b51 1 Flashcards by ryan paul

whales, dolphins, and porpoises are known as

cetaceans (because they are members of the order Cetacea)

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in phylogenetic trees, a ______ represents a speciation event, when a lineage of organisms splits into two groups

this results in two new species

node

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in a phylogenetic tree, represent the populations of organism through time as they pass their genetic information forward through time

branch

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a group of species with a common ancestor

clade

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any change in the inherited traits of a population that occurs from one generation to the next (that is, over a time period longer than the lifetime of an individual in the population)

biological evolution

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why is it often difficult to conceptualize biological evolution?

because
- it is hard to describe
- we have issues with scale and concept of time (evolution is not linear)
- its hard to demonstrate and observe evolution

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What is the relationship between theory and law?

laws describe (more of a statement) and theories explain (explain why)

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refers to the similarity of characteristics resulting from shared ancestry

homology

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occurs when populations are in the same geographic area at the same time

sympatry

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a derived form of a trait that is shared by a group of related species (that is, one that evolved in the immediate common ancestor of the group and was inherited by all its descendants)

synapomorphies

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occurs when different species independently evolve similar traits due to similar environmental pressures, rather than inheriting them from a common ancestor

homoplasy/convergent evolution

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refers to the similarity of characterisitcs resulting from shared ancestry

homology

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How was 18O/16O used in our understanding of saltwater and freshwater cetaceans?

terrestrial animals drink freshwater, marine animals drink saltwater

18O and 16O ratio is higher in saltwater, also higher in the teeth and bones of marine animals (fossils)

Saltwater:
More oxygen atoms with 10 neutrons
High ratio of 18O/16O
18O is heavy oxygen
16O is normal oxygen

Freshwater:
Less oxygen atoms
Low ratio of 18O/16O

From these ratios we can determine what the animals drank, was it freshwater or saltwater (get the ratio from their bones)

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the process by which organisms with traits that enhance survival and reproduction are more likely to pass those traits on to the next generation

natural selection

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true or false whales and humans share a common ancestor

true

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Who first studied the Galapoagas islands

Charles Darwin

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wheres one place in the world that acts like a laboratory of evolution for scientists

its an an isolated example of how life has changed over millions of years

Galapogas islands

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the study of prehistoric life

paleontology

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Argued that complex species had evolved from simple ones

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

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theory that describes how lower forms of life become higher (ex. humans come from microbes)

the Great Chain of Being

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the first geological map of fossils and rock layers was developed by

William Smith

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proposed that new varieties of species could arise in response to new habitats, but he did not believe that species could arise this way

Georges-Louis Buffon

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first compelling evidence for extinction came from research conducted by

Georges Cuvier

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Envisioned a world with a deep history shaped by gradual transformations of landscapes through imperceptibly slow changes, small changes accumulate over time

James Hutton

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Invented a system to classify biological entities into Groups based on their similarities.

Carolus Linnaeus

groups of organisms that are judged to be a unit, such as a species or order

taxa (plural), taxon (singular)

the science of describing, naming, and classifying species of living or fossil organisms

taxonomy

________ is the study of layering in rock (stratification)

stratigraphy

refers to the passing of traits from parents to offspring. Darwin recognized that, over time, this process could account for gradual change in species’ traits and homology.

Descent with modification

any change in our genomic DNA

mutation

heritable variation ultimately beings with what

mutation

what are the three types of organic molecules that play the most direct roles in evolution?

1. DNA 2. RNA 3. protein

what is the central dogma of molecular biology

describes the forward transition from DNA to RNA to protein DNA replication, transcription, translation

number of copies of unique chromosomes in a cell (in other words the number of sets of chromosomes)

ploidy

segment of DNA whose nucleotide sequences code for proteins or RNA or regulate the expression of other genes

gene

a type of RNA that plays a role in splicing

snRNA - small nuclear RNA

which cetacean have the largest brains

dolphins (developed larger brains after their return to the water, they can solve problems, live in groups, etc thats why they have large brains)

In influenza strains, such as H1N1, the H stands for:

hemagglutinin

a technique that allows geologists to estimate the precise ages at which one geological formation ends and another begins

Radiometric dating

how old is the earth

4.56 billion years old

a line on a graph, connecting points at which an event occurs simultaneously

isochron

a technique to measure the age of rocks by determining how ratios of isotopes change in them over time

isochron dating

is a site with an abundant supply of unusually well-preserved fossils often including soft tissues from the same period of time

Lagerstatte

a lagerstatte in Canada in which there is a wealth of preserved fossils from the Cambrian period

Burgess Shale

a molecular evidence of life in the fossil record. __________ can include fragments of DNA, molecules such as amino acids, or isotopic ratios

Biomarker

what is coal

the remains of dead plants

What is the MOST important character state paleontologists can evaluate to make inferences about the intelligence of fossil cetaceans?

brain size to body size ratio

a type of nucleic acid, such as RNA, surrounded by a protein coat.

viral particles

the type of whale that grow teeth and use sonar

odontocetes

the type of whale that grow baleen plates to use for filter feeding

mysticetes

a lineage evolving through time that connects successive speciation or other branching events

branch

the terminal end of an evolutionary tree, representing species, molecules, or populations being compared

tips

a node that occurs within a phylogeny and represents ancestral populations or species

internal node

a node and all its descendants

clade

when a phylogenetic tree only shows the relationship among species it is called a

cladogram

describes the reversion of a derived character state to a form resembling its ancestral state.

Evolutionary reversal

the earliest animal life resembles what

sponges (650 million years ago) - biomarkers and fossils demonstrate existence of sponges 650 million years ago

the burgess shale is a result of

the Cambrain Explosion - happened 505 million years ago - more than 65 000 specimens - around 93 species discovered shale is very thin layers of rock, basically sand Burgess shale: in British Columbia

organisms with notochord (beginning of spinal cord)

chordates coincides with early Cambrian - 515 mya Embryos all have: notochord, pharyngeal gill slits, post anal tail notochord: hollow nerve chord

when did the transition to land happen

2.6 billion years ago prokaryotes first to colonize terrest4rial habitatis

represents a speciation event

node

is the ability of a single genotype to produce different phenotypes in response to environmental conditions. It allows organisms to adapt to changing environments without requiring genetic changes.

Phenotypic plasticity

RNA envolved in gene regulation

miRNA, micro RNA

change in nucleotide but no change in amino acid

synonymous mutation/silent

change in the nucleotide base that cases a change in the amino acid sequence

nonsynonomous mutation/ missense

the new codon is a stop codon; there is premature termination of translation

nonsense mutation

insertions or deletions in coding regions are often called

indels

serine to proline (albinism) or proline to serine (webbed digits) changes often leads to what

kinks in the proteins

what are examples of trans regulatory elements

transcription factors, activators, and repressors (TAR) trans-regulatory bind to cis-regulatory elements

what are examples of cis-regulatory elements

promoters, enhancers, silencers (PES) near/within the focal gene