Unit 1 General Biology Glossary + Notes

Ancestral Trait

A feature or characteristic inherited directly from a distant common ancestor. Ancestral and derived are relative terms, as a newly derived trait becomes an ancestral trait to subsequent descendant lineages over evolutionary time.

Autotroph

An organism ("self-feeder," such as a plant or cyanobacterium) that produces its own organic macromolecules and obtains energy by itself

Biodiversity

The total variety of living species on Earth, estimated at as many as 30 million species living today.

Clade

A monophyletic taxon consisting of a common ancestor and all of its evolutionary descendants. it can be removed from a phylogenetic tree with a single scissor "cut".

Convergent Evolution

The independent evolution of superficially similar structures or traits in completely unrelated lineages due to similar functional needs or environmental pressures (such as bird wings vs. bat wings)

Derived Trait

A newly acquired feature or trait that evolved along a specific lineage, distinguishing descendants from their ancestral state

Domain

The highest taxonomic rank of life, consisting of Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya, which have been living and evolving independently for four billion years

2 pro 1 euk

Eukaryotes

Organisms composed of cells that possess a true, double-membrane-enclosed nucleus containing their DNA, as well as membrane-bound organelles

Evolutionary Reversal

An evolutionary event where a derived characteristic reverts from its updated form back to a simplified or ancestral state (such as mammalian dolphin ancestors re-evolving fins for marine swimming)

Fungi

A eukaryotic kingdom of heterotrophic organisms that can be unicellular (such as baking yeast) or multicellular (such as mushrooms), generally decomposers

Genus

A taxonomic category containing closely related species that share a recent common ancestor[5][19]. In binomial nomenclature, it forms the capitalized first word of an organism's scientific name

Heterotroph

An organism (such as a human or animal) that cannot manufacture its own food and must rely on energy-rich organic molecules produced by other organisms

Ingroup

The primary group of species or lineages being actively evaluated or studied in a phylogenetic analysis

Kingdom

A major taxonomic rank below domain; all life is traditionally grouped into six kingdoms (Archaea, Eubacteria, Protists, Fungi, Plants, and Animals)
4 euk 2 pro

Monophyletic

A taxonomic grouping (a clade) that includes a common ancestor and all of its evolutionary descendants

Organism

Defined simply as any living thing.

Outgroup

A closely related species or lineage outside the group of primary interest that lacks the derived traits shared by the ingroup, used as an evolutionary reference point

Paraphyletic

A taxonomic grouping that includes a common ancestor and some, but not all, of that ancestor's descendants

Phylogeny

The evolutionary history of relationships among lineages or organisms, represented diagrammatically by a branching phylogenetic tree

Polyphyletic

A taxonomic grouping that includes several descendant lineages but does not include the common ancestor of the group

Prokaryotes

Single-celled organisms (Bacteria and Archaea) whose cells lack a true, membrane-enclosed nucleus, placing their DNA in an unenclosed nucleoid region

Species

A group of individual organisms that can interbreed with one another in nature to produce viable and fertile offspring

Taxon (plural: Taxa)

Any designated group of species or organisms treated as a single unit in a biological classification system (such as mammals, tetrapods, or vertebrates)

1st Characteristic of Living Things

All composed of a common set of chemical compounds like carbs, amino acids, and nucleic acids.

2nd Characteristic of Living Things

All made of cells, which are the building blocks for life.

3rd & 4th Characteristics of Living Things

Contain genetic information (DNA) and use it to reproduce from generation to generation.

6th & 7th Characteristics of Living Things

Populations evolve over time and develop adaptations to the environment.

9th & 10th Characteristics of Living Things

Metabolism (extracting/using energy) and Homeostasis (maintaining a stable internal environment).

Levels of Biological Organization

Atomic, molecule, cellular, organism, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere.

Binomial Nomenclature

A naming system using Genus (capitalized) followed by species (lowercase).

Homologous

traits are shared features from a common ancestor

Analogous Traits

traits that function similarly with independent origins.

Lineage

a series of ancestor and descendant population

Root

The common ancestor of all organisms in the tree.

Node

A branch point showing a split in evolution.

Taxon

Any group of organisms treated as a classification unit.

Clade

A common ancestor plus all of its descendants.

Do new traits become old over time?

Yes

Sexual Dimorphism

Diff Appearance, Same Species

Cryptic Species

Identical Appearance, Different Species

Classification of organisms 1- Ce….

Based on cellular organization P or E (True nucleus/nucleoid)

Classification of organisms 2- C….

cellular composition:
Unicellular - bacteria, archaea, amoeba

Multicellular - humans, animals, plants

Classification of organism 3- F…

feeding pattern of Autotroph vs. Heterotroph

Classification of organism 4- E…..

environmental relations

Producers- produce food

Consumers - feed on others

Decomposer- Break down dead organic matter

Archaea is

prokaryotic unicellular Auto/Hetero - most are decomposers

(Eu)Bacteria is

Prokaryotic, unicellular, Auto/Hetero - most are decomposers

1. Diff shapes

2. Diff colors

Protist is

Whatever doesn’t belong in other 5 - very diverse

1. All Eukaryotic

2. Unicellular or multicellular

3. Hetero/Auto

4. Producer/Consumers

Plants are

1. Eukaryotic

2. Multicellular

3. Autotrophic (photosynthetic)

4. Producers

Animals are

1. Eukaryotic

2. Multicellular

3. Hetero

4. Consumers

Liposomes

deliver drugs and vaccine little tiny vesicles made up of lipids (inside would have vaccines to mess with RNA), are not a cell it cant survive on its own they have to be injected in

Vesicles

small, fluid-filled sacs enclosed by a lipid bilayer membrane that function in cellular transport, storage, and metabolism

Population

group in the same species

Community

different species of living organisms

Ecosystem

includes community living things and physical environment