Defining species

• Biological Diversity- Is the # and variety of organisms in an area (differences in characteristics)

• The biological species concept is that a species is a group of organisms that can mate and produce viable offspring.

• Reproductive isolation: Prevents members of 2 different species from cross breeding.

• The only problem with this is that some species are asexual ( do not mate with other members of the same species). Ex: Bacteria

• The phylogenetic species concept is when we classify groups of organisms based on their evolution history. Ex: Dinosaurs. Extinct animals use this method because it is good for defining organisms that are in different parts of the world and may look different.

• The morphological species concept puts organisms with similar physical characteristics in the same species group.

• Niche- Describes what you are. Narrow niche: Highly specialized role. Broad niche: a generalist, is able to withstand many conditions

• Speciation- how a new kind of plant or animal species is created

• Structural adaptation- Inherited characteristic (helps the organism physically survive)

• Behavioral adaptation- Inherited behavioral characteristic (helps the organism survive)

• Diversity index- measure of biological diversity in an area Wealth of diversity: When people and animals have many options

• A generalist is an organism with generalized requirements, and 8 adaptations that allow them to survive

• The Galapagos Finches: many types, live in the equator, small, there are 13 main islands, 13 species, certain kind of bird

• Environment: Where a certain organism lives Specialization: Adaptations for surviving in a certain environment

  Taxonomy

• A species is a group of organisms that share similar genetics and physical characteristics, can inter breed and offspring

• Binomial nomenclature is a system that is used to name species. (write the genus and species name in italics and capitalize the 1st letter of the genus) This was made by Carl Linnaeus. (Swedish naturalist who was alive in the 1700s)

• There are 8 categories of classification. They are: domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species

  

  Prokaryotes: No membrane, nucleus, but they do have DNA! Eukaryotes have all 3

Domain= All of life fits! 3 categories: Bacteria, Archaea, (love the extremes, ex: methanogens) and Eukarya (all animals we know!)

Kingdom= Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia

• The dichotomous keys are used to identify organisms ( Branching characteristics with 2 possible answers)

Interaction

• Species interact with each other for 5 reasons. They interact for food, transportation, protection, reproduction, and health.

• Prey, Predator , Competition (a struggle among individual resources in an area) . Symbiotic relationships: Mutualism (++) , Parasitism (+-), and Commensalism, (+0)

Reproduction

• Binary fission- when a cell divides into 2 identical cells

• Budding - Bud an identical offspring off of themselves. ( offspring just grows and falls of them)

• Conjugation- transfer of genetic material between two bacteria of the same species

• Gamete= reproductive cells. Each cell has 23 chromosomes

• Diversity: Different from one another!

• Spores are the way non seed plants reproduce. They can be found in the caps of mushrooms

• Pollen tubes are tubes that transport male gamete cells from the pollen grain to the ovules.

• Cotyledon- a seed leaf, a structure inside a seed that nourishes the plant embryo

• Embryo- a multi cellular organism during early development

• Self pollination- pollination of an ovule in a flower with pollen

  

  Definitions

  Zoospore: A spore capable of swimming by means of flagellum

  Zygospore: single celled reproductive structure, in sexual reproduction

  Pistil: The seed producing female part of the flower

  Pollen Tube: a tube through which sperm from the pollen reaches the egg cell, and fertilizes the plant to form seeds

  Vegetative growth: when you take an offspring, put it in water, it grows a root, and you plant it.

• DNA is a molecule that stores genetic information.

• Genes are a section of DNA on a chromosome

• Cell division occurs twice

DNA

• DNA is a molecule that stores genetic information.

• Genes are a section of DNA on a chromosome

• Interphase is where the cell grows and the chromosomes are duplicated

• Traits are certain characteristics that an being has

• Genetic engineering- the artificial introduction of genes

• Bacterial conjunction- direct transfer of genetic material

• DNA contains genes, which are instructions on how to build proteins. Proteins do many functions in cells, they are chemical messengers, they speed up chemical reaction and they fight infections.

• Chromosomes are long pieces of DNA that are found in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells.

• Dominant trait: an inherited trait that shows up if the offspring has it

• Recessive trait: an inherited trait that shows up if both parents have it.

• Meristem is an area of cell division of an unspecialized cell

• Mutation- a change in genetic information or DNA of an organism

• Metagen- an agent hat can cause changes in the genetic information of an organism

  

  Meiosis (2 rounds)

• Meiosis is a type of cell division that produces gametes with half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell. It involves two rounds of division resulting in four daughter cells, each genetically distinct. Meiosis is essential for sexual reproduction in eukaryotes.

• Before meiosis can happen, interphase happens. This is when the cell is growing, when its DNA replicates, and it begins having cell functions

• The purpose of Meiosis is to make gametes

• Makes sex cells

  

  Mitosis

• Mitosis is a type of cell division that results in two daughter cells each having the same number and kind of chromosomes as the parent nucleus.

  What is the difference between Mitosis and Meiosis? Ans: Mitosis involves the division of body cells, while meiosis involves the division of sex cells and the division of a cell occurs once in mitosis but twice in meiosis

• Makes Somatic Cells or Body Cells

  

  Traits and Patterns

• Traits are variations of a characteristic. Like short and tall. In this scenario, the height is a characteristic. Traits can be Inheritable, and Acquired.

• A gene usually as 2 variations called alleles. If one allele is dominant over the other, it will determine the physical characteristic of the organism, even if the organism has one of the other recessive alleles

• A continuous variation is a genetic trait that show a range of possibilities

• A discrete variation is an inherited trait that has a limited number of variations

• Heritable- a genetic characteristic that can be passed on by a parent to an offspring

  Artificial selection

• Is when humans decide which organisms reproduce

  Natural selection

• Is when an organism adapts to its environment

• Ex: Kale, Broccoli

• Biotechnology- using or modifying living organisms to make marketable products

• Transgenic- organism produced by moving DNA from 1 organism to another

• Agriculture- fish, Farming

  Cloning

• Is the process of producing an organism that is genetically identical to another organism

• A GMO is an organism that contains a gene from a different organism or species.

  Species at risk

• Special concern category: Threatened or Endangered

• Threatened species: likely to become endangered

• Endangered species: Faces extinction in near future

• Extirpated species: Gone in some places, found in others

• Extinct: no longer exists.

• The main reason of habitat loss is because of humans. We have: cleared animals land to build our homes, produced electricity, cut down trees, used the land to farm our own foods, and mining the land for our own treasures

• Natural causes contribute to habitat loss as well, such as: flooding, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and climate change

  Habitat degradation

• Invasive species: thrives in a new environment and takes the niche of another organism

• There are 4 ways that invasive species are controlled. They are: Mechanical control (physically killing) Chemical control (using herbicides to remove) Biological control (introducing another species that kills off the invasive species) and Desertification (when the productivity of the ecosystem is reduced)

  Pollution

• Over the past 100 years, pollutants like Co2 and nitrous oxides have been causing smog. This is very bad for ecosystems because it is toxic

• Acid rain is formed when water droplets in the air react with pollutants like sulfur oxides to form acid.

• Ph= its acidity