Module I Biology

Ecosystem, species, genetic

What are the 3 types of biodiversity?

Loss of ecosystem, species, and genes within them.

When we are looking at loss of biodiversity, what are we really looking for?

Productivity of natural environments, loss of food services, and loss of water purification.

Give some examples of “natural services” which are lost when biodiversity is lost?

Extirpation

What is the name for when a single population of species is lost within the environment?

Extinction

What is the name for permanent irreversible loss of all species within the environment?

Species richness

Measurement of the number of species in a geographical area (how many total species do we have in this particular area, compared to others)

The Endangered Species Act

What protects species and the environments they came from?

If we have clones and something stands against their favor, this can kill off populations very rapidly.

Why is genetic diversity important?

extinction

Areas with low genetic diversity increase faster rates of…

Human activities (such as forestry and pollution) cause significant impacts to natural habitats.

What is habitation alteration?

Human alteration and activities

What is the single greatest threat to biodiversity right now?

invasive species

What ranks second (behind habitat destruction) for threats to biodiversity?

Prey on native species, parasitize native species, & compete with them.

What three different threats do invasive species pose to native species?

Overexploitation

What is the name of the excessive harvesting of natural materials such as trees and/or over-fishing?

Ozone layer

What atmospheric layer is impacted by chemicals do to human pollution?

Biological magnification

What is the process in which little toxins and chemicals make their way up the food chain to impact the apex predators?

The northernmost regions of the Northern hemisphere.

Where are the areas to the largest threats to global warming?

Land

Is global warming more impactful over land or sea?

Freshwater intrudes the oceans, losing their salinity.

When glaciers melt, what body is impacted the most?

Carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.

What 3 gasses abundant in the atmosphere completely spiked closer to the year 2000 due to human activity?

Rainfall is increasing which is putting more biomes at risks of flooding.

How are precipitation patterers changing within our ecosystem?

When the ocean absorbs CO2, if forms carbonic acid which impacts certain organisms that require the formation of a shell.

Why is the pH of the ocean decreasing and many different organisms living there are impacted?

Climate change does not impact the day-night cycles and species interaction becomes out of sync.

Why are more nocturnal organisms struggling?

Climate change 7 - Warmer weather allowed invasive species of mosquitos to reproduce and spread diseases.

Give an example of how climate change enables an invasive species?

Phenotypic plasticity

What is being able to alter a single genome to alter phenotypes that are succesful within natural changes or biomes?

Conservation

What effort seems to counter the biodiversity crisis?

Population fragmentation

What is the splitting of habitats and portions of population?

Proactive conservation

What anticipates threats to future biodiversity problems and takes measures to prevent them from occurring before they do?

Landscape ecology

What is the term for studying and comparing the different patterns and dynamics of landscapes?

Edges

Boundary areas where two different ecosystems merge and oftentimes many species cannot crossover them.

Movement corridors

Habitats that have edges may have these in order to allow the affected species to move across and between habitats.

Biodiversity hotspots

Term for a region with high levels of biodiversity that may have high levels of endangered species.

Endemic species

What is the name for a species that is found in a specific location and nowhere else?

Goal of wildlife refuges

To provide resources and a natural shelter for wildlife populations, especially those migrating.

Zoned reserve

What is an extensive region of land that has one or more areas completely undisturbed by humans?

Bioremediation

Using living organisms (soils, plants) to detoxify polluted environments that are a threat to biodiversity.

Restoration ecology

Restoring damaged land or habitats.

Theoretical, social, having the appropriate restoration toolbox

What are the three branches and necessities to restoration ecology?

Sustainable development

Goal of conservation

DNA

molecule that stores genetic information in organisms

RNA

Involved in translating genetic information and other cellular roles.

Double helix

The spiral, two-stranded structure of DNA formed by two antiparallel strands.

Nucleotide base composition

The proportions of A, C, G, and T (or U in RNA) in a genome; used to predict genome composition.

Adenine (A)

Purine base in DNA that pairs with thymine.

Thymine (T)

Pyrimidine base in DNA that pairs with adenine.

Cytosine (C)

Pyrimidine base in DNA that pairs with guanine.

Guanine (G)

Purine base in DNA that pairs with cytosine.

Chargaff's rules

In double-stranded DNA, the amounts of adenine and thymine are equal, and the amounts of cytosine and guanine are equal (A=T, C=G).

DNA replication

The process by which DNA is copied prior to cell division; disruption or interruption can lead to changes in organisms.

Gene

A basic unit of heredity—a DNA sequence that encodes a functional product (protein or RNA).

Chromosome

A DNA-containing structure that carries genes

Homologous chromosomes

Pairs of chromosomes that carry the same genes in the same order, one from each parent; may carry different alleles.

Genome

The complete set of genetic material present in an organism or cell.

Chromosome number

The characteristic number of chromosomes for a species; can vary widely between species.

Change Ts to Us in 5’ 3’ DNA strand

How to transcribe from DNA to RNA?

James Watson

An American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist, co-credited with the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA in 1953 with Francis Crick.

Francis Crick

A British molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, co-credited with the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA in 1953 with James Watson.

Rosalind Franklin

A British chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose work (notably Photo 51) provided crucial data that led to the understanding of the structure of DNA.

Maurice Wilkins

A British biophysicist who shared the Nobel Prize with Watson and Crick for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material. His work with Rosalind Franklin on X-ray diffraction images of DNA was pivotal.

Purine

A type of nitrogenous base in nucleic acids with a double-ring structure.

Pyrimidine

A type of nitrogenous base in nucleic acids with a single-ring structure.

Prokaryotic cell

Typically has one strand of DNA, in circular forms

Evolution

How living things change overtime to adapt or adjust

Fossils

Imprints or remains of organisms from the past that document differences between past and present life and reveal extinct species

Homo erectus

An early human ancestor that lived about 1.5 million years ago in Africa, known from fossil skulls and other remains.

Comparative morphology

Study of similarities and differences in the form and structure of organisms, suggesting common ancestry.

Embryology

The study of embryonic development; reveals that early stages are similar across animals and can show structures not present in adults.

Homologous structures

Anatomical structures that share a common evolutionary origin but may have different functions (e.g., bones in forelimbs of humans, cats, whales, and bats).

Divergent evolution

Evolution of related organisms into different forms and functions resulting in homologous structures with different roles.

Post-anal tail

Embryonic tail posterior to the anus seen in many vertebrates; an example discussed in comparative embryology.

Pharyngeal pouches

Embryonic structures in all vertebrates that develop into various head/neck components; evidence of common ancestry.

Comparative embryology

Comparison of early developmental stages across species to reveal homologies and evolutionary relationships.

RNA

helps translate genetic information into proteins; key molecule in gene expression.

Universal genetic code

The nearly universal set of rules translating RNA triplets into amino acids, shared across almost all life.

Homology

Similarity due to shared ancestry used to infer evolutionary relationships.

Darwin

naturalist who proposed natural selection and the theory of evolution; sailed on the HMS Beagle.

Lamarck

proponent of inheritance of acquired characteristics; his mechanism was later disproven though the idea of change over time was influential.

Inheritance of acquired characteristics

Lamarck's idea that traits developed during an organism’s life could be passed on to offspring (not supported by evidence).

Galápagos Islands

Islands whose endemic species and diversity influenced Darwin’s ideas about adaptation, diversification, and speciation.

Adaptive radiation

Rapid diversification of a lineage into multiple species adapted to different environments.

Speciation

Formation of new species through evolutionary processes.

Natural selection

Darwin’s mechanism by which heritable variation affects differential survival and reproduction, leading to evolution.

Microevolution

Change in allele frequencies within a population over time.

Macroevolution

Large-scale evolutionary changes, such as speciation and major lineage splits, over long time scales.

Allele frequency

The proportion of a particular allele among all alleles for a gene in a population.

Biological species concept

A species is a group of interbreeding natural populations that are reproductively isolated from other such groups.

Morphological species concept

A species defined by morphological similarities and differences, often used when reproductive data are unavailable.

Ecological (niche) species concept

A species defined by its ecological niche and adaptations to a particular set of resources.

Phenotype

Observable characteristics or traits of an organism.

Genotype

Genetic makeup underlying the phenotype—the alleles an individual carries.

Reproductive isolation

Biological barriers that prevent interbreeding between populations, maintaining separate gene pools.

Prezygotic barriers

Barriers that prevent fertilization before a zygote forms.

Habitat isolation

Prezygotic barrier where populations occupy different habitats and rarely meet.

Temporal isolation

Prezygotic barrier due to mating or flowering at different times.

Behavioral isolation

Prezygotic barrier due to differences in courtship rituals or signals.

Mechanical isolation

Prezygotic barrier due to incompatible reproductive parts.

Gametic isolation

Prezygotic barrier where gametes (sperm and egg) cannot fertilize.

Postzygotic barriers

Barriers that reduce viability or fertility of hybrids after fertilization.

Reduced hybrid viability

Hybrids have lower survival rates to reproductive age.