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Advanced Higher Biology > Parasitism > Flashcards

Parasitism Flashcards

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AP® Biology flashcards Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

What is an ecological niche

A

A multi-dimensional summary of tolerances and requirements of a species

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2
Q

What is a fundamental niche

A

A niche a species occupies in the absence of any interspecific competition

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3
Q

What is a realised niche

A

A niche in response to interspecific competition

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4
Q

What is competitive exclusion

A

The niches of two species are so similar that one declines to local extinciton

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5
Q

What is resource partitioning

A

When potential competitors co-exist since realised niches are sufficiently different

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6
Q

What type of interaction is parasitism

A

Symbiotic (+/-)

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7
Q

Does the parasite or the host have a greater reproductive potential

A

The parasite does

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8
Q

What kind of niche does a parasite have

A

A very narrow, specialised host specific niche

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9
Q

What makes parasites degenerate

A

The way the host provides so many of the parasite’s needs that it lacks in structures and organs found in other organisms

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10
Q

Where does an ectoparasite live

A

On the surface of its host

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11
Q

Where does an endoparasite live

A

In the tissue of its host

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12
Q

What is the definitive host

A

The organism on or in which the parasite reaches sexual maturity

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13
Q

What is a vector

A

Something that plays an active role in the transmission of the parasite and also may be a host

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14
Q

Explain the transmission of the disease malaria

A

An infected mosquito, acting as a vector, bites a human.
Plasmodium enters the human bloodstream
Asexual reproduction occurs in the liver and then in the blood cells
Blood cells burst releasing gametocytes into bloodstream
Another mosquito bites an infected human and gametocytes enter the mosquito, maturing into males and female gametes, allowing sexual reproduction to now occur.
The mosquito can then infect another human host.

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15
Q

Explain the transmission of schistosomiasis

A

Schistosomes reproduce sexually in the human intestine
The fertilised eggs pass out via faeces into water where they develop into larvae
The larvae then infect water snails where asexual reproduction occurs. This produces another type of motile larvae, which escape the snail and penetrate the skin of a human, entering the bloodstream.

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16
Q

What are viruses

A

Parasites that can only replicate inside a host cell

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17
Q

What do viruses contain

A

Genetic material in the form of DNA or RNA, packaged in a protective protein coat

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18
Q

What are some viruses surrounded in

A

A phospholipid bilayer derived from host cell materials

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19
Q

What allows viruses to be detected by host cells

A

The outer surface of a virus contains antigens that a host cell may or may not be able to detect as foreign

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20
Q

Describe the viral life cycle stages

A

Infection of host cell with genetic material
Host cell enzymes replicate the viral genome
Transcription of viral genes and translation of viral proteins
Assembly and release of new viral particles

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21
Q

What enzyme do RNA retroviruses use

A

Reverse transcriptase to form DNA

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22
Q

What happens to the DNA once it has been converted

A

It is inserted into the genome of the host cell which forms new viral particles

23
Q

What is transmission

A

The spread of a parasite to a host

24
Q

What is virulence

A

The harm caused to a host species by a parasite

25
Q

How are ectoparasites transmitted

A

Via contact

26
Q

How are endoparasites transmitted

A

By vectors or by consumption by intermediate hosts

27
Q

Name 2 factors that increase transmission rates

A

Overcrowding of hosts when at high density
Mechanisms such as vectors and waterborne dispersal stages, that allow the parasite to spread even if infected hosts are incapacititated

28
Q

How do parasites maximise transmission

A

They exploit and modify hosts to max transmission

29
Q

Name 5 examples of when host behaviour is exploited

A 
Alteration of host foraging
Sexual behaviour 
Habitat choice
Anti-predator behaviour 
Movement
30
Q

What becomes part of the extended phenotype of a parasite

A

The host’s behaviour

31
Q

How can parasites increase their own growth, reproduction and transmission

A

By suppressing the host immune system and modify host size and reproductive rate

32
Q

Give 4 examples of non-specific defences

A 
physical barriers
chemical secretions
inflammatory response
phagocytes 
NK cells destroying cells
33
Q

What does epithelial tissue do in terms of defence

A

blocks the entry of parasites

34
Q

What does hydrolytic enzymes in mucus, saliva and tears do

A

Destroy cell walls

35
Q

What does low pH of stomach, vagina and sweat glands do

A

dentures cellular proteins of pathogens

36
Q

Explain inflammatory response

A

Injured cells releasing signalling molecules (cytokines), resulting in enhanced blood flow to the site, bringing antimicrobial proteins and phagocytes (specific and non-specific white blood cells)

37
Q

Explain phagocytosis

A

The killing of parasites using powerful enzymes contained in the lysosome, by engulfing them and storing them inside a vacuole in the process of phagocytosis

38
Q

Describe how NK cells work

A

They identify and attach to cells infected with viruses, releasing chemicals that lead to cell death by inducing apoptosis

39
Q

What makes a lymphocyte specific to a parasitic antigen

A

The receptor

40
Q

What happens upon binding of a lymphocyte to the antigen of a parasite

A

The lymphocyte divides and produces a clonal population of lymphocytes

41
Q

What are the 2 possible roles of lymphocytes

A

Some will produce antibodies and others will induce apoptosis in parasite -infected cells

42
Q

What gives each antibody its specificity for the binding antigen

A

The variation in amino acid sequence in particular regions

43
Q

What is the effect of antibody binding

A

Inactivation of the parasite, rendering it susceptible to a parasite
Stimulating a response that results in cell lysis (breaking down of a cell membrane)

44
Q

What is the use of memory cells

A

When the same antigen enters the body in future a secondary response is produced
The secondary response is enhanced in terms of speed of production, concentration in blood and duration

45
Q

How do endoparasites evade detection

A

They mimic host antigens

46
Q

How do endoparasites reduce their chances of destruction

A

They modify host immune response

47
Q

What is antigenic variation in terms of parasites

A

It is when parasites change between different antigens during the course of infection of a host

48
Q

What is the cause of reinfection of the same host by a parasite

A

antigenic variation

49
Q

How can viruses escape immune surveillance

A

By integrating their genome into host genomes, existing in an inactive state known as latency. The virus then becomes active again when favourable conditions arise

50
Q

What is epidemiology

A

The study of the outbreak and spread of an infectious disease

51
Q

What is the herd immunity threshold

A

The density of resistant hosts in the population required to prevent an epidemic

52
Q

How do vaccines work

A

They contain antigens that will elicit an immune response

53
Q

What makes it difficult to find drug compounds that only target the parasite

A

The similarities between host and parasite metabolism

54
Q

What are 2 considerations when designing vaccines

A

Antigenic variation

Some parasites are difficult to culture in the lab

Advanced Higher Biology (10 decks)

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