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Biodiversity > Unit 1 PAL > Flashcards

Unit 1 PAL Flashcards

1
Q

Define stratigraphy

A

analysis of the order and position of layers and their place in the geological time scale

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2
Q

Define strata

A

layers of rock

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3
Q

higher layers of strata often contain (blank)

A

fossils resembling extant species

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4
Q

Define paleontology

A

study of fossils

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5
Q

How is geologic time divided?

A

Eon, Era, Period, Epoch

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6
Q

What eon are we currently in?

A

Phanerozoic

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7
Q

What era are we currently in?

A

Cenozoic

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8
Q

What period are we currently in?

A

Quaternary

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9
Q

What epoch are we currently in?

A

Anthropocene

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10
Q

What word is used to unify the first 3 eons?

A

Precambrian (Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic)

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11
Q

How old is the Earth?

A

4.5 bya

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12
Q

How old are homo sapiens?

A

200,000 years

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13
Q

How old are animals?

A

500-600 my

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14
Q

How old are prokaryotes/life?

A

3.7 by

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15
Q

What are igneous rocks?

A

form when molten rock cools and forms a solid (no fossil)

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16
Q

What are metamorphic rocks?

A

formed when existing rocks are allowed due to extreme heat/pressure (may contain fossils)

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17
Q

What are sedimentary rocks?

A

form from fragments/sediment deposited by water or air (FOSSILS)

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18
Q

Describe the conditions of the early atmosphere

A
  • very little O2

- mostly methane, carbon monoxide, and ammonia

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19
Q

What caused the increase of oxygen in the atmosphere?

A

photosynthetic organisms (cyanobacteria) released oxygen as a waste product (CO2+H2)–Sugar+O2)

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20
Q

What is BIF and how did it form?

A

Banded Iron Formation
formed when oxygen combined with dissolved iron in sea water and formed insoluble iron oxides which precipitated out and formed a thin layer on the ocean floor

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21
Q

Anaerobic

A

no oxygen to live

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22
Q

Strictly anaerobic

A

die in presence of oxygen

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23
Q

aerobic

A

needs O2 to live

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24
Q

What is the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE)?

A

O2 in atmosphere (bio induced) killed mass amounts of anaerobes leading to more aerobic bacteria

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25
Q

What did the rise of aerobic life lead to?

A
  • evolution of eukaryotes and multicellularity
  • higher O2 content supports larger cells
  • plants invaded land and further increased O2
  • large animals evolved (ex giant dragonflies)
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26
Q

What event led to the decrease of O2 around 250 MYA and what caused this event?

A

Great Dying and cause unknown

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27
Q

Describe the general carbon trends over the past 400,000 years

A

regular fluctuations of CO2 in atmosphere which largely mirrored gradual cycles in the Earth’s orbit and levels of planetary ice coverage

28
Q

What has happened in the last few centuries to the level of CO2 in the atmosphere?

A
  • CO2 levels have been drastically increasing due to the burning of fossil fuels
  • Sept 2016 reached a milestone- CO2 levels reached a permanent 400 ppm
29
Q

What is an end moraine?

A

mass of rocks and sediment carried down and deposited by a glaciar

30
Q

What is a kame?

A

a hill of sand/debris laid by a melting glaciar

31
Q

What is an esker?

A

a ridge of sediment/debris deposited by a retreating/melting glacier

32
Q

What is a coteau?

A

plateau formed from thick glacial deposits of repeated glaciations

33
Q

Describe the relationship between sea level and retreating glaciars

A

sea level rises as glaciers melt

34
Q

What are the three principles of fossil discovery?

A
  • Age of rock
  • Type of rock
  • Rock must be exposed
35
Q

What is the significance of Tiktalik?

A

“missing link” in the evolution of life from water to land, it helps bridge the gap between fish and tetrapods

36
Q

What are some of the characteristics of Tiktaalik that are different from fish?

A
  • head could pivot
  • functional wrists; fins/feet suited to crawl
  • had lungs (or lung like organ)
37
Q

Define homologous traits and give ex

A

traits that share a common ancestor; ex= bones in arms

38
Q

Define analogous and give ex

A

traits that were not present in the most recent common ancestor, ex = wings

39
Q

Define evolution

A

changes in allele frequency in a population over time

40
Q

Define allele

A

a variation of a gene

41
Q

Define homozygous

A

organism has two copies of the same allele

42
Q

Define heterozygous

A

organisms has two different alleles

43
Q

Define genotype

A

genetic makeup

44
Q

Define phenotype

A

physical/observable traits

45
Q

Define dominant

A

only needs one copy of dominant allele to express the phenotype

46
Q

Define recessive

A

needs two copies of the recessive allele to express phenotype

47
Q

Define gene pool

A

the set that contains all of the alleles in all individuals of a population

48
Q

Define locus

A

a particular site on a chromosome

49
Q

What are two common misconceptions about evolution?

A

1- theory> hypothesis (theory tested and extensively supported by evidence))
2- individuals don’t evolve, populations do

50
Q

List 5 mechanisms of evolution

A

mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, nonrandom mating, natural selection

51
Q

Define mutation and discuss some of the main concepts of this mechanism

A
  • change in the nucleotide sequences of DNA
  • most harmful or neutral
  • ultimate cause of genetic variation
  • not goal directed
52
Q

What is gene flow?

A
  • migration of individuals between populations
  • causes movement of alleles
  • increases similarity between populations
53
Q

What is genetic drift?

A
  • random changes in allele frequencies
  • affects small populations the most
  • can reduce genetic variation
  • examples include bottleneck and founder
54
Q

What is the Bottleneck effect?

A

-occurs when a population is drastically reduced by a catastrophe and it reduces the genetic variation because only some individuals survive to pass on genes

55
Q

What is the Founder effect?

A

-a small amount of a population moves to another place; only these “founders” contribute genes to the next generation

56
Q

What is the significance of nonrandom mating?

A

-some traits are favored by potential mates which increases the likelihood of mating and therefore increases the likelihood of the trait

57
Q

What is the difference between artificial and natural selection?

A 
Artificial= humans purposefully select for specific phenotypes
Natural = nature selects for favorable traits
58
Q

What did Darwin propose as the mechanism of evolution?

A

natural selection

59
Q

How does artificial selection differ from natural selection?

A

Artificial selection is the purposeful selection of a certain phenotype by humans. Natural selection is not purposeful or goal directed.

60
Q

Describe three observations made by Darwin that led to his theory of natural selection.

A

1) Earth is really old.
2) He observed artificial selection with pigeons.
3) He observed differences in species and populations while he was on the HMS beagle.

61
Q

Describe three ingredients for evolution by natural selection:

A

1) variation- individuals differ from one another
2) heritability- traits are passed from parent to offspring
3) differential fitness- variation in phenotypes allows increase or decrease in individuals ability to survive and reproduce

62
Q

define adaptation

A

a feature that improves fitness

63
Q

define sexual selection

A

reproductive success of males based on female choice; usually based on attractive traits (a peacocks pretty tail) or the male’s ability to out compete another male (big-horn sheep)

64
Q

The current geologic period is the

A

quaternary

65
Q

Fitness in an evolutionary sense is measured in

A

the number of viable offspring produced

Biodiversity (12 decks)

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