1What are the three levels of biodiversity we discussed
Genetic diversity, species diversity, ecosystem diversity
2Name some benefits of biodiversity
More stable, resilient ecosystems, more biomass produced, populations more stable, potential new sources of food, medicine, better ecosystem services
3What are ecosystem services?
Benefits that ecosystems provide for people. Examples include clean air and water, food, recreation, temperature regulation, flood control, etc.
4What are the major threats to biodiversity?
Habitat loss, invasive species, overharvesting, global change
5Name components of global change
Increasing temperatures and CO2, invasive species, habitat loss, nutrient deposition, changes in precipitation
6What is an invasive species?
Non-native and causing harm (economic, human health, loss of biodiversity, altering ecosystem functioning)
7What is the ICUN red list?
A list of global rankings of endangered/threatened species
8What is the extintion vortex?
When small populations get smaller and smaller and eventually extirpate, in part due to Allee effects causing low population growth rates when population sizes are small
9What are HAB and what causes them
Harmful algal blooms are caused by eutrophication (nutrient enrichment) in waterways, often from nutrient run-off.
10Why are HAB harmful?
Some algae are neuro-, hepato- and dermatoxins
11What defines invasive species?
Species that are non-native and harmful
12In what ways can invasive species cause harm?
They can cause economic damage, human health impacts, lower commuity diversity and alter ecosystem processes
13What traits are associated with successful invasive species?
Good climate match, Invasive elsewhere, Many propagules (seeds, eggs, individuals) arriving, Multiple introductions, Grow and reproduce often, General habitat requirements
14What is invasibility?
Susceptibility of an environment to the colonization and establishment of individuals from species not currently part of the resident community
15What is abiotic resistance?
The ability of a community to withstand invasion due to an unusual or harsh envirnoment that invasives might not be able to survive or reproduce in
16What is biotic resistance?
The ability of a community to withstand invasion due to the biological community (high diversity or particularly competitive species)
17On a large scale, what characteristics are associated with invasibility?
Tropics less invaded than temperate regions; new world more invaded than old world
18On a local scale, what characteristics are associated with invasibility?
Disturbance, high resource availability, close to roads or other corridors
19What is restoration ecology?
Restoration ecology attempts to “initiate or speed up the recovery of degraded ecosystems
20What is bioremidiation?
Bioremediation involves using organisms to detoxify polluted ecosystems
21List common aspects of restoration
restoring physical structure, invasive species removal, adding native species
22What evidence supports the hypothesis that all living things are descended from a single common ancestor (8 points in this list)?
"All living organisms share the following:
• Phospholipid bilayer membranes
• Use of proton gradients to drive metabolic processes
• Mechanism of DNA expression
• 5' to 3' DNA synthesis
• Ribosomes with ribozyme at core
• Use of ATP as energy currency, & mechanism of synthesis of ATP
• ""Universal"" genetic code
• Use of DNA for storing information"
23How old is earth ?
4.6 billion years
24What is the earliest date for unequivocal <u>fossil<> evidence of life on earth?
3.4 billion years ago
25What were the properties of the early earth's environment (4 points in this list)?
"• Reducing or neutral atmosphere. No free oxygen.
• Intense ultraviolet radiation at surface.
• Abundant volcanic eruptions.
• Atmosphere of N, NOx, methane, carbon dioxide, ammmonia, hydrogen
• Oceans at 40 - 50 °C"
26What is meant by the "abiotic synthesis of organic compounds" ?
It means that non-living physical & chemical processes can result in the formation of organic compounds. E.g., lightning or UV radiation striking through the early earth's atmosphere.
27What sorts of organic molecules can be produced by "abiotic synthesis" ?
amino acids, nitrogenous bases, lipids, and simple polymers like proteins & nucleic acids.
"What are the properties of life?
28(8 in this list)"
"• highly ordered
• requires & processes energy to drive its reactions
• growth & development
• reproduction
• cellular
• response to environmental stimuli
• regulation
• evolution"
29What are the necessary conditions for natural selection?
"• variation
• heritability
• fitness differences
• reproduction"
30What are the 2 main hypotheses for the origin of life?
"• H1: membrane & self-replicating molecules came <u>early<> in the process, & metabolism came <u>late<>
• H2: metabolism came <u>early<> in the process, & membrane & self-replicating molecules came <u>late<>"
31What features are <u>shared<> by the 2 hypotheses for the origin of life?
"• abiotic synthesis of organic molecules
• a mechanism to reduce dilution of abiotically generated organic molecules
• ""abiotic selection"" (~natural selection) favoring stability, persistence, self-replication, etc., of pre-biotic mlecules."
32This structure, which we called a _____, was used to represent a section of a branch of a tree diagram.
lineage
33The red arrow in this figure points to a "thread" that represents _____.
One population in a lineage
34The part of the figure being pointed to by the upper red arrow represents _____.
A contemporary species
35The part of the figure being pointed to by the lower red arrow represents _____.
An ancestral species
36Point to the most recent common ancestor of contemporary species B & C.
37Suppose C & D share a derived character state, but A & B retain the ancestral state of the character. Where did the evolutionary change likely occur?
38Suppose species B has a derived character state, but A, C & D retain the ancestral state of the character. Where did the evolutionary change likely occur ?
39Suppose species B & D share a derived character state, but A & C retain the ancestral state of the character. How might this pattern of character states have evolved ?
The derived character state may have evolved 2 times independently. This is called homoplasy.
40Draw a line around a part of this diagram that would represent a paraphyletic taxon.
Here are 3 of several possibilities.
41Draw a line around a part of this diagram that would represent a monophyletic taxon.
Here are 4. How many more can you find ?
42Draw a line around a part of this diagram that would represent a polyphyletic taxon.
Here are 2. There are others
43What is the definition of a monophyletic group?
"A set of species
that includes the common ancestor of the set
& all of the species descended from that common ancestor."
44What is the definition of a paraphyletic group?
"A set of species
that includes the common ancestor of the set
and some but not all of the species descended from that common ancestor."
45What is the definition of a polyphyletic group?
"A set of species
that does NOT include the common ancestor of the set."
46What can we say about the relative ages of the branching events marked with "b" and "a" ?
Speciation event "b" is younger (occurred more recently) than speciation event "a"
47What can we say about the relative ages of the branching events marked with "b" and "c" ?
We can't say anything about their relative ages. "b" could be younger than "c" or older or the same age.
48What do we call a tree diagram with an explicit time scale?
A chronogram.
49What can we say about the relative ages of the branching events marked with "b" and "c" ?
Branching event "b" occurred about 23 million years ago (mya) and branching event "c" occurred about 32 mya, so "b" is younger than "c".
50What do we call a tree diagram with an explicit scale for the amount of evolutionary change?
A phylogram
51What is the definition of a synapomorphy?
A shared derived character similarity.
52What is the definition of a symplesiomorphy?
A shared ancestral character similarity.
53All mammals share the similarity of having hair & mammary glands but these characters are not present in the other 4-limbed vertebrates (amphibians, reptiles & birds), including the reptiles from which mammals evolved. What do we call these 2 similarities between any 2 mammals, if the frame of reference is the 4-limbed vertebrates?
They are synapomorphies (shared derived similarities).
54The earliest vertebrates from > 500 million years ago had a tail, and most living vertebrates have retained this feature. Among amphibians, salamander have a tail but frogs & toads have lost it. Among mammals, monkeys have a tail but the great apes have lost it. The shared similarity between salamanders and monkeys in having a tail is an example of _____.
A symplesiomorphy (shared ancestral similarity).
55This structure, which we called a _____, was used to represent a section of a branch of a tree diagram.
lineage
56The red arrow in this figure points to a "thread" that represents _____.
One population in a lineage
57The part of the figure being pointed to by the upper red arrow represents _____.
A contemporary species
58The part of the figure being pointed to by the lower red arrow represents _____.
An ancestral species
59Point to the most recent common ancestor of contemporary species B & C.
60Suppose C & D share a derived character state, but A & B retain the ancestral state of the character. Where did the evolutionary change likely occur?
61Suppose species B has a derived character state, but A, C & D retain the ancestral state of the character. Where did the evolutionary change likely occur ?
62Suppose species B & D share a derived character state, but A & C retain the ancestral state of the character. How might this pattern of character states have evolved ?
The derived character state may have evolved 2 times independently. This is called homoplasy.
63Draw a line around a part of this diagram that would represent a paraphyletic taxon.
Here are 3 of several possibilities.
64Draw a line around a part of this diagram that would represent a monophyletic taxon.
Here are 4. How many more can you find ?
65Draw a line around a part of this diagram that would represent a polyphyletic taxon.
Here are 2. There are others
66What is the definition of a monophyletic group?
"A set of species
that includes the common ancestor of the set
& all of the species descended from that common ancestor."
67What is the definition of a paraphyletic group?
"A set of species
that includes the common ancestor of the set
and some but not all of the species descended from that common ancestor."
68What is the definition of a polyphyletic group?
"A set of species
that does NOT include the common ancestor of the set."
69What can we say about the relative ages of the branching events marked with "b" and "a" ?
Speciation event "b" is younger (occurred more recently) than speciation event "a"
70What can we say about the relative ages of the branching events marked with "b" and "c" ?
We can't say anything about their relative ages. "b" could be younger than "c" or older or the same age.
71What do we call a tree diagram with an explicit time scale?
A chronogram.
72What can we say about the relative ages of the branching events marked with "b" and "c" ?
Branching event "b" occurred about 23 million years ago (mya) and branching event "c" occurred about 32 mya, so "b" is younger than "c".
73What do we call a tree diagram with an explicit scale for the amount of evolutionary change?
A phylogram
74What is the definition of a synapomorphy?
A shared derived character similarity.
75What is the definition of a symplesiomorphy?
A shared ancestral character similarity.
76All mammals share the similarity of having hair & mammary glands but these characters are not present in the other 4-limbed vertebrates (amphibians, reptiles & birds), including the reptiles from which mammals evolved. What do we call these 2 similarities between any 2 mammals, if the frame of reference is the 4-limbed vertebrates?
They are synapomorphies (shared derived similarities).
77The earliest vertebrates from > 500 million years ago had a tail, and most living vertebrates have retained this feature. Among amphibians, salamander have a tail but frogs & toads have lost it. Among mammals, monkeys have a tail but the great apes have lost it. The shared similarity between salamanders and monkeys in having a tail is an example of _____.
A symplesiomorphy (shared ancestral similarity).