biology 2

• Evolution


  The process by which different kinds of living organisms have developed and diversified over time
• Evidences that support the theory of Evolution


  • Fossils
  • Anatomy and Embryology
  • Biogeography
  • Molecular biology
• Fossils


  Remains or traces of organisms from a past geologic age embedded in rocks by natural processes
• Fossil record


  Number of fossils and their arrangement in certain parts of the rocks
• Fossil evidence


  Fossils are evidence of past life on the planet and can include those formed from animal bodies or their imprints
• Types of Fossils


  • Body Fossils
  • Trace Fossils
• Body Fossils


  Represent all or part of the organism's body
• Trace Fossils


  Show evidence of the organism's behavior
• Paleontology


  The study of the history of life on Earth as based on the fossils
• Paleontologist


  A person who studies the history of life on Earth through the record of fossils
• Methods of Fossil Formation


  • Compression fossil
  • Petrification
  • Impression
  • Molds and Cast
  • Intact preservation
  • Amber
• Compression fossil


  A fossil preserved in sedimentary rock that has undergone physical compression
• Petrification


  Organic material converted into stone through replacement of original material with minerals
• Impression


  Dimensional imprint of an organism without any organic material left
• Molds and Cast


  Original bone or shell dissolves away leaving behind empty space. Depression - mold, Cast - space field with other sediments in the shape of the original organism
• Intact preservation


  Oozing tree sap traps insects and other organisms
• Amber


  When the sap fossilizes
• Comparative anatomy


  The study of similarities and differences in the structures of different species
• Analogous structure


  Features of different species that are similar in function but not necessarily in structure which do not derive from a common ancestral feature and which evolved in response to a similar environmental challenge
• Homologous structure


  Similar in two organisms with the same ancestor but the functions performed may or may not be the same
• Embryology


  The study of the development of anatomy of an organism to its adult form
• Embryos show common ancestry; gills, slits in human, chick, fish, and amphibian embryos
• Biogeography


  The study of the distribution of species and their diversity in geographic space and through geographic time
• Evolutionary biology


  The study of the process that produces these patterns of species diversity and through which species then adapt and diversify
• Historical biogeography


  The study of animal distributions emphasizing evolution and over evolutionary time scales, and using a combination of phylogenetic and distributional information
• Ecological biogeography


  Considers distributions of extant species as a function of modern condition (e.g. climate, latitude, etc.)
• Regional biogeography


  Biogeography region, area of animal and plant distribution having similar or shared characteristics throughout
• It is a matter of general experience that the plant and animals of the land and inland water differ to a greater or lesser from one part of the world to another
• Taxonomic key


  An organized set of couples mutually exclusive characteristics of biological organisms
• Taxonomy


  The science of arranging and classifying living organisms in groups called taxa
• Systematics


  The study of diversification of lie forms, both past and present, and their relationship among other organisms through time
• Nomenclature


  The system which is responsible for giving name to an organism
• Carl Linne


  Created the system of nomenclature in 1735 as "Systema naturae". Changed his own name into Latin as Carolus Linnaeus. Father of modern Taxonomy
• Taxonomy of living things


  • Domain
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
  • Order
  • Family
  • Genus
  • species
• Major rules in nomenclature


  • Names should be written in Latin
  • Specific name of an organism is always written with the genus capitalized and the species epithet in lowercase letters
  • They should always be italicized
  • When a scientific name is written by hand, each separate word should be underlined
  • The first name to be validly and effectively published gets priority
  • All taxa must have an author when described
• Taxon


  A group of one or more populations of an organism seen to form a unit. Has 3 facets - the name, the rank, and the content
• Binomial nomenclature


  A two-part system of naming species; species are referred to by their genus name followed by their species name
• Taxonomic hierarchy


  An ordered group of taxonomic ranks used to classify organisms from general to specific
• Species


  A population whose members can interbreed and produce viable, fertile offspring
• Reproductive Isolating Mechanisms


  • Pre-zygotic barriers
  • Post-zygotic barriers