UCI Anthro 2B Egan Midterm Study Guide

Subfields of Anthropology

Linguistics, Acheaology, SocioCultural, Biological

Biological Anthropology

Paleontology, Primatology, Human Biology

Epistemology

study of knowledge

Oxymoron of Creation Science

Earth was created by a higher being. Never ending argument

Scientific Paradigm

the collective way in which a community of researchers and clinicians identify the problems and the methods of investigation for their discipline

Theories

Broad explanations and predictions concerning phenomena of interest. Must be disproved.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Plato

Truth cannot be found in the everyday world. Only found in another realm. Eidos

Eidos

ideal type, concept of truth. EX: What is a true fox's appearance (how bushy is the tail?)

Aristotle

Truth CAN be found in the everyday world. Great chain of being.

Great chain of being

European idea that every species was a link on a chain extending from lowest forms to humans and on to spiritual beings. All links and been designed at the same time during creation and would never change. Once all the links were discovered and described, the meaning of life would be revealed.

Fixity of Species

All species that exist today were like this when they were first created.

Archbishop James Ussher

Said world was created October, 4004 BC

Rene Descartes

Reduced everything to spiritual or physical. To be or not to be.

Carolus Linneaus

Father of taxonomy. Binomial Nomenclature. Systemma Naturae. Accepted fixity of species

Binomial Nomenclature

Genus species

Lamarck

Early work: Great chain of being of evolution (slime molds --> worms --> ... --> humans)

Later work: Evolution via Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics

George Cuvier

Developed the theory of catastrophism.

Father of Paleontology

Problems w Cuvier: Many species lost (sabertooth) but not others (bison, camel)

James Hutton

Uniformitarianism : changes in the earths crust over time (erosion). This also must have occurred in the past

Charles Lyell

Principles of Geology: if erosion and uniformitarianism exist, the earth must be very old

Charles Darwin

Natural selection and evolution

Thomas Malthus

Human population has the potential to rapidly outgrow food source, but does not due to famine, war, plague keeping pop size stable.

Darwin's Logic

Species produce more offspring than are able to survive. Resources are limited and pop sizes are stable. Individuals cary and variation is inherited. Traits of those doing most of the breeding become more common in next generations.

Galapagos Islands

Finches variations

Differential reproduction

Phenomenon in which individuals with adaptive genetic traits produce more living offspring than do individuals without such traits.

Alfred Russel Wallace

a naturalist who had the same thoughts on evolutionary change as Darwin

vestigial structures

A structure that is present in an organism but no longer serves its original purpose

Huntington's disease

A human genetic disease caused by a dominant allele (deletrious dominant mutation); characterized by uncontrollable body movements and degeneration of the nervous system; usually fatal 10 to 20 years after the onset of symptoms.

Gregor Mendel

Father of Genetics. Pea plants.

Genes

DNA segments that serve as the key functional units in hereditary transmission. Code for proteins

Alleles

Different forms of a gene

Multi-Allelic systems

3 or more allele possibilities. People only have two. More possible combinations in populations.

ABO Blood groups

A and B dominant, O recessive

Chromosomes

threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes

Gene Locus

specific location of a gene on a chromosome

Homologous chromosomes

Chromosomes that have the same sequence of genes and the same structure (mom's gene 1 and dad's gene 1)

Human Chromosome #

46 total, 23 pairs

Principle of Segregation

During meiosis, chromosome pairs separate into different gametes such that each of the two alleles for a given trait appears in a different gamete.

Principle of Independent Assortment

genes for different traits can segregate independently during the formation of gametes

Mitosis

cell division in which the nucleus divides into nuclei containing the same number of chromosomes

Meiosis

Cell division that produces reproductive cells in sexually reproducing organisms

DNA Molecular structure

phosphate, 5-carbon sugar, nitrogenous group ATGC bases

RNA Molecular structure

Single stranded, AUGC nitrogenous bases

Nucleic acids

DNA, RNA, nucleotides

Mutations in Somatic cells vs Gametes

Mut in somatic cells will not be passed onto offspring

Chromosomal mutation

A change in the chromosome structure, resulting in new gene combinations.

Null allele

A mutant allele that produces no functional gene product. Usually inherited as a recessive trait.

Polygenic vs Monogenic

Hemoglobin is polygenic

Deleterious recessive

Tay Sachs

Deleterious Dominant

Huntingtons, Achondroplastic Dwarfism (AA deat, Aa dwarf, aa normal)

Breeding population

a group of regularly interbreeding individuals

Gene pool

aggregate representation of all the genetic material in a breeding population

(Pop 1000 people, 2000 alleles for a gene)

Gene (allele) frequency

#E allels / total # alleles

Hardy Weinberg equilibrium

Gene frequency doesnt change over time:

1) Pop very large

2) Equal # male and female

3) All matings random

4) All individuals mate

5) All matings produce same # offsprings

6) All matings occur w/in pop

7) No forces of evolution at work

Gene DRIFT

The random loss of alleles in a population's gene pool. Founders effect. Intergenerational drift (recombination unlucky). Natural disaster

Gene FLOW

Migration of alleles between populations. Interbreeding btwn populations

Type B blood and American Indians

Founders effects. No B allele when NE asian pop migrated across Bering strait land bridge.

Monomorphism vs Polymorphism

mono : 1 form of gene

poly : multiple

World Distribution of Sickle Cell Anemia

Most common in African Americans and in populations with a high threat of malaria.

Heterozygote advantage

Greater reproductive success of heterozygous individuals compared to homozygotes; tends to preserve variation in gene pools. (Sickle cell anemia: AA no resistance to malaria, Aa good, aa dead sickle cell)

Hemoglobin Beta Chain Locus

Mut produces new allele: Homozygous for new allele = Sickle cell anemia

Relative fitness

the contribution an individual makes to the gene pool of the next generation relative to the contributions of other individuals

Balanced polymorphism

situation in which selection maintains two or more phenotypes for a specific gene in a population. (Sickle cell Aa heterozygotes are fit so they reproduce, making AA, Aa, aa genotypes.

Transient Polymorphism

If one allele is gradually replacing the other then a population will show transient polymorphism.

- When two different variants of a phenotype are in the process of replacing each other.

eg: The peppered moth (common in England).

- The Normal form has white wings covered in black specks, and rests during the day on lichen covered tree trunks, where it is well camouflaged.

- The Dark form is mostly black, and first appeared during the industrial revolution during the mid 19th century. As the trees in these industrial areas became dirty with soot, the dark forms would be camouflaged but the normal speckled form would be easily seen and eaten by predators.

- The opposite occurred in clean country areas where the dark form was easily visible by predators.

- This led to a transient polymorphism in industrialised areas as the population of the dark form increased and that of the speckled form decreased.

Fixation

Change in a gene pool from 2+ varians of a gene --> 1 allele

Plasmodium falciparum

malaria parasite

Anopheles gambiae

malaria mosquito

Ecology of Malaria and Sickle Cell

Came with the rise of root crop agriculture. Mosquitos breed in still water. More people grouped together in populations

Lactose Intolerance

To ween off people from drinking mother's milk and start eating. Breastfeeding depresses mother's ovulation. Greater reproductive success

Structural gene: codes lactase

Regulatory gene: turns off lactase coding gene ~ age 5

Lactose, Lactase, Glucose, Galactose

Lactose --> Glucose + Galactose

via lactase

Lactase production in adults

In europe, middle east, part of africa bc dominant mutation keeps lactase gene on. These pops have history of raising dairy animals. Other cultural solutions (yogurt has no lactose)

Acclimation and acclimization

Process in which individual organism adjusts to change in its environment

vasodilation and vasoconstriction

Opening and closing of blood vessels to regulate body temperature

High Altitude Stress

Hypoxia: deficiency in the amount of oxygen reaching the tissues. Increased heart rate. Acclimation.

Allen's Rule

Animals adapted to cold climates have shorter limbs than animals in warm climates

Bermann's Rule

among mammals of similar shape, the larger mammal loses heat less rapidly than the smaller mammal

Typologyzing

To classify things by type (Societies into industrial, huntergatherer, etc)

Linnaeus 4 "variatas" of Homo sapiens

Homo sapiens Europaeus albescens (white)

Homo sapiens Asiaticus fucus (dark)

Homo sapiens Africanus negreus (black)

Homo sapiens Americanus rubescens (red)

Blumenbach

First explicit scientific delineation of "races"

Caucasian (white)

Mongolian (yellow)

Malay (brown)

Ethiopian (black)

American (red)

Hooton

BIG THREE

Caucasoid

Mongoloid

Negroid

Craniometry

Measured head size to try to say western europeans have largest head = smartest

Human skin color

melanin, polygenic inheritance

Melanin & UV radiation

Melanin is a protective pigment, blocking UV radiation from damaging DNA

Hypervitaminosis D

too much vitamin D. Vitamin D produced when skin exposed to sunlight.

Skin Cancer

DNA damage by UV rays

Folate Production

Folate used to create DNA and cell division. Found in foods (folic acid added to some foods).

Plants, fungi and certain protozoa, bacteria, and archaea can synthesize folate through variations on the same chemical pathway.

Skin Color and Frostbite

Skin turns red --> white --> black to worst frostbite.

Plastic traits

traits that change based on the current or developmental environment of an organism. (Height changes depending on nutrition of individual)

heritability coefficient

a statistic that describes the proportion of the difference between people's scores that can be explained by differences in their genes

twin studies

a common method of investigating whether nature or nurture affects behavior. Allows study of environmental influence and varying genetic makeup