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Stratigraphy + palaeo > Palaeobiology Yr 1 > Flashcards

Palaeobiology Yr 1 Flashcards

1
Q

What is taphonomy?

A

The postmortem processes and preservation of a fossil that aid in listing the sequence of events that occurred since the death of the organism.

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2
Q

Whats a body fossil?

A

Partial or complete remains of an organism

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3
Q

Factors controlling decay

A

Oxygen, pH, temperature

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4
Q

Whats a trace fossil?

A

Provide ecological anatomical and behavioural information

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5
Q

name the 3 minerals soft tissue can be preserved in?

A

Pyrite, phosphate, carbonate

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6
Q

What 3 common minerals in fossils?

A

Calcite, Apatite, Silica

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7
Q

mineralization of soft tissue depends on

A

rate of burial, organic content, salinity.

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8
Q

What could happen after hard parts are preserved

A

Unaltered, Recrystalization,Material removed/added

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9
Q

Each mineral relates to an organism give some examples

A

Aragonite in bivalves and brachiopods, Apatite in worms + conodonts

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10
Q

Name processes after death/burial

A
  • Disarticulation
  • Corrosion
  • Abrasion
  • Fragmentation
  • bioerosion
    Post Burial
  • Flattening
  • Diagenesis
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11
Q

What processes could occur if material is removed

A
  • Partially

- All Removed - leads to mould and cast

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12
Q

What processes could occur if material is added

A
  • molecular level

- infill (shell) - Internal mould and cast

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13
Q

Factors effecting preservation potential

A
  • Anatomical - hard parts?
  • Biological - common animals more likely to be preserved + rate of death
  • Ecological - Where they live?
  • Sedimentary - site of deposition/erosion
  • Preservation - Acidity/chemical conditions + transport
  • Tectonic/metamorphic - high pressure/baked
  • Anoxic (mineral enhancement) - decay can occur if FeO2/nitrates present
  • Human Filters - has to be found
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14
Q

Types of plant preservation:

A

Petrification, Coalified compression, cementation.

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15
Q

How did life originate

A

fusion of organic molecules in the first few Ga after Earth was formed.

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16
Q

RNA?

A

A precursor to living cells, self replicating and can act as a gene/enzyme. If RNA replicase came together with a lipid and function as a proto cell - membrane keeps it together allowing the production of lipids. - cell evolution.

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17
Q

What date did cyanobacteria generate enough O2 to form an atmosphere?

A

2.4Ga - increase around 0.8 - 0.6Ga

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18
Q

Name the 3 domains

A

Bacteria, Archaea, Eucarya

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19
Q

When were the earliest fossils

A

Bacteria (3.2Ga) - stromatolites

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20
Q

Cellular fossils are found in the fossil record dating?

A

2.5Ga

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21
Q

What is a biomarker?

A

a naturally occurring molecule / characteristic by which an organism can be identified. - lipids help cyanobacteria and eukaryotes 2.7Ga

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22
Q

Oldest eukaryotes date?

A

1.9Ga with organelles and nucleus

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23
Q

What shows mitosis and meiosis?

A

Red Algae 1.2Ga, meiosis is specific to sexual reproduction and multi cellular life.

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24
Q

What is the organic model?

A

Complex replicating molecules, silicate solution with organic interaction, inorganic became organic (NOT much evidence)

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25
Q

Extra Terrestrial origin:

A

Seeded from meteorites, specific organic compounds found on carbonaceous chondrites.
Primordial soup - highly radiating UV rays from the sun provided energy

26
Q

Bio-Chemical Theory:

A

By Oparin + Haldone, Miller-Urey Experiment proved there are gene + enzymes (60’s) and that a membrane cant be produced with RNA

27
Q

Hydrothermal model

A

Energy from oxidation of hot reduced sulfur compounds - Last universal common ancestor (LUCA) was a hyperthermophile 1.5Ga.

28
Q

What are constraints for the theory’s of the origin of life?

A

The cosmic bombardment is recorded on the moon which can disprove extra terrestrial theories. Micro fossil evidence as early forms are debatable.

29
Q

Name the features of a prokaryotic cell:

A
  • No nucleus, just loose DNA
  • Ribosomes
  • Flagellum
  • cell membrane
30
Q

Name the features of a Eukaryotic cell e.g. plant cell:

A
  • Nucleus containing chromosomes
  • mitochondria
  • chloroplasts
  • endoplasmic recticulum + ribosomes
  • cell membrane
  • cell wall
  • vacuole
31
Q

Definition of endosymbiosis:

A

The idea that eukaryotic cells fromed from the fusing of different prokaryotic cells to create a nucleus and organelles.
- mitochondria and chloroplasts are thought to have evolved from bacteria living in large cells.

32
Q

How did the first multi cellular organisms form?

A

They formed from eukaryotes, the initial cells were asexual and split via mitosis. When sexual reproduction evolved cells used gametes via meiosis. - Bangiomorpha (1.2Ga)

33
Q

what did the introduction of sexual reproduction allow?

A

Diversification of genetics and therefore adaptation and natural selection.

34
Q

Name all the categories of the tree of life starting with domain:

A 
(Domain)
- Kingdom
- Phylum
- Class
- Order
(suborder)
- Family
- Genus
- Species
35
Q

Name the 5 types of organism:

A
  • Rangeomorph (pattern repeats inside itself, charnia)
  • Erniettomorphs (range of tubes from a midpoint, Ediacaran)
  • Bilateral forms (anterior/posterior, move, kimberella is the oldest known form - ediacaran, most life)
  • Discoidal form (polyphletic,derived from more than one common ancestor)
  • Radial form (relation to star fish/sea urchin
36
Q

State the order of the biochemical theory

A
  • Primitive atmosphere (H2O, N2, H2, CO,H2S.
  • small molecules (lipids, sugars, amino acids, purines)
  • large molecules (proteins, nucleic acids, polysaccharides)
  • Protocells (membrane)
    (genetic mechanism)
  • Prokaryotes
    (organelles)
  • Eukaryotes
  • Multi cellular organisms
37
Q

How many mass extinctions have occurred in the past 542Ma?

A

5 to 20 depending on where you place the threshold for a classified mass extinction.

38
Q

Whats the background mass extinction rate?

A

5 - 10% thats 1 mammal species every 200 yrs, 5000 extant.

- 89 in the past 200 yrs and 169 critically endangered.

39
Q

What classifies a mass extinction?

A
  • 30% extinct
  • Rapid
  • broad range of ecologies effected (including micro fossils)
  • Worldwide
  • Extinction rate&raquo_space; background rate/origination rate
40
Q

What can happen if the fossil record is incomplete?

A

It can infer a gradual decline of species over time and misjudgement of events, alternatively if its truncated then it can look like a mass extinction.

41
Q

Diversity equilibrium:

A

Extinction rate = Diversification rate

42
Q

Diversity increase:

A

Extinction rate < origination rate

43
Q

Extinction rate > origination rate

A

Mass extinction occurring, only 3 have elevated rate:

  • Ordovician
  • P/T
  • K/T
44
Q

Why is it difficult to detect mass extinctions in the fossil record?

A

Sedimentary record is truncated and unconform strata, it could make fossils look like a mass extinction occurred.

45
Q

Who was the first to argue organisms went extinct?

A

Cuvier 1796 using mammoth and elephant jaws difference in morphology.
- mass extinction theory in 80’s

46
Q

When was the Ordovician extinction event and what occurred during it?

A

~445Ma.

  • turnover of marine fauna (3rd of brachiopods and bryozoans, conodonts, trilobites and graptolites)
  • major climate change
  • south continent drifted over south pole therefore glaciation radiated north.
47
Q

When was the Devonian extinction event and what occurred during it?

A

380 - 360Ma - serveral pulses.

  • Cephalopods, armoured fish, trilobites and brachiopods
  • change in sea level
  • ocean anoxia
48
Q

When was the Permian extinction event and what occurred during it?

A

251Ma.

  • 50% of families and 96% of species gone
  • Siberian trapps released 2000 ton of flood basalt
  • CO2 outgassing and methane hydrate in the oceans caused runaway greenhouse effect.
  • Ocean anoxia
  • insect death
49
Q

When was the Triassic extinction event and what occurred during it?

A

200Ma.

  • conodonts and marine reptiles, ammonoids, on land crocodylomorphs and large amphibians.
  • anoxia (global warming)
  • flood basalts in pangae due to unzipping of N.Atlantic
50
Q

When was the K/T extinction event and what occurred during it?

A

65Ma.

  • Non avian dinosaurs, Ammonites, marine reptiles and pterosaurs.
  • Extraterrestrial impact at 180km wide, chicxulub crator in the gulf of mexico
  • accelerated by deccan trapps (india) release of flood basalts
51
Q

What is an apomorphy?

A

A derived characteristic that is phylogenetically informative

52
Q

what is a convergence?

A

a convergence in evolution is when two different species evolve the same characteristics due to the environment they live in. Whales and dolphins both have the same fins (arms).

53
Q

Whats a Plesiomorphy?

A

Characters shared by an organism of interest. e.g. sharks and salmon both have fins, therefore is not helpful to sort the phylogeny of sharks as all fish have fins.

54
Q

What is a synapomorphy

A

An apomorphy shared by two or more species, A characteristic inherited exclusively from their common ancestor.

55
Q

Apomorphies help identify:

A

Clades and monophyletic groups

56
Q

Whats a monophyletic group?

A

single origin and include all the descendants of that common ancestor

57
Q

What are the two types of clade?

A

Paraphyletic and polyphyletic

58
Q

What does paraphyletic mean?

A

Of a group descended from a single common evolutionary ancestor but not including all descendant groups.

59
Q

What does polyphyletic mean?

A

Of a group derived from more than one common evolutionary ancestor (therefore not suitable to be in the same taxon)

60
Q

What is the importance of fossil form?

A
  1. Evidence to identify species + wide relations to reconstruct the tree of life.
  2. Can tell us about behaviour and ecology.
  3. The study in change of form within a species tells us its evolutionary path.

Stratigraphy + palaeo (3 decks)

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