Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

ES2001 > Phanerozoic Palaeotology And Evolution > Flashcards

Phanerozoic Palaeotology And Evolution Flashcards

1
Q

What are interest based reasons to study palaeontology?

A

Origin of life
Evolution
Origin of feathers and flight
Extinct animals
Origin of multicellularity
Surprising origins

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What are practical reasons to study palaeontology?

A

Past and future mass extinctions
Plate tectonics and biogeography
Palaeoenvironments
Biostratigraphy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What are the six sub divisions of palaeontology?

A

Macro palaeontology
Micro palaeontology
Palynology
Palaeobotany
Ichnology
Palaeoecology

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What do macro palaeontologists study?

A

Invertebrates and vertebrates

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What do micro palaeontologists study?

A

Forams, diatoms etc

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is palynology the study of?

A

Pollen
Spores

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is palaeobotany the study of?

A

Fossil plants

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is ichnology the study of?

A

Trace fossils ie burrows, tracks

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is palaeoecology the study of?

A

Interactions between fossil organisms and their environments

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What techniques are used to understand past life?

A

Taxonomy
Morphology
Phylogeny
Taphonomy
Chemical fossils
Molecular clocks

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Blurt about taxonomy

A

Classifications of life(domain) = prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) and eukaryotes
Prokaryotes single celled with no nucleus
Further classified into Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
Determined by morphology, symmetry and genes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is phylogeny?

A

Evolutionary relationships between biological taxa

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What are phylogenetic trees used for?

A

Investigate the sequence and timing of origination of particular features of organisms

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What are terminal taxa?

A

Typically species
Connected by branches.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What are nodes?

A

Where branches branch off
Each node represents a common ancestor shared by two or more terminal taxa

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is a clade?

A

Group that includes an ancestor (node) and all of its descendants on a phylogenetic tree
Not mutually exclusive

17
Q

What are sister taxa/sister groups?

A

Pairs of terminal taxa/clades that branch from a common node?

18
Q

What is a crown group?

A

A group defined by a shared common ancestor of a clade , and all the descendants of the common ancestor

19
Q

What is a stem group?

A

A grouping of extinct species related to, but stem off from the crown group

20
Q

What are the steps in creating a phylogenetic tree?

A

Start with an ingroup (ie four limbed vertebrates)
Add an outgroup (falls outside common feature) (ie angel fish)
Code characteristics into a character matrix
Group according to shared derived character states
Add more samples to improve reliability

21
Q

What is a function of an outgroup?

A

Root a phylogenetic tree

22
Q

What are example characteristics of a group?

A

Anatomical/morphological features
Developmental and life history
Chemical characteristics
Proteins
Amino acids
DNA sequence data

23
Q

What is the purpose of a character matrix?

A

Forms the basis for phylogenetic analyses

24
Q

What is synapomorphies?

A

Organisms grouped according to their possession of shared derived character stares

25
Q

What are pleisomorphies?

A

Ancestral character states ie hair in mammals

26
Q

What is morphology?

A

Study of animal form - bone anatomy and function, muscle reconstruction from evidence of muscle attachments on bone

27
Q

What can morphological features tell us?

A

Infer behaviour based on anatomy and behaviour biology of modern day animals

28
Q

What is tomography?

A

Widely used method to visualise fossils in 3D
X-ray computed tomography
Allows non destructive high resolution of the whole fossils

29
Q

What is taphonomy?

A

The study of the process from death to fossilisation
Ie lateral or vertical compression
Decay experiments

30
Q

What are chemical fossils?

A

Organic molecules with biological origin that have survived in the geological record

31
Q

Give an example of a chemical fossil.

A

Hopanes
Decayed product of hopanoids from Cyanobacteria

32
Q

What does melanosomes tell us?

A

Melanin responsible for colour and photo protection in all animal cells and tissues
Ie feather colour in sinosauropteryx

33
Q

What does colour tell us?

A

Inferences on behaviour and environment

34
Q

What are molecular clocks?

A

Use the mutation rates of certain biomolecules to identify the ti,e when two life forms diverged in the evolutionary record

35
Q

What is the importance of molecular clocks?

A

Vital to reconstructing the timescale and branching of the tree of life, especially in soft bodied groups with few fossils

ES2001 (4 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions