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Paleontology > Midterm 1 > Flashcards

Midterm 1 Flashcards

1
Q

Trace fossils

A

Tracks burrows and borings. Behavioural activitys of extinct organisms

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2
Q

Why should we study fossils?

A

Bio stratigraphy, palaeography, paleoecology, simple fascination, evolution

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3
Q

Taphonomy

A

Study of how living organisms become fossilized

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4
Q

Types of preservation processes

A

Per mineralization, unaltered remains, carbonization, dissolution and replacement, recrystallization

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5
Q

Per mineralization

A

Many bio tissues are full of pores and canals, these decay and the fossil gets buried, and the pores are permeated with flowing groundwater and gone minerals within the groundwater. New minerals fill the pores, and none of the original material is removed

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6
Q

Recrystallization

A

Some shells are made of unstable minerals that revert back to calcite after burial. Shape stays the same and so does the chemical comp, but there is a difference in texture

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7
Q

Replacement

A

Original shell may be dissolved due to water circulation. This is then replaced without leaving a void, and a new mineral precipitates

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8
Q

Carbonization

A

Fossil is preserved as thin lines of carbon on the bedding planes of sandstones and shales- outlines details of the organism

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9
Q

Body fossils

A

Most fossils are hard parts of organisms

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10
Q

Factors affecting fossilization potential

A

Biological agents, mechanical agents, diagenesis

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11
Q

Biological agents

A

Predators and scavengers are active in breaking up shells and bones

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12
Q

Mechanical agents

A

Wind waves and currents. Shape density and thickness are important factors

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13
Q

Diagenesis

A

After burial Diagenetic changes can easily destroy shells

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14
Q

Tectonic deformation

A

As muds containing shells are compressed under lithification, the fossils that are formed can start to deform, making identification more difficult

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15
Q

Exceptional preservation

A

Lagerstatten. An abundant amount of fossils

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16
Q

Obrution deposits

A

Resulting from the episodic smothering of sea floor that strongly reflects benthic biotas

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17
Q

Stagnation deposits

A

Formed under anoxic conditions that allow delicate preservation of body fossils

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18
Q

Burgess Shale

A

Mid Cambrian Rocky Mountains of bc

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19
Q

Why is the Burgess Shale so important

A

Gives us a snapshot into the Cambrian explosion
Question of origins: how did so much anantomical variety evolve so quickly?
Question of consequences: introduced a number of architectural designs that were unknown to us

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20
Q

Chengjiang

A

Lower Cambrian
China
Arthropods
Soft bodied preservation

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21
Q

William lake

A

Upper ordivician
William lake Manitoba
Jellyfish
High salinity

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22
Q

Solnhoffen limestone

A

Upper Jurassic
Germany
Crustaceans, invertebrates, fine grained limestone

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23
Q

Messel

A

Middle Eocene
Germany
Plants insects invertebrates

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24
Q

Temporal trends in lagerstatten distribution

A

Concentrations in time correspond to particular environments

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25
Q

Process related vs pattern based

A

Process: rely on the knowledge that gave rise to them
Pattern: distribution of characters

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26
Q

Process related example

A

Biological species concept developed by gg Simpson but Ernst was a supporter
A species is an array of organisms that are actually or potentially interbreeding

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27
Q

Problem with the process related example

A

Problem with it is that few organisms have been observed and their breeding behaviour observed
Also fossils don’t usually show breeding
It is doe sexually producing organisms not asexually

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28
Q

Pattern based example

A

Morphospecie concept: a species is a diagnosable cluster of individuals in which there is a pattern of ancestry and descent and beyond which there is not

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29
Q

Ontogenic variation

A

Changes an organism goes through during its lifetime

30
Q

Accretion

A

Adding on of discrete growth layers onto exoskeleton

31
Q

Addition

A

Grow larger by adding new body parts

32
Q

Moulting

A

Exclusively in Arthropods. Exoskeleton can’t grow so they shed it to get larger

33
Q

Isometric growth

A

Slope is one suggests shape will stay same

34
Q

Allometric growth

A

Exponential growth

35
Q

Heterochrony

A

Organisms can change their adult form by speeding up or slowing down their growth to an adult form

36
Q

Paedomorphosis

A
  1. Stopping growth at an earlier stage
  2. Slowing down development timing
  3. Starting growth of a structure at a later time
37
Q

Peramorphosis

A
  1. Increase rate of growth
  2. Increasing the amount of time the organism grows for
  3. Starting growth at an earlier point
38
Q

Ecophenotypic variation

A

Much of the variation within pop is due to the change in environment not just genetics. Examples are corals

39
Q

Sexual dimorphism

A

Males tend to be larger in mammals and birds whereas females tend to be larger in insects, fish, amphibians and lizards

40
Q

Systematics

A

The science of diversity of organisms

41
Q

Principle of priority

A

First name to a species is its name

42
Q

Principle of first reviser

A

If it is unsure as to what the name is, the first reviser gets to name it

43
Q

Homonymy

A

A name can’t be used again even if it’s spelt differently but sounds the same

44
Q

Type specimens

A

Also known as holo type. When a taxonomist names a species he must have a type specimen to validate the species and have as a reference

45
Q

Nomen dubium

A

If a later taxonomist deems the holo type to be invalid, he may invalidate the type specimen

46
Q

Phenetics

A

Goal of this method is to classify on the basis of overall phenetic similarity

47
Q

Cladistics

A

Difference between this and phenetics is that phenetics has all characters being equal whereas with cladistics some characters Are more important then others

48
Q

Synapomorphies

A

Character that is an evolutionary novelty and is passed onto its descendants

49
Q

Pleisomorphic characters

A

Ancestral characters that do not change

50
Q

Strengths of the cladistic method

A

Everything in it is explicit so everyone can use it

51
Q

Weaknesses of the cladistic method

A

Not any more objective then any other method. Still have to decide on characters

52
Q

Lamarckian evolution

A

Believed all species, including humans, were descended from others. Also believed that character acquired characters could be passed onto later generations, done by “inner want”
Couldn’t prove the inner want though and characteristics can’t be passed on from body cells to reproductive cells

53
Q

Alfred r Wallace

A

Independently developed natural selection as the key to evolution

54
Q

Darwins observation on the beagle

A

Saw a unique fauna in South America.

Saw fossils of sloths extinct forms of the living ones in South America

55
Q

Anatomical relationships

A

embryos of many vertebrates quite similar

56
Q

Natural selection

A

The idea that if you can make it to reproduction then your offspring will as well, and you would be selected to survive

57
Q

Natural selection needs variation to work where does this come from

A

Sexual recombination

58
Q

Allopatric speciation

A

New species is produced

59
Q

Reproductive barriers

A

Anything that prevents new population from breeding. Can be geographic like oceans or mountains
Once a reproductive barrier has been established the pop can become so different that they actually become two different species and even if the reproductive barrier is removed they won’t interbreed

60
Q

Punctuated equilibrium

A

Once formed species will exhibit no net evolutionary cage and will remain in an extended state of stasis

61
Q

Phyletic gradualism

A

Dominates in asexual organisms that are planktonic and evolve slowly with little to no barriers possible between organisms

62
Q

Species selection

A

Evolutionary patterns may be changed due to a group evolving more quickly or groups going extinct More quickly

63
Q

Vestigal organs

A

Organs that are no longer used but still have the genetic material used to produce them

64
Q

Evolutionary convergence

A

Evolution of similar forms in two or more different biological groups

65
Q

Mass extinction

A

When more then 30% of species go extinct

66
Q

The big 5

A 
Late Permian (50%) 
Late ordivician (22%)
Late Devonian (21%)
Late Triassic (20%) 
Late Cretaceous (15%)
67
Q

Some causes of mass extinctions

A

Meteorite impact
Massive volcanism
Sea level changes

68
Q

Meteorite impact

A

Thought to have made dust go over and so cause global darkness and photosynthesis processes are reduced

69
Q

Massive volcanism

A

Cause co2 to rise so does global warming

Stagnation in the oceans

70
Q

Sea level changes

A

Regression: gets rid of available area for benthic organisms
Transgression: related to anoxic conditions

71
Q

Gas hydrates

A

Frozen methane below the ocean floor that can be melted with a slight change in temperature causing methane to be released into the atmosphere

72
Q

Global cooling affects extinction how?

A

Ice trapped in glacier will lead to regression that can cause extinctions, and cooling decrease habitat space for tropical species which have the greatest diversity

Paleontology (2 decks)

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