Biology: Evolutionary Theory and Biodiversity

What Are The Eons In Order Of Oldest To Newest?

• Hadean

• Archean

• Proterozoic

• Phanerozoic

How Is Life Unique?

• Organization varies

• Only present on Earth

• Life begets life

• Resilient (live in any habitat)

• Evolution

How Is Life Unified?

• Require water

• Based on carbon chemistry

• Use 22 amino acids to build protein

• Cell structure is the same (excluding viruses)

• DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid

What Did The Primitive Atmosphere Contain?

• Carbon Dioxide CO2

• Methane CH4

• Nitrates NH3

• Hydrogen H

• Nitrogen N

• Water Vapor H2O

which left almost no room for Oxygen.

What Were The Earliest Living Cells And When Did They Arise?

Arose around 3.5 billion years ago and were prokaryotic or cyanobacteria

What is Cyanobacteria?

Most important to evolution. Is a blueish green algae.

When Did O2 Appear?

2.2 billion years ago.

What Is The Endosymbiotic Theory?

The theory in which larger cells ate smaller ones and instead of digesting them, they gave them specific jobs. Ex: skin cells, stomach cells, etc.

What Are The Advantages Of Multicellular Design?

• Resistance to predation

• Can sustain some cellular damage

• More effective predator

• Specialization (skin cells, eye cells)

• Increased mass = lower SA:V ratio

• Attain speed

How Old Is The Earth?

4.6 billion years old

Define Abiogenesis

The study of how biological life arose from inorganic matter through natural chemical reactions which created amino acids or “the building blocks of life” which was disproven

When Did Mammals Arise?

200 million years ago

When Did The Last Dinosaur Go Extinct

65 million years ago

How Many Years Ago Did Humans Start To Look Like We Do Today?

200,000

Define Gene Pool

Complete set of alleles in a species or a population

Define Genome

An organism’s hereditary information

Define Mutations

Change in the genomic sequence

Define Genetic Drift

Change in the frequency of an allele occurring in a population

Define Natural Selection

Process where organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring

Define Convergent Evolution

When the process of evolution causes two unrelated species to become similar with regard to certain characteristics

Define Divergent Evolution

When the process of evolution causes two related species to become more dissimilar with regard to certain characteristics

Define Artificial Selection

Human intervention in animal or plant reproduction to ensure that certain desirable traits are represented un successive generations

Define Homologous Structure

Similarity in one or more body parts in different organisms, descent from a common ancestor

Define Analogous Structure

Structures that have similar functions and superficial appearance but are very different anatomy, don’t share a common ancestor

Define Vestigial Structure

No current function

Define Industrial Melanism

Natural or human activities drastically change the environment over short periods of time causing significant observable changes in the characteristics of species

Who Is Charles Darwin?

• Born in 1809 and died in 1882

• Was a born “naturalist” and was fascinated with natural sciences

• At 22 he was on the HMS Beagle (5 year voyage)

• He used to work for Thomas Malthus

What Fossil Is Considered To Be The Link Between Birds And Reptiles?

Archaeopteryx

What Is Survival Of The Fittest?

Mechanism of evolution

Define Directional Selection

Moves towards one extreme

Define Stabilizing Selection

Moves towards the average and away from the extremes

Define Disruptive Selection

Moves towards both extremes

What Are Darwin’s Main Principles?

• Survival- organism face a constant struggle to survive

• Overproduction- more offspring are produced than can survive

• Variety- organisms within a population has variations

• Fitness- organisms with favorable variations to the environment survive

• Adaption- a population will change over time

What Is Morphological Adaptation?

Structural, shape and size

What Is Behavioral Adaptation?

Actions and reactions

What Is Physiological Adaptation?

Functional, hormones and chemicals

What Are The Factors That Affect Natural Selection?

• Fitness- organisms are more fit for certain environments

• Overproduction- production of more offspring than can survive

• Competition- can exist for food, water, shelter, space, light, air, nutrients, etc

Define Interspecific Competition

Competition between organisms of different species

Define Intraspecific Competition

Competition between organisms of the same species

What Can Speciation Can Be A Result Of?

• Geographic isolation- island barrier created

• Behavioral isolation- change in camouflage

• Temporal isolation- change in mating times

Define Uniformitarianism

The idea that simple, weak forces could act continuously over long periods of time to produce radical change in Earth’s landscape

Define Mimicry

To copy/ mimic something

Define Binomial Nomenclature

System for naming living things

Define Antibiotic Resistance

When the body gets used to the antibiotic and it no longer has the effect it is supposed to have. SUPERBUG

What Is The Hardy-Weinberg Principle?

When both allele and genotype frequencies in a population remains constant- that they are at equilibrium- from generation to generation unless specific disturbing influences are introduced. This is not true in nature, only true in a lab

What Disturbing Influences Affect Equilibrium In Nature?

• Non-random mating

• Mutations

• Selection

• Limited population size

• Overlapping generations

• Random genetic drift

• Gene flow

• Meiotic drive

What Are The Mass Extinctions?

• Ordovician- 440 mya

• Devonian- 356 mya

• Permian Triassic- 250 mya

• Triassic to Jurassic- 210 mya

• Cretaceous to Tertiary- 65 mya

What Is The Next Mass Extinction Going To Be Named?

Anthropocene

Define Descent With Modification

Speciation from a common ancestor

How Did Darwin Interpret The Fossil Record?

Good, as they proved his theory

What Conditions Force Organisms To Compete In A Struggle For Existence?

• Natural selection

• Competition

• Little resources

• Survival of the fittest

How Do Successful Adaptions Improve An Organism’s Fitness?

Easier chance of survive, allows them to thrive

Define Reproductive Isolation

Behaviors and physiological processes that prevent the members of two different species that cross or mate from producing offspring

Define Pre-Copulatory Reproductive Isolation

Those that act before fertilization or mating

• Geographic, temporal, or habitat/niche isolation

• Sexual isolation by behavior or contact

• Physiological or mechanical isolation

• Gametic isolation

Define Post-Copulatory Reproductive Isolation

Those that act after fertilization or mating

• Zygote mortality and non-viability of hybrids

• Hybrid sterility

Define Punctuated Equilibrium

Non- continuous change

Define Gradualism

Gradual transformation of whole lineages that is smooth and continuous

What Are The Factors Required For Genetics Equilibrium?

• Large population

• Random mating

• No gene flow

• No mutation

• No natural selection

Define Locus

Position of a gene on a chromosome

Define Polymorphism

When two or more clearly different phenotypes exist in the same population of a species