biology 195 final exam

• what biome do we live in here in Albion?

  temperate deciduous forest
• what are the most important factors in determining distribution of biomes across the earth?

  precipitation and temperature
• what is a rain shadow?


  a region with little rainfall because it is sheltered from prevailing rain-bearing winds by a range of hills
• what are hadley cells and how do they influence climate?

  - hadley cells are a series of units of air circulation

  - responsible for trade winds in the tropics and control low-altitude weather patterns
• why are there cooler average temperatures near the poles than at the equator?

  the sunlight the poles receive less concentrated, more spread out, and the surface doesn't warm as much
• know the general features of the biome tropical rainforest

  140-450 cm rain/year, richest ecosystem on land, high temperature and rainfall, very high density
• know the general features of the biome desert

  25-40 cm rain/year, plants/animals cannot depend on rainfall, rain shadows, vegetation sparse
• know the general features of the biome temperate deciduous forest

  goes through four seasons
• know the general features of the savannah

  50-120 cm rain/year, tropical or subtropical grassland, transition ecosystem between tropical rainforests and deserts
• which animal phyla are protostomes?

  protostomes are Lophotrochozoans that grow like we do by adding mass to their body and Ecdysozoans that grow by molting
• which animal phyla are deuterostomes?

  Echinodermata (starfhish, sea urchins), Chordata (vertabrates), Chaetognatha (arrow worms), and Brachiopoda (lamp shells)
• how does the phylum Porifera differ from all other animals?

  sponges - don't have mouths but tiny pores in their outer walls that draw in water and nutrients
• why is bilateral symmetry important? what innovations did it lead to in animals?

  - led to higher levels of specialization and compartmentalization

  - formation of anterior and posterior ends
• what are the ventral and dorsal body cavities? what is a coelom?

  - ventral cavity is larger and subdivided into two parts, the thoracic and abdomen, by the diaphragm

  - dorsal cavity houses the brain

  - coelom is the main body cavity in many animals, positioned inside the body to surround and contain the digestive tract and other organs
• what type of symmetry do Cnidarians show? which body form dominates their life cycle?

  jelly fish and sea anemone - show radial symmetry and dominates their life cycle
• what are the characteristics of mollusks? what is the purpose of the radula and feet?

  - coelomates

  - invertebrates, have a body design that repositions body's fluid, allows complex tissues/organs to develop, allows for larger body size

  - highly diverse in size, body form, habitat, many have a differentiated head at the anterior of the body

  - economically significant for human consumption

  - the foot is a muscular structure for locomotion, support for internal organs, attachment, food capture

  - the radula is a tounguelike, scraper for feeding
• what are the characteristics of Ecdysozoans? which animal phyla are they?

  - molting protostomes

  - have exoskeleton of chitin and protein

  - segmentation allows for joints and appendages

  - arthropods
• what are leeches used for in human medicine? what phylum are they in?

  - leeches promote blood flow in a specific area

  - annelids
• which animals are characterized by crustaceans? which phylum are they in? which familiar organisms do we know that are crustaceans?

  - dominant marine arthropods, crabs, lobsters, etc. some freshwater

  - terrestrial, pillbugs and sowbugs

  - invertebrate animals in the phylum Arthropoda
• which organisms are echinoderms? what is the importance of the water vascular system and tube feet?

  - sea stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, brittle stars, crinoids

  - the water vascular system is a hydraulic system used for locomotion, food and water transportation, and respiration

  - the system is composed of canals connecting numerous tube feet
• which characteristics are unique to vertebrates?


  the vertebral column, or backbone
• within chordata, which group is the closest living relative of the vertebrates?

  Cephalochordates are the closest living relatives to vertebrates
• what makes the amphibian life cycle unique?

  they spend part of their lives on land and part in water
• what are the three groups of mammals? what makes each of them unique?

  1. Monotremes - platypus and echidnas lay soft-shelled eggs

  2. Marsupials - pouches

  3. Placentals - placenta
• what is your favorite organism? which phylum does it belong to? which characteristics distinguish it from other organisms?

  - white-tailed deer

  - belongs to the phylum chordata

  - long legs, narrow pointed hooves, adult mails have branching antlers, the underside of their brown tails are white
• what role do fungi play in ecosystems?

  - heterotrophs absorb nutrients

  - can break down cellulose and lignin

  - decomposers break down organic matter and make carbon, phosphorous, and nitrogen available to other organisms
• what are Mycorrhizae? how are they important?

  - fungi associated with plant roots

  - 90% of plant families have these obligate mutualisms
• what are fungal cell walls made of?

  chitin
• which two organisms are lichens composed of? are they useful indicators of air pollution?

  - fungus and green alga or cyanobacterium

  - air pollution can kill or discolor lichen
• which fungal group do yeast belong to? what are the characteristics of yeast?

  - belongs to the group Ascomycetes

  - reproduce asexually

  - ferment carbohydrates
• what type of habitat would you expect to find a protist living in?

  damp soil, marshes, puddles, lakes, and the ocean
• what sorts of structures do protists use to move themselves?

  pseudopods - movement and feeding

  cilia - beating of tiny, hairlike organelles, forward/backward

  flagella - move like a whip, push/pull
• are protists more closely related to bacteria or animals? what domain are they in?

  - more closely related to animals

  - in the domain Eukarya
• how is endosymbiosis important in protists? how did it lead to eukaryotic cells with mitochondria and chloroplasts?

  - endosymbiosis is involved with the evolution of eukaryotic organisms from prokaryotic ancestors

  - a eukaryotic cell engulfed an aerobic prokaryote, which then formed an endosymbiotic relationship with the host eukaryote, gradually developing into the mitochondria
• what organism was engulfed by the ancestral eukaryotic cell, giving rise to chloroplasts?

  photosynthetic cyanobacteria cell
• what are dinoflagellates? what is their role in ecosystems? what organisms do they form mutualistic relationships with?

  - dinoflagellates are a monophyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes

  - important primary producers in aquatic environments
• what are alginates? which foods are they found in? which protists are they derived from?

  - alginates are brown algae

  - alginic acid is a naturally occurring, edible polysaccharide

  - found in boba

  - naturally present in brown seaweed cell walls
• what is a water 'mold'? which famine are water molds responsible for?

  - a water mold is any group of fungi-like organisms that live in water or soil, many of which are parasitic to plants

  - Irish famine
• what are the important evolutionary innovations in the plant phyla?

  coatings to reduce desiccation, stomata to facilitate gas exchange, and specialized cells for the movement of water and nutrients
• which plant groups depend on water for reproduction? why?

  - seedless vascular plants

  - sperms or pollen swim to the layer of water where they reach and fertilize the egg or ovum in the vascular plant