Midterm (lecture notes 1-6) Flashcards
Endemic Species
Species that live in only one, or a small number of places.
- 92% of land bird species are endemic.
- 26% of marine bird species are endemic. (Less marine birds are endemic, because they have the ability to migrate)
Cosmopolitan Species
Species that occur in most regions of the world.
Biological Adaptation
A biological adaptation is an anatomical structure, physiological process, or behaviour trait of an organism that increases its expected long-term reproductive success.
It is the evolutionary process whereby a population becomes better suited to its habitat, and enhances an organisms chances of survival and reproduction in certain areas.
Marine Iguana biological adaptation
This is a reptile that spends part of its time in the sea.
- It has salt glands under its skin, between its eyes & nostril on each side of its head.
Blue-footed booby Environmental Adaptations
The blue-footed boody has adaptations for diving into water.
- streamlined shape, large tail, and nostrils that close
- large, webbed feet help propel the bird through the water at high speeds
- specialized salt-secreting glands manage salt intake while at sea.
- uropygial gland (for waterproofing)
Great frigate Environmental Adaptations
Greater frigate birds are adapted for aerial life.
- highest ration of wingspan/weight
- tiny unwebbed feet
- vestigial uropygial gland (waterproofing unnecessary)
Biology
In Greek, Bio = “life”, and logos = “knowledge”
- Biology is the scientific study of life
- The term “biology” was defined in 1802 by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
- The unifying principle of biology is evolution
Aristotle
Considered “the father of biology”
- one of the first to classify the relationships of living things
- first person to apply empirical techniques and a rudimentary scientific method to the study of living things.
- he formed questions based on his observations to learn “truths” about the universe, using inductive reasoning.
Inductive Reasoning
General conclusions are drawn from specific observations.
- generalizations may not be correct every time
Deductive Reasoning
Specific observations are predicted from a general premise.
Polar Bear Structural Adaptations
Polar bears are adapted to deal with cold temperatures, moving across snow & ice & water, and hunting for prey.
- thick layer of white fur (warmth, camouflage)
- small ears (reduce heat loss)
- thick layer of blubber (energy store, and warmth)
- sharp claws and teeth (catch prey)
- strong powerful legs (running, swimming)
- large feet (spreads body mass on ice)
- fur on soles of feet (grip, insulation)
The Scientific Method (4 steps)
- Produce hypothesis
- Designing and performing controlled experiments or making observations that allow data relevant to the hypothesis to be collected.
- Analyzing the data in an objective way against the background of existing knowledge
- Drawing conclusions that support or refute the hypothesis
Structural Adaptation
anatomical or morphological change
Killer Whale Behavioural Adaptations
Killer whales are apex predators (lack natural predators).. Adaptations are used by different killer whale populations in response to their prey choice.
- Carousel feeding (group feeding strategy, involves circulating prey)
- Intentional beaching
- Hunting in packs
7 Characteristics of Living Things
All living things…
- Consist of one or more cells (that contain DNA)
- Require a constant input of energy
- Conduct metabolism
- Grow/ develop
- Exhibit homeostasis
- Make short-term responses to stimuli
- Reproduce
Characteristics of Cells (3)
All cells…
- are the basic structural and functional units of all living things
- contain DNA (hereditary material), cell membranes, and ribosomes
- Have basically the same chemical composition.
Chemical unity of cells (4 basic elements)
95% of the body mass of plants and animals are composed of only 4 elements:
- oxygen
- hydrogen
- carbon
- nitrogen
Chemical uniqueness of life (4 macromolecules)
Living organisms have many types of highly specialized macromolecules:
i) Carbohydrates
ii) Lipids
iii) Proteins
iv) Nucleic Acids
Hierarchy of Life
The hierarchy of life, refers to the levels of biological diversity.
- Atoms & elements
- Molecules & macromolecules
- Cells
- Tissues
- Organs
- Organ systems
- Organism
- Species
- Populations
- Community
- Ecosystem
- Biosphere
Population
A localized group of individuals of the same species that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.
Community
All organisms (an assemblage of populations in different species) that live in a particular area.
Ecosystem
All organisms in a specific area, as well as the abiotic factors (eg., water, soil, etc.)
Biosphere
The sum of all ecosystems.
Mycoplasme genitalium
it is the smallest known bacterium
Why are unicellular organisms small in size?
The size of an organism is limited due to a cell’s surface area to volume ration.
- as a cell’s radius increases, the surface area/volume ration decreases.
- as cells increase in size, there is a point where the cell membrane can not pass enough material across it to meet the needs of the increased cytoplasmic volume.
Size of bacteria
Most bacteria are 0.2 um in diameter, and 2-8 um in legnth.
- exception: Sulpher proteo-bacterium are 750 umin diameter.
Size of protists
Protists are larger than bacteria. The are 0.8 um - 100’s um.
(some are even 2mm)
- exception: greem alga (“killer” alga: seaweed) can be several feet
Autotrophs (2 types)
Organisms that synthesize their own food, using an external energy source to produce organic matter from inorganic raw materials.
2 Types:
1. Photoautotrophs - use light from the sun and organic materials. ex. plants
- Chemoautrtrophs - use inorganic compounds as energy sources. ex. sulphur bacteria
Heterotrophs (2 types)
Organisms that require preformed organic materials. They can use energy in organic matter obtained from other organisms.
2 Types:
1. Photoheterotrophs - use light from the sun to generate ATP, but need to take in organic compounds from their environment.
- Chemoheterotrophs - must obtain organic compounds for both energy and as a carbon source.
Asexual reproduction (4 types)
- Fission:
a. Binary fission - one individual separates into 2 individuals of equal size.
b. Multiple fission - one individual separates into several individuals of equal size. - Budding - a new individual arises from an outgrowth of another
- Fragmentation and Regeneration - parent breaks off into pieces, and each piece forms a new organism.
- Parthenogenesis - development of an individual from an unfertilized egg.
Sexual Reproduction (for plants and animals)
The production of a new individual by the joining of gametes to form a cell (zygote) by the process of fertilization.
- fertilization can be internal, or external
Sexual Reproduction (for bacteria, protists, and fungi)
For these organisms, there are no separate sexes, just different mating types.
Sexual reproduction is the production of a new individual by the exchange of DNA/genetic material from two individuals of different mating types.
- Conjugation: two organisms fuse along a common surface and exchange genetic material. There is no increase in the number of individuals.
Viruses
Latin word, meaning poison or toxic
- smaller than a bacterium
- consist of genetic material (nucleic acid), contained within a protective protein coat called a capsid
- they do not reproduce, and cannot metabolize independently
- they infect the cells of living organisms
Viroids
The infectious particles of plants.
- do not have a cellular structure
- depend on the enzymes of plant host for replication
- consist of a small RNA molecule
Prions
Non-living entity, simpler that viruses.
- They are proteins.
- They lack hereditary material.
Tardigrades (water bear)
Lives on water droplets on moist plants.
- can loose up to 95% of its body water
Biodiversity
A measure of the variety of life.
- Edward Osborne Wilson was the first to use the term “biodiversity”
3 Levels of biodiversity:
1. Ecosystem - the variety of habitats present
- Species - measure of the # of species, and # of individuals in each species present.
- Generic - total amount of generic variability present.
Systematics
The scientific study of the kinds of diversity & organisms and the relationships among them.
3 subdisciplines:
1. Taxonomy - the theory and practice of classifying organisms into a taxa within a hierarchy.
- Nomenclature - process where scientific names are produced for taxa at all hierarchal levels to provide a common ground in which biologists can communicate about specific taxa.
- Phylogenetics - the study of the evolutionary history or relationships of organisms.
Aristotle’s “scale of nature”
The first attempt to classify living organisms.
- ladder based on the complexity of structure and function so that higher organisms showed greater viality and ability to move.
- divided living organisms into plants and animals based on ability to move or not.
- further classified animals based on their modes of transportation.
Carolus Linneaus
Swedish botanist with a passion for classification.
He introduced the taxonomic hierarchy classification scheme.
- his had 7 levels,
- but his included “empire” and “variety”, which were later taken out. And replaced with phylum, and family.
Modern classification scheme
Each level has some characteristics in common, based on morphological, physiological, and or genetic traits.
- Kingdom
- Phylum
- Class
- Order
- Family
- Genus
- Species
Class Mammalia (3 shared traits)
- hair (insulation, aid in sensory)
- mammary glands (lactation)
- 3 ear bones (transmits vibrations from eardrum to inner ear)
Carl Woese
Separated Monera (prokaryotes) into Bacteria and Archaea based on analysis on DNA sequence data.
- Thus there were 3 domains: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya
Domain Eubacteria
- has the largest # and variety of prokaryotes
- live almost everywhere
Gram Staining
Divides bacteria into two groups based on their cell wall composition.
- Gram stain colours gram-positive bacteria purple. This has a thick layer of peptidoglycan in the cell wall.
- Gram-negative bacteria are pink.
Anabaena (RO)
- single cells or as filamentous structures that thrive in aquatic ecosystems
- unique among prokaryotes (have chlorophyll allowing them to photosynthesize)
- dominant feature on earth surface 3 billion yrs ago
Domain Archaea
Many occur in soils, surface ocean waters, and inside organisms
Can live in extreme environmental conditions.
- Halophiles - high salt content
- Acidophiles - low pH levels
- Hyperthermophiles - high temperatures
- Psychophiles - low temperatures
Kingdom Protists
- unicellular protozoans & algae
- widespread and thrive in wide range of habitats
- some have cells walls, other don’t
- do not all have chloroplasts
- move by cilia, flagella, or pseudopods
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
“father of microbiology”
- first person to see a protist
Kingdom Plantae
Multicellular, photosynthetic, cell walls of cellulose
- plants alternate between a multicellular gamete-producing generation (n), and a multicellular spore-forming sporophyte generation (2n)
3 main sub groups:
1. Non-vascular plants - do not have vascular tissues, or true roots and leaves.
- Vascular seedless plants - have lignified vascular tissues that allow them to grow tall, and are sporophyte dominant stage
- Vascular seed plants - sporophyte dominant
- Gymnosperms: lack fruits and flowers, main forest plants
- Angiosperms - flowering plants (classified based on seed leaves - monocots and dicots)
John Ray
English Naturalist, pioneer of plant taxonomy.
- introduced the morphological classification system of plants.
Are all plants autotrophic??
No.
- there are heterotrophs that lack chlorophyll or a functional photosystem.
- some plants only consume insects because they live in nitrogen lacking soil
- anything with green leaves is autotrophic
Mycorrhizal fungi
have a symbiotic relationship between the fungus and roots of a photosynthetic plant
- heterotrophs
Fungi
mushrooms, molds, & fungi
- cell walls of chitin
- heterotrophic - nutrients acquired by absorption
Chytridomycota fungi
only fungi that produce a motile cell (zoospore with flagella)
Zygomycota fungi
fruiting bodies of these fungi can withstand extreme conditions, becoming metabolically inactive to avoid death
Glomeronmycota
many species of this group assist plants in water and nutrient absorption
Basidiomycota
form club-like fruiting bodies (mushroom)
Nucleariids
amoebae with filose (filamentous) pseudopods
- lacks a cell wall
- has phagotrophic nutrition in which the food source is engulfed wholly
- closest relative is fungi
Fungi nutrition (4 modes)
- Saprotrophic fungi - grow on dead organic materials
- Parasitic fungi - absorb organic material from living tissues of hosts they parasitize
- Predacious fungi - trap animals
- Mutualistic fungi - symbiotic relationship
Animalia
- all have a blastula (fertilized egg) stage during embryological development
Kingdom Animalia (2 subkingdoms)
- Subkingdom Parazoa
- Phylum Porifera (sponges) - Subkingdom Eumetazoa
- have true tissues and organs
Protosomes
mouth originates from first opening that appears during embryotic development
Deuterostomes
mouth originates from second opening that appears during embryotic development
Why are the arthropods the most sucessful animal group??
- they are the most diverse
- they are adapted for different environments
- most sucessful colonizers of terrestrial environments
- they are one of 3 animal groups adapted for flight
- one of 2 groups adapted for dry environments
Elysia chlorotica (green sea slug)
- relative of the nudibranchs
- eats green algae and keeps some of the chloroplasts intact as well as some of the genes.
- interspecific variation
- chemical defenses for protection
- unpalatable
- rhinosphores = sensory tenticles
- cerata= gas exchange and defense
- anatomical structures may have more than one function
Binomial nomenclature
the system of naming organisms, constructed by Carolus Linneaus in 1758
Rules:
- each organism has only one name
- no two kinds of organisms bear the same name
- the person who described the species is always the authority (brackets indicate a change)
2 parts of the name:
- Generic or genus name
- Specific epithet (“trivial name”)
Any species or genus name that is no longer used or considered invalid, is called a synonym.
3 types of mammals
- placenta (complex)
- live birth
- mammary glands (lactation)
What happens if the same animal is described twice??
“Law of Priority”
- only the earlier name is valid. The later one becomes a junior synonym
Holotype
single specimen designated as the name-bearing type of a species when it was established
- specimen to which all others are compared
Paratypes
- specimen of the type series other than the holotype
Allotypes
a specimen of the opposite sex to the holotype
