Biol 1010 Exam 3 Study Guide

Distinguish between micro evolution and macro evolution
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Distinguish between micro evolution and macro evolution
Microevolution is a change in the gene pool of a population often associated with adapation. Speciation is an evolutaionary process in which one species spilts into two or more species. Macroevolution is evolutionary change above the species level, including the orgin of evolutionary novelty and taxonomic groups and the impact of max extinctions on the diversity of life and its subsequent recovery. Macroevolution is marked by major changes in the history of life, including the orgin of new species, and those changes are often noticable enough to be evident in the fossil record.
Recognize and compare the definitions, advantages, and disadvantages of the different species concepts
biological species concept: definition-species is a population that have potential to reproduce; advantage-two very different people can still reproduce; disadvantage-reproductive isolation prevents genetic flow between species
-morphological species concept: definition- def of species in terms of measurable anatomical criteria; advantage-can be applied to asexual organisms and fossils and does not require information on possible interbreeding, disadvantage- relies on subjective criteria and researches may disagree on which features distinguish a species
-ecological species concept: definition- identifies species in terms of ecological niche; advantage- can distinguish between identical looking organisms based on what they eat or where they live; disadvantage- must be observable
-phylogenetic species concept:definition- species is the smallest group of individuals that share a common ancestor and thus form one branch of the tree of life; advantage- history can be traced by comparing characteristics; disadvantage- difficult to agree on the amount of difference required to establish separate species
Understand and recognize five types of prezygotic barriers and three types of postzygotic barriers that prevent populations of closely related species from interbreeding
Prezygotic:
1. habitat: lack of opportunities to encounter each other
2. temporal: breeding at different times or seasons
3. behavioral: failure to send or receive appropriate signals
4. mechanical: physical incompatibility of reproductive parts
5. gametic: molecular incompatibility of eggs and sperm or pollen and stigma
Postzygotic:
1. Reduced hybrid viability- interaction of parental genes impairs the hybrid's development or survival
2. reduced hybrid fertility- cannot produce viable offspring
3. hybrid breakdown-hybrids are viable and fertile, but offspring are sterile
Understand how geologic processes can fragment populations and lead to speciation
geographic barriers such as mountains or bodies of water can separate populations; allopatric speciation
Understand how allopatric and sympatric speciation can occur
In allopatric speciation, groups from an ancestral population evolve into separate species due to a period of geographical separation.

In sympatric speciation, groups from the same ancestral population evolve into separate species without any geographical separation.
Understand how sexual selection can lead to speciation
Mate choice creates a reproductive barrier that can keep gene pools separate.
Understand why isolated islands are often sites of speciation
because islands typically isolate a species from the parent population and severly restricts gene flow, also their is a limited amount of resources.
Understand how and why adaptive radiation occurred in the Galapagos finches
They needed different beak sizes to break down the different size seeds
Compare the gradual model in the punctuated equilibrium model of evolution
Both refer to the evolution of species over time. However gradualism states that evolution occurred slowly, over a long period of time. Punctuated equilibrium occurs when there are periods of apparent stasis interrupted by sudden change.
Understand and describe the conditions on the surface of the early earth
The earth was really hot, evaporating the liquid water into the atmosphere, researchers believe the atmosphere had water vapor, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, nitrogen, ammonia and methane.
Describe the evidence that life on earth existed at least 3.5 billion years agoDinosaurs were on the Earth before humans and when they died, they left remains of themselves. Thousands of fossils were found.Understand the four stages that might have produce the first cells on earth1.The abiotic (non-living) synthesis of small organic molecules, such as amino acids and nitrogenous bases. 2. The joining of these small molecules into polymer, such as amino acids and nucleic acids 3. The packaging of these molecules into "protocells" membrane-enclosed droplets that maintained an internal chemistry different from that of their sorroundings 4. The origin of self replicating molecules that eventually made inheritance possibleUnderstand the key events in the history of life on earthProkaryotes, Oxygen forms, unicellular eukaryotes, multicellular eukaryotes, animals, colonization of landUnderstand the experiments of Stanley Miller and others and understanding how life might've first evolved on earthCame up with a design, used basic water and boiled it, then it filled other tube with residue. He then finally realized that he made proteins and nucleic acids.Understand how radiometric dating in the relative position of a fossil within rock strata are used to determine the age of rocksRadiometric dating is based on decay of radioactive isotopes. The rate of decay is expressed as a half-life, the time required for 50% of isotopes in a sample to decay. Radioactive isotopes with longer half-lives are used to date older fossilsBriefly describe the history of life on earth describe the key events that serve to divide the erasHadean, Archean, Proterozoic, Phanerozoic- Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic.Understand how earths continents of changed over the past 250 million years and the consequences of these changes for life on earth-Plate tectonics divided the Earth's crust into giant shaped plates that essentially float on underlying mantle - called continental drift - Since 1.5 billion years ago, they have only been 3 occasions when landmasses came together to form a supercontinentUnderstand how volcanoes and earthquakes result from plate tectonicsThe boundaries of plates are hotspots of volcainc and earthquakes activity when they rub by each otherUnderstand the causes frequency and consequences of mass extinction over the last 500 million yearsAffect biological diversity profoundly, takes a long time to recover (if ever)Understand how genes that program development function in the evolution of earthSlight genetic changes can cause great morphological changesDefine exaptation and be able to recognize examplesAn adaptation that developed for one purpose but is used for another. Feathers on a birdUnderstand why revolutionary trends do not reflect directions or goalsIt's a reflection of how genes interact with their enviormentUnderstand the difference between homologous and analogous structures and provide examples of eachHomologous structures- similarities due to shared ancestory, evolving from the same structure in a common ancestor but perform many functions Analogous structure- many forms for one functionUnderstand the difference between divergent parallel and convergent evolutionDivergent-the process in which interbreeding species diverged into two or more evolutionary groups Parallel-the similar development of a trait in distinct species that are not closely related, but share a similar original trait in response to similar evolutionary pressure Convergent-a process in which unrelated organisms evolve structures, traits, or morphological features that have the same function,Understand the goals of systematics list the progress of the broader categories of classifications used in systematics from most specific to most general- a discipline of biology that focuses on classifying organisms and determining their evolutionary relationships. - domain, kingdom, phylum,class, order, family, genus, speciesDefine cladeA group of species that includes an ancestral species and all its descendants.Define share derived charactersAn evolutionary novelty that is unique to a particular clade.Define shared ancestral charactersA character that is shared by members of a particular clade but that originated in an ancestor that is not a member of that clade.Define phylogenic treesA branching diagram that represents a hypothesis about the evolutionary history of a group of organisms.Define parsimonyIn scientific studies, the search for the least complex explanation for an observed phenomenonUnderstand how molecular biology is used as a tool in systematicsMolecular biology is used as a tool in systematics to determine when certain species diverge from a common ancestor.Understand how molecular clocks are used to track evolutionary timeto track evolutionary time by graphing the number of nucleotide differences against the clocks of evolutionary branch points from fossil record.Understand why a diagram of the tree of life is difficult to constructEvolution is complex due to how genes change, how quickly tey change...shouldnt be a straight tree branch at the beginning of evolution- should be a twisted messUnderstand the structures and functions of the diverse features of prokaryotes and how these functions have contributed to their successare able to live in diverse habitats, help maintain all the chemical cycles on Earth, and are the reason eukaryotes exist. Divided in to Archae and Bacteria; flagella help them move,fimbrae stick them to other surfaces, multiply quickly,Understand how populations of prokaryotes can adapt rapidly to changes in the environmentreproduce by binary fission, can rapidly produce a new generation within hours.......great deal of genetic variation by spontaneous mutations, increasing the likelihood that some members of the population will survive changes in the environment.Understand the nutritional diversity of prokaryotes and explain the significance of biofilmsThey are highly organized colonies that attach to surfaces; They form on most any support, including rocks, soil, organic material, or the surface of stagnant water; Biofilm formation begins when prokaryotes secrete signaling molecules that attract nearby cells into a cluster. Once the cluster becomes sufficiently large, the cells produce a gooey coating that glues them to the support and to each other, making the biofilm extremely difficult to dislodge.Understand how prokaryotes clean up the environmenthave great nutritional diversity, are quickly adaptable, and can form biofilms; help to remove pollutants from soil, air, and water; decompose organic matter so then the sludge can be placed in a landfill; can remove organic materials from wasteCompare the characteristics of the domains of lifeBacteria-prokaryotic, can survive harsh climates, chlorophyl based photosynthesis Archae- prokaryotic, can survive harsh climates, Eukaryotes- eukaryotic, cant adapt to harsh climates, organellesDescribe the diverse types of Archaea living in extreme and moderate environmentsthrive in extreme environments; have unusual proteins and other molecular adaptations that enable them to metabolize and reproduce effectively; extreme halophiles- extremely salty environments; extreme thermophiles- extremely hot environments Methanogens- live in anaerobic environments and give off methane as a waste product from the digestive tracts of cattle and deer and decomposing materials in landfills.Distinguish between the sub groups of the domain bacteria noting the particular structure special features and habitats of each groupProteobacteria-are all gram-negative, share a particular rRNA sequence, and represent all four modes of nutrition. Gram-positive bacteria- actinomycetes common in soil. Streptomyces are often cultured by pharmaceutical companies as a source of many antibiotics, including streptomycin. Cyanobacteria-Cyanobacteria are the only group of prokaryotes with plantlike, oxygen-generating photosynthesis. Chlamydias- Chlamydias live inside eukaryotic host cells. Spirochetes-are helical bacteria and notorious pathogens, causing syphilis and Lyme disease.Distinguish between bacterial exotoxins and endotoxins noting examples of eachExotoxins- are proteins that bacterial cells secrete into their environment. Endotoxins- Endotoxins are components of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria that are released when the cell dies or is digested by a defensive cell. Can cause a fever, aches, or a serious drop in BPDescribe the diverse assortment of protistsProtists are extremely diverse in terms of their biological and ecological characteristics, partly because they are an artificial assemblage of phylogenetically unrelated groups.Describe the major protest clades noting characteristics and samples of eachAlgae protozoan parasites mixotrophsUnderstand how the benefits of multicellular life and how involved and eukaryotesevolved from: stramenopiles (brown algae), unikonts (fungi and animals), and archaeplastids (red algae and green algae).