When was the Big Bang approximately?

A

13.8 Ga.

39
Q

When and how was the moon formed?

A

30-50 Ma after formation of solar system. Mars-sized protoplanet struck porto-earth, causing outer layers to vaporise and fling some material into space, creating the moon.

40
Q

What is the oldest mineral?

A

Zirconium silicate, 4.4 Ga. In igneous rocks formed by melted sedimentary rocks deposited by water, proves there was liquid water at this time.

41
Q

What is the oldest rocks?

A

Acasta Gneiss, 4.03 Ga. Looks like rock which makes up continents.

42
Q

What is the oldest fossil?

A

Tiny microfossils, 3.5 Ga. Simple round cells/strings of cells, simple shapes so are probably remains of prokaryotic cells (modern bacteria/archaea).

43
Q

When and what was the Great Oxidation Event?

A

2.4 Ga. There used to be no oxygen in the atmosphere, but then Cyanobacteria learnt to photosynthesise and slowly built our supply of oxygen.

44
Q

What are the oldest eukaryotes?

A

1.6 Ga = oldest convincing. Micro fossils found with complex morphologies, so we assume it is a eukaryote. 1.047 Ga = Bangiomorpha, related to modern red alga Bangia

45
Q

What was the Snowball Earth?

A

Happened near the end of the Precambrian. Ice covered most of the planet from the poles to the tropics.

46
Q

What are the oldest animals?

A

End of Precabrian = Ediacara biota, first fossils we can assign to animals.

47
Q

When did tetrapods appear on land?

A

Devonian period.

48
Q

When were the 5 mass extinctions?

A
  1. End of Ordovician. 2. End of late Devonian. 3. End of Permian (biggest ever). 4. End of Triassic. 5. End of Cretaceous (big ish)
49
Q

What are the three “domains”?

A
  1. Bacteria. 2. Archaea. 3. Eukaryotes.
50
Q

What are stromatolites?

A

Trace fossils proved by microbes, dome shaped, formed everywhere in the Precambrian (no grazing animals).

51
Q

What is the difference between erosion and deposition?

A

Erosion is when sediment is moved by wind or water. Deposition is when these sediments are deposited, or dropped off, in a new location.

52
Q

What is palaeontology?

A

Palaeontology is the study of ancient life as recorded by fossils.

53
Q

What is the difference between an element and an isotope?

A

Elements are what you see on the periodic table. Isotopes are elements with different masses, changed by how many neutrons they have.

54
Q

What is the problem with Linnaean Hierarchy?

A

Linnaean hierarchy is when species are included within a series of progressively more inclusive groups. This is not so useful because there aren’t enough ranks to discuss all the clades we want to. Rank-free hierarchy clades are more testable.

55
Q

What is the difference between prokaryotes and eukaryotes?

A

Prokaryotes are organisms made up of cells that lack a cell nucleus or any membrane-encased organelles. Eukaryotes are organisms made up of cells that possess a membrane-bound nucleus that holds genetic material as well as membrane-bound organelles

56
Q

What is endosymbiosis?

A

Endosymbiosis is a phenomenon whereby a single-celled organism resides within another cell as part of a mutually beneficial relationship. Shown in eukaryotes.

57
Q

What are anapsid, diapsid, and synapsid?

A

Anapsid: One pair of temporal fenestra, referring to lower. Diapsid: 2 pairs of temporal fenestra. Synapsid: One pair of temporal fenestra, referring to lower.

58
Q

What is the difference between antorbital fenestra and mandibular fenestra?

A

Antorbital is anterior of orbits and mandibular is in the lower jaw.

59
Q

Sprawling vs upright posture?

A

Sprawling = feet are wide away from the body. Upright posture = feet are underneath body. Wide tread = sprawling, narrow tread = upright posture.

60
Q

Plantigrade vs. digitigrade vs. unguligrade?

A

Plantigrade = whole foot on ground. Digitigrade = Toes on ground. Unguligrade = Last toe bone hits ground.

61
Q

What is a mesotarsal ankle?

A

An ankle with simpler structure than a crurotarsal ankle, meaning it can only rotate up and down. This allows for faster running and less likeliness for injury.

62
Q

What is a dorsal nerve cord?

A

It is when the nerve cord is not held in the neck or back of the vertebrate, but in the dorsal end.

63
Q

What is the notochord?

A

rod of cartilage that acts as antagonist to muscles on either side of body, can curve side to side

Dinosaurs (1 decks)

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