Biodiversity Midterm Study Guide

A comprehensive vocabulary review of origins of life, kingdom Protista, Fungi, and Plantae morphology based on the Exam 1 Study Guide.

Hadean

The earliest Eon in the geological time scale sequence mentioned in the origins of life study guide.

Archean

The geological Eon following the Hadean Eon.

Proterozoic

The geological Eon following the Archean Eon, preceding the Phanerozoic.

Phanerozoic

The current geological Eon characterized by visible life.

Paleozoic

The first Era of the Phanerozoic Eon characterized by specific biological events.

Mesozoic

The second Era of the Phanerozoic Eon, commonly known as the age of reptiles.

Cenozoic

The current and most recent geological Era of the Phanerozoic Eon.

Cyanobacteria

Organisms responsible for the transition from anaerobic to aerobic conditions through the process of photosynthesis.

Ozone layer

An atmospheric layer whose development was tied to the rise of photosynthetic organisms and aerobic life.

Taxonomy

The scientific system used for the classification of living organisms.

Binomial nomenclature

The two-part naming system used for identifying species of organisms.

Monophyletic

A phylogenetic relationship consisting of an ancestor and all of its descendants.

Paraphyletic

A phylogenetic relationship consisting of an ancestor and some, but not all, of its descendants.

Polyphyletic

A phylogenetic relationship where the group consists of organisms from multiple origins and lacks a recent common ancestor.

Cell theory

A fundamental scientific theory comprising $3$ main tenets regarding the basic structural unit of life.

Endosymbiotic theory

The concept explaining how eukaryotic organelles arose from prokaryotes, supported by specific structural and genetic evidence.

Gram-positive bacteria

Bacteria that are characterized by a thick cell wall made primarily of peptidoglycan

Gram-negative bacteria

Bacteria that are characterized by lacking retention of the primary stain in the Gram staining procedure.

Extremophiles

Organisms defined by their ability to thrive in extreme environmental conditions.

Excavata

One of the $5$ protist supergroups which includes specimens like Giardia lamblia.

Phylum Sarcomastigophora

A phylum comprising organisms with distinctive locomotion and characteristics, such as parabasalids and diplomonads.

Trichomonas vaginalis

A specific parabasalid specimen belonging to the phylum Sarcomastigophora.

Giardia lamblia

A specific diplomonad specimen belonging to the phylum Sarcomastigophora.

Phylum Euglenophyta

A phylum of mixotrophic organisms that use pigments and a stigma to detect light, including specimens like Euglena.

Trypanosomes

Kinetoplastids in the phylum Euglenophyta that cause diseases and are often carried by vectors.

SAR

A major protist supergroup containing the sub-clades Stramenopila, Alveolata, and Rhizaria.

Phylum Phaeophyta

A phylum of Stramenopiles consisting of brown algae such as Saragassum and kelp.

Phylum Crysophyta

A phylum in the Stramenopila group that includes diatoms.

Phylum Oomycota

A phylum within the Stramenopiles that includes water molds and downy mildew.

Phylum Pyrrophyta

A phylum of Alveolata characterized by organisms such as dinoflagellates.

Phylum Apicomplexa

A phylum within the Alveolata containing Plasmodium falciparum, which causes malaria.

Plasmodium falciparum

The malaria-causing specimen that requires a vector for transmission.

Phylum Ciliophora

A phylum of Alveolata that uses cilia for locomotion, represented by specimens like Paramecium caudatum.

Conjugation

The process of sexual exchange observed in Ciliophora.

Rhizaria

A subgroup of the SAR supergroup including Phylum Actinopoda and Phylum Foraminifera.

Archaeplastida

A protist supergroup that includes Phylum Rhodophyta, Chlorophyta, and Charophyta.

Phylum Rhodophyta

A phylum within Archaeplastida known as red algae.

Phylum Amoebozoa

A phylum characterized by organisms like Amoeba proteus that lack shells and use pseudopodia.

Phylum Myxomycota

The phylum of plasmodial slime molds which have distinct vegetative and reproductive states.

Phylum Acrasiomycota

The phylum representing cellular slime molds.

Lichens

A mutualistic association between algae or cyanobacteria and a fungus, classified as crustose, foliose, or fruticose.

Mycorrhizae

A mutualistic association between fungi and the roots of plants.

Phylum Chytridiomycota

A fungal phylum associated with the chytrid fungi and the frog world pandemic.

Phylum Zygomycota

A fungal phylum represented by organisms like Rhizopus and Pilobolus.

Phylum Ascomycota

A fungal phylum containing representative organisms such as morels, ergot, and penicillin.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A species of yeast that is noted as special or different from other representative organisms in Phylum Ascomycota.

Phylum Basidiomycota

A fungal phylum including mushrooms, toadstools, puffballs, and fairy rings.

Division Bryophyta

A division of nonvascular plants which includes mosses such as Polytrichum.

Division Anthocerophyta

A division of nonvascular plants commonly known as hornworts.

Division Hepaticophyta

A division of nonvascular plants known as liverworts where the gametophyte ($n$) is the dominant generation.

Monoecious

A term meaning "one house," where both antheridia and archegonia are present on the same plant.

Dioecious

A term meaning "two houses," where antheridia and archegonia are present on separate individuals.

Xylem

The vascular tissue in plants responsible for conducting water.

Phloem

The vascular tissue in plants responsible for conducting the products of photosynthesis.

Division Lycophyta

A division of seedless vascular plants known as club mosses, such as Selaginella and Lycopodium.

Division Sphenophyta

A division of seedless vascular plants consisting of horse tails like Equisetum.

Double fertilization

A specialized process in angiosperms involving specific steps and structures to produce a zygote and endosperm.

Parenchyma cells

A type of plant cell with thin cell walls that are live at maturity and function in photosynthesis and storage.

Collenchyma cells

A type of plant cell with thick cell walls that provide support for elongation.

Sclerenchyma cells

A type of plant cell with thick cell walls providing support that are typically dead at maturity.