Producers

• Organisms that make their own food.
• Micro producers:
• Example: Algae, cyanobacteria (mainly aquatic)
• Macro producers:
• Example: Plants (mostly terrestrial)

Types of Auto-trophs

1. Photoautotroph:

• Uses sunlight energy to synthesize organic compounds.

1. Chemoautotroph:

• Utilizes chemical energy to create organic compounds.

1. Phytoplankton:

• Plant-like organisms drifting on water surfaces.

1. Red tide:

• A bloom of dinoflagellates that produce toxins.

Major Micro Producer Groups

1. Diatoms:

• Characterized by glass-like shells, known as phytoplankton.

1. Dinoflagellates:

• Possess flagella, classified as phytoplankton, can produce toxins, responsible for red surf.

Algal Symbiosis Examples

• Mutualistic relationships with:

1. Coral
2. Fungi (lichens)

Algal Blooms and Dead Zones

• Caused by:
• Human fertilizer runoff and warming waters.
• Consequence:
• Decomposing blooms deplete oxygen levels, leading to dead zones.

Early Plant Categories

1. Mosses (Bryophytes):

• Nonvascular plants, small size, no true leaves, stems, or roots. Require proximity to water for reproduction.

1. Ferns (Seedless Vascular Plants):

• Possess vascular tissue, no true pollen or seeds. Also require water for reproduction.

Seeded Plants Categories

1. Gymnosperms:

• Examples: Conifers; produce seeds and pollen (wind-pollinated), enabling them to reproduce away from water.

1. Angiosperms:

• Examples: Flowering plants; produce seed and pollen (animal-pollinated), leading to high success rates. Pollinated flowers develop into fruits.

Plant Components

1. Peat:

• Partially decayed mosses; used for fuel and bedding, unique preservation properties.

1. Xylem:

• Tissue for water and mineral conductivity.

1. Phloem:

• Food conducting tissue.

1. Meristems:

• Sites of active cellular growth and differentiation.

1. Alternation of Generations:

• Characteristic life cycle involving haploid and diploid generations.

Plant Modifications

• Roots:
• Types:
  • Storage (sweet potatoes)
  • Pneumatophores (for oxygen absorption)
  • Strangling roots (parasitic)
• Stems:
• Types:
  • Storage (potatoes)
  • Asexual reproduction (stolons/runners)
  • Protection (thorns)
• Leaves:
• Types:
  • Storage (bulbs like onions)
  • Grasping (tendrils)
  • Protection (spines on cacti)

Types of Buds

• Apical and Axillary Buds:
• Contain meristems, responsible for elongation or producing new branches/flowers.

Growth Types in Plants

• Primary Growth:
• Driven by apical meristem.
• Secondary Growth:
• Driven by lateral meristems (vascular and cork cambium).

Parasitic vs. Carnivorous Plants

• Parasitic Plants:
• Obtain nutrients from other plants or fungi.
• Carnivorous Plants:
• Supplement mineral needs using insects in nutrient-poor soils.

Crop Rotation

• Practice of planting different crops on the same plot across years or allowing land to lie fallow for recovery.
• Importance:
• Prevents nutrient depletion from repetitive monocultures and excessive fertilizer use.

Types of Heterotrophs

• Examples:

1. Detritivores:
   • Consume decayed material (e.g., earthworms).
2. Filter Feeders:
   • Consume dissolved organic matter in water.

Invertebrate Groups

1. Porifera:

• Sponges; asymmetrical, lack tissues, reproduce both sexually and asexually, filter feeders.

1. Cnidaria:

• Includes jellies and corals; possess tissues, a nerve net, gastrovascular cavity, stinging cells, radial symmetry.

1. Platyhelminthes (Flatworms):

• Bilaterally symmetrical; includes flukes (some parasitic; need snails as hosts) and tapeworms (parasites with repeating segments).

1. Nematodes (Roundworms):

• First to develop a complete circulatory system; some are parasitic.

1. Molluscs:

• Most have shells, aquatic; examples include snails and squids.

1. Annelids (Segmented Worms):

• Include leeches and earthworms.

1. Arthropods:

• Insects and arachnids with jointed appendages, exoskeletons, and an open circulatory system.

Symmetry Types

1. Bilateral Symmetry:

• Anatomical directionality.

1. Radial Symmetry:

• Organized around a central axis.

Body Cavity Importance

• Compartmentalization allows specialized organ movement independent of body wall, cushioning organs.

Vertebrate Groups

1. Fish:

• Features: Teeth-like scales, gills, gelatinous eggs.
  • Chondrichthyes: Cartilaginous fishes (sharks/rays), some with electroreceptors; typically ovoviviparous.
  • Osteichthyes: Most oviparous with swim bladders and external fertilization.

1. Amphibians:

• Larvae are aquatic with gills; adults typically terrestrial with lungs. Gelatinous eggs; mostly external fertilization.

1. Reptiles:

• 3-chambered hearts; all amniotes; leathery shelled eggs; internal fertilization.

1. Birds (classed as Reptiles):

• 4-chambered hearts, feathers, endothermic, bipedal; hard-shelled eggs.

1. Mammals:

• Endothermic, give live birth, produce milk, have hair, extensive care for young.

Reproductive Strategies

1. Oviparous:

• Eggs are laid externally.

1. Ovoviviparous:

• Eggs hatch inside the body.

1. Viviparous:

• Live birth.

1. Amniote:

• Embryo surrounded by a watery sack.

1. Endotherm:

• Controls internal body temperature.

1. Ectotherm:

• Body temperature regulated by the environment.

Egg Parts and Functions

1. Thick and Thin Albumin:

• Nutritional sources.

1. Yolk:

• Nutritional source.

1. Allantois:

• Waste disposal structure.

1. Air Sac:

• Facilitates gas exchange.

1. Shell:

• Provides protection.

1. Amnion:

• Regulates temperature and cushions the embryo.

1. Germinal Disc:

• Develops embryo and accessories when fertilized.

1. Chalaza:

• Anchors yolk.

1. Chorion:

• Forms the placenta in mammals.