FINAL TERM EXAM

• Phylogeny

  The evolutionary history of a species or group of species
• Systematics

  The study of the kinds and diversity of organisms and of any and all relationships among them
• Homology


  Similarity due to shared ancestry
• Molecular clock

  • A yardstick for measuring the absolute time of evolutionary change based on the observation that some genes and other regions of genomes appear to evolve at constant rates
  • Help track evolutionary time
• Biogeography


  The geographic distribution of species in time and space as influenced by many factors, including Continental Drift and long-distance dispersal
• Classification is linked to phylogeny
• Purposes of phylogenetic trees

  • Testing hypotheses about the evolution
  • Learning about the characteristics of extinct species and ancestral lineages
  • Classifying organisms
• Hierarchical classification can reflect the branching patterns of phylogenetic trees
• Phylogenetic tree


  A diagram that depicts the lines of evolutionary descent of different species, organisms, or genes from a common ancestor
• Lines of evidence to infer evolutionary relationships

  • Fossil evidence
  • Homologies (Anatomical features of different organisms that have a similar appearance or function because they were inherited from a common ancestor)
  • Developmental biology (Studying the embryological development of living things provides clues to the evolution of present-day organisms)
  • Embryology (The study of the development of an organism from conception to birth)
• Taxonomy


  The branch of biology that classifies all living things
• Binomial nomenclature


  The system of giving each type of organism a genus and species name
• Taxonomic hierarchy

  A classification system developed by Linnaeus
• Classification


  A method of grouping organisms; arranging entities into some type of order to provide a system for cataloguing and expressing relationships between these entities
• Hierarchy


  A system of organizing groups into ranks according to status; putting groups at various levels according to importance or power
• Nomenclature


  The formal naming of taxa according to some standardized system
• International Code of Botanical Nomenclature


  Provides rules for naming plants, fungi and algae
• International Code of Zoological Nomenclature


  Basis of rules on naming animals
• Identification


  The process of associating an unknown taxon with a known one
• Description


  The assignment of features or attributes (characters) to a taxon
• Taxonomy


  The theory and practice of classifying organisms
• The three domains of life

  • Bacteria (single-celled organisms)
  • Archaea (single-celled organisms similar to bacteria; some archaea live in extreme environments, but others live in mild ones)
  • Eukarya (every living thing on earth that is not a bacterium or archaeon, is more closely related to the domain Archaea than to Bacteria)
• The five kingdoms


  • Protista (Protista includes all eukaryotic organisms that are not animals, plants, or fungi, but some of these organisms are not very closely related to one another)
  • Animalia
  • Plantae
  • Fungi
  • Bacteria
• Phyla in the kingdom Animalia

  • Chordata (all organisms with a dorsal nerve cord. i.e. Rat)
  • Porifera (sponges. i.e. coral)
  • Arthropoda (arthropods. i.e. bee)
  • Echinodermata (i.e. starfish)
  • Nematoda (i.e. tapeworm)
  • Annelida (i.e. earth worm)
  • Mollusca (i.e. snail)
  • Platyhelminthes (i.e. leech)
  • Cnidaria (i.e. jellyfish)
• Classes in the kingdom Animalia

  • Mammalia (mammals)
  • Aves (birds)
  • Reptilia (reptiles)
• Orders of Mammalia


  • Primates
  • Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises)
  • Carnivora (large carnivores/omnivores)
  • Chiroptera (bats)
• Families in the order Carnivora

  • Canidae (dogs, wolves, foxes)
  • Felidae (cats)
  • Mephitidae (skunks)
  • Ursidae (bears)
• Genus


  The first part of an organism's scientific name using binomial nomenclature; the second part is the species name
• Species


  The most specific major taxonomic rank; species are sometimes divided into subspecies, but not all species have multiple forms that are different enough to be called subspecies
• Homo sapiens is the scientific name for humans, where Homo is the genus name and sapiens is the species name
• Parastratiosphecomyia stratiosphecomyioides is the scientific name of the soldier fly, which is the longest species name
• Dichotomous key


  A tool that helps identify unknown organisms to some taxonomic level (e.g., species, genus, family, etc.)
• How to make a dichotomous key

  1. List down the characteristics

  2. Organize the characteristics in order

  3. Divide the specimens

  4. Divide the specimen even further

  5. Draw a dichotomous key diagram

  6. Test it out
• Sexual reproduction


  Generally, produces variation in the offspring because this results in the recombination of genomes from the parents' gametes
• Asexual reproduction


  An offspring is genetically identical to the parent, which means the offspring is a clone of the parent
• Types of asexual reproduction

  • Fission (division of body into two or more equal parts)
  • Budding (a new individual arises as an outgrowth (bud) from its parent, develops organs like those of the parent, and then detaches itself)
  • Fragmentation (the body breaks into two or more parts, with each fragment capable of becoming a complete individual)
• Dichotomous key


  1. Identify specimen

  2. Use images of specimen

  3. Test it out
• Sexual reproduction


  Produces variation in the offspring due to recombination of genomes from the parents' gametes
• Asexual reproduction


  Offspring is genetically identical to the parent, a clone of the parent
• Types of asexual reproduction

  • Fission
  • Budding
  • Fragmentation
  • Sporulation