MODULE 2: LIVING SYSTEMS FROM THE BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE Flashcards
more than the sum of its parts -> organized into hierarchies with increasing complexity
system
3 things common in systems
Consist of elements/structure/parts
interconnections/interactions
Have a function/purpose
The more highly adapted an organism is to a specific environment, the more difficult it is for that organism to adapt to a different environment
law of specialization
Analysis Paradigm
reductionist reasoning
synthesis paradigm
systems thinking
biological levels of organization of living things
atom-> molecule-> organelle -> cells -> tissue -> organs -> organ systems -> organisms -> populations -> communities -> ecosystem -> biosphere
tries to gain understanding of a system by
breaking it down to its constituent
elements
Analysis Paradigm = Reductionist Reasoning
tries to gain an understanding of an
entity through the context of its relation
within a whole that it is a part of
Synthesis Paradigm = Systems Thinking
WHAT DIFFERENTIATES LIVING FROM NON-LIVING SYSTEMS?
living systems are organized into hierarchies with progressive specialization of functions;
only living things make the molecules of life; population - made of organisms of the same species living in a specific area -> community -> ecosystem ->
biosphere
seven basic functions that operate at each and all levels of the hierarchy
energetics
behavior
development
evolution
diversity
integration
regulation
energy and matter conversion
the causes, mechanisms, and consequences of metabolizable energy by biological systems
material cycles and energy flows involve interactions between living and nonliving components in a system
energetics
patterns of behavior and development can be inferred at each level of organization
development at the level of ecosystem = ecosystem development or succession which is a common
way of how communities develop after disturbances
behavior and development
net cumulative change in the characteristic of a population over many generations;
descent with modification
evolution
the number of different species as well as the diversity of the genetic components within
a single species; can be observed at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels
diversity
mechanisms that ensure that living systems will carry out the activities in the proper sequence and the proper rate
integration and regulation