Module 4 Flashcards
Starting at Domain, list the order of the taxonomic groups
Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
Outline the main features of Protoctista
Mostly unicellular and uninucleated with membranous organelles, some have chloroplasts, some are sessile others have cilia. Both heterotrophs and autotrophs
Outline the main features of Fungi
No movement mechanism, but some have spores, most have mycelium bodies and hyphae. They are saprophytes
Outline the main features of Prokaryotae
no membrane bound organelles, no ingestion mechanism
What are the features of the domains?
- Eukarya
- Archaea
- Bacteria
Eukarya: 80s ribosomes and RNA polymerase has 12 proteins
Archaea: 70s ribosomes and RNA polymerase has 8-10 proteins
Bacteria: 70s ribosomes and RNA polymerase has 5 proteins
What changes were made when the six-kingdom system replaced the five-kingdom one?
It replaced Prokaryotae with Eubacteria and Archaebacteria
What is phylogeny?
The study of evolutionary relationships between organisms
What are the advantages of phylogenic classification?
Produces a continuous representation
It negates the misleading nature of taxonomy, since two organisms in the same family may have vastly different histories
What evidence is there to support evolution?
Palaeontology: - Oldest fossils are in oldest rocks - Shows similarities between living and extinct species Comparative Anatomy: - Homologous structures - Evidence of divergent evolution Comparative Biochemistry: - Changes in rRNA and Cytochrome C
Which two factors most heavily influence variation?
Genetics
Environment
What is discontinuous variation?
Variation of characteristics which can only take discrete values e.g. Blood group
What is continuous variation?
Variation of characteristics which can take any value in a range e.g. Height. It is best represented by a normal distribution curve
What does the student’s t-test compare?
The mean of two sets of normally distributed data, to assess whether or not they are statistically independent
List some common anatomical adaptations
- Body coverings, hair and fur etc.
- Camouflage
- Type of teeth
- Mimicry, illusion of danger in colour etc.
List some common behavioural adaptations
Generally, fall into either innate or learned…
- Survival tactics, like playing dead
- Courtship, mating dances etc.
- Seasonal behaviours, hibernation, migration etc.
List some common physiological adaptations
- Poison production
- Antibiotic production (interspecific competition)
- Water-holding, for drought (such as cacti)
What evidence is there to support the idea of convergent evolution?
Analogous structures - those that have evolved separately to achieve the same goal, usually resultant of the same selection pressure e.g. lactose tolerance
What are the principles of natural selection?
Organisms in a species show variation
The fittest survive
Successful alleles are inherited
Over time, this changes the proportions of certain traits in a population, leading to evolution (and speciation)
What is Biodiversity?
The variety of living organisms in an area
Biodiversity can be subdivided into 3 main categories, which are…
Habitat Diversity
Species Diversity
Genetic Diversity
What types of non-random sampling are there?
Opportunistic
Stratified
Systematic
Why are samples never entirely representative?
Sampling Bias
Pure chance - amplified on a smaller sample