Bio 220 – Module 1 Exam Study Guide
Chapter 1 – An Intro to Ecology (Ecology)
1. What is ecological and ecological systems? Ecology – study of interactions btw. org. + the
environment (biotic + abiotic)
• Ecological systems – entities w/ their own internal processes + interactions w/ their
surroundings
o All obey the same basic principles → physical/chemical attributes, regulation of
structure/function
2. What are the different types of ecological systems? Give details of each.
Individuals – living being
• Most fundamental
unit of ecology • Individual separates processes/structures from ext.
resources
• Individual transforms E + processes mat erial
Approach: how morphology, physiology, + behavior enable
org. to survive
• Helps understand adaptation
Populations – individuals
of same species in a
particular area 5 distinct properties:
• Geographic range – extent of land/water which
population lives
• Abundance – total # of individuals in a defined area
• Density - # individuals/unit of area
• Change in size – increases/decreases in # of individuals
over time
• Composition – makeup of population
Approach: e xamines each property
• One challenge → defining species (group of org. that can
naturally interbreed + produce fertile offspring)
Communities – all
population of species
living in a particular area • Populations w/in a community can interact w/ each other
in various ways
Approach: understand diversity + relative abundance of the
diff. kinds of org.
• Focus on interactions among population → can
promote/limit coexistence of species
Ecosystems – one or
more communities
interacting w/ nonliving
physical/chemical
environ. • Focus on movement of E and matter btw. physical +
biological components
o Most E originates w/ sunlight + escapes Earth as
heat
Landscape – 2 or more
ecosystems connected by
individuals, pop., matter,
and E • Include both aquatic + terrestrial ecosystems
Approach: concerned w/ movement of E, matter, and
individuals between different ecosystems
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Biosphere – includes all
ecosystems + landscapes • Distant ecosystems linked by exchanges of E + nutrients
carried by air/water and mvt. of org.
Approach: concerned w/ largest scale in hierarchy of
ecological systems
• Tackles movement of air + water (and the E + c hemical
elements they contain) over Earth’s surface
3. What basic principles are all ecological systems governed by?
Conservation of Matter and Energy
• Can track mvt . of matter + E as it’s
converted into diff. forms thru diff.
levels of organization Law of conservation of matter – matter
can’t be created or destroyed
• Can only be converted into diff. forms
Law of conservation of E (1st LOT) – E can’t
be created or destroyed
Dynamic Steady States – when gains/losses of ecological systems are in balance
Evolution – change in genetic composition
of a population over time
*Species don’t evolve in isolation → 1
species’ evolution opens up new
possibilities for other species Phenotype – attribution of an org.
Genotype – set of genes an org. carries
Natural Selection – change in gene
frequency in a pop. thru differential
survival + reproduction
• Individual org. vary in their traits
• Parental traits are inherited
• Variation in traits cause some
individuals to experience higher fitness
(survival + reproduction)
Chapter 1 – Evolution before Darwin (Evolution)
1. What did common descent show and how did Darwin respond to this? *common descent
showed that humans + all other species on Earth are related (homology)
• Darwin → descent w/ modification – passing of traits from parent to offspring → could
account for gradual changes in species traits + homology
2. Regarding natur al selection, what could it produce? Adaptations – inherited aspect of an
individual that allows it to outcompete other members of the population that lack the trait
3. What are different ideas related to evolution that have a basis in Darwin’s ideas ?
• Heredity – transmission of characteristics from paren t to offspring
o Genetics – study of heredity (Gregor Mendel, 1860s)
• Genes – segment of DNA whose nucleotide sequence codes for proteins, RNA, or
regulates expression of other genes
o DNA (1950) – how genetic information is stored
• Genetic drift – evolution arising from random changes in genetic composition of a pop.
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Chapter 4 – What the Rocks Say (Evolution)
1. What were some of the earliest signs of life?
• Earliest = 4.1 billion years old → isotopic signatures
• Darwin’s time → oldest fossils dated back to the Cambrian period (541 million years old)
o Today: fossil record pushed back 3 billion years earlier
• 1980’s → 3.5 billion year old fossils of bacteria found
2. With the rise of life, what are the 3 domains living things are di vided into?
Bacteria – prokaryotic (include E coli + other microbes)
• Earliest signs of life resemble today’s bacteria
Archaea – prokaryotic
• Superficially resemble bacteria, but have unique biochemical features
• Diverged from bacteria 3.5 billion years ago
Eukarya – eukaryotic (animals, plants, fungi, protists)
• Traits: membrane -enclosed cell nuclei + mitochondria
• Emerge in fossil record about 1.6 billion years ago → first fossils are single -celled org.
3. What was one of the most dramatic transitions in evolution? The origan of multicellular
organisms
• Multicellularity evolved dozen of times
• Oldest known fossil of recognizable multicellular eukaryotes = 1.6 billion years old
4. Describe some key events that occurred during the dawning of the animal kingdom.
• Sponges mark earliest appearances of animals in fossil record (abt. 600 million years old)
• 570 million years ago → bigger organisms in the fossil record
o Ediacaran fauna – existed before Cambrian period (went extinct)
o Cambrian fauna – 540-485 million years ago → divided into 4 stages
▪ Chordates – includes vertebrates, lancelets, + tunicates (515 mya)
• As embryos, have: notochord, pharyngeal gill slits, + postanal tails
▪ Trilobite – marine arthropod (present until 252 mya)
5. What was another major transition in evolution? Transition of life from ocean to land
• Earliest hint of terrestrial life = prokaryotes (rocks w/ remains of microbial mats)
• Oldest plant fossil = 475 millions years old
• Animals – 480 million year old rocks display invertebrate tracks
o Oldest fossil of full terrestrial animal = 414 million yea rs old
o Oldest known track by a vertebrate = 390 million years old
o Oldest known fossil of vertebrates w/ legs (tetrapod) = 370 million years old
6. Describe some recent arrivals in the history of life.
• Fish – most species belong to teleosts (lineage of bon y fish)
• 280 million years ago → dominant vertebrates = synapsids
o 200 million years ago → emergence of synapsids similar to today’s mammals
o 160 million years ago → 1st members of living groups of mammals evolved Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
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Chapter 1 – An Intro to Ecology (Ecology)
1. What is ecological and ecological systems? Ecology – study of interactions btw. org. + the
environment (biotic + abiotic)
• Ecological systems – entities w/ their own internal processes + interactions w/ their
surroundings
o All obey the same basic principles → physical/chemical attributes, regulation of
structure/function
2. What are the different types of ecological systems? Give details of each.
Individuals – living being
• Most fundamental
unit of ecology • Individual separates processes/structures from ext.
resources
• Individual transforms E + processes mat erial
Approach: how morphology, physiology, + behavior enable
org. to survive
• Helps understand adaptation
Populations – individuals
of same species in a
particular area 5 distinct properties:
• Geographic range – extent of land/water which
population lives
• Abundance – total # of individuals in a defined area
• Density - # individuals/unit of area
• Change in size – increases/decreases in # of individuals
over time
• Composition – makeup of population
Approach: e xamines each property
• One challenge → defining species (group of org. that can
naturally interbreed + produce fertile offspring)
Communities – all
population of species
living in a particular area • Populations w/in a community can interact w/ each other
in various ways
Approach: understand diversity + relative abundance of the
diff. kinds of org.
• Focus on interactions among population → can
promote/limit coexistence of species
Ecosystems – one or
more communities
interacting w/ nonliving
physical/chemical
environ. • Focus on movement of E and matter btw. physical +
biological components
o Most E originates w/ sunlight + escapes Earth as
heat
Landscape – 2 or more
ecosystems connected by
individuals, pop., matter,
and E • Include both aquatic + terrestrial ecosystems
Approach: concerned w/ movement of E, matter, and
individuals between different ecosystems
1 / 3
Biosphere – includes all
ecosystems + landscapes • Distant ecosystems linked by exchanges of E + nutrients
carried by air/water and mvt. of org.
Approach: concerned w/ largest scale in hierarchy of
ecological systems
• Tackles movement of air + water (and the E + c hemical
elements they contain) over Earth’s surface
3. What basic principles are all ecological systems governed by?
Conservation of Matter and Energy
• Can track mvt . of matter + E as it’s
converted into diff. forms thru diff.
levels of organization Law of conservation of matter – matter
can’t be created or destroyed
• Can only be converted into diff. forms
Law of conservation of E (1st LOT) – E can’t
be created or destroyed
Dynamic Steady States – when gains/losses of ecological systems are in balance
Evolution – change in genetic composition
of a population over time
*Species don’t evolve in isolation → 1
species’ evolution opens up new
possibilities for other species Phenotype – attribution of an org.
Genotype – set of genes an org. carries
Natural Selection – change in gene
frequency in a pop. thru differential
survival + reproduction
• Individual org. vary in their traits
• Parental traits are inherited
• Variation in traits cause some
individuals to experience higher fitness
(survival + reproduction)
Chapter 1 – Evolution before Darwin (Evolution)
1. What did common descent show and how did Darwin respond to this? *common descent
showed that humans + all other species on Earth are related (homology)
• Darwin → descent w/ modification – passing of traits from parent to offspring → could
account for gradual changes in species traits + homology
2. Regarding natur al selection, what could it produce? Adaptations – inherited aspect of an
individual that allows it to outcompete other members of the population that lack the trait
3. What are different ideas related to evolution that have a basis in Darwin’s ideas ?
• Heredity – transmission of characteristics from paren t to offspring
o Genetics – study of heredity (Gregor Mendel, 1860s)
• Genes – segment of DNA whose nucleotide sequence codes for proteins, RNA, or
regulates expression of other genes
o DNA (1950) – how genetic information is stored
• Genetic drift – evolution arising from random changes in genetic composition of a pop.
2 / 3
Chapter 4 – What the Rocks Say (Evolution)
1. What were some of the earliest signs of life?
• Earliest = 4.1 billion years old → isotopic signatures
• Darwin’s time → oldest fossils dated back to the Cambrian period (541 million years old)
o Today: fossil record pushed back 3 billion years earlier
• 1980’s → 3.5 billion year old fossils of bacteria found
2. With the rise of life, what are the 3 domains living things are di vided into?
Bacteria – prokaryotic (include E coli + other microbes)
• Earliest signs of life resemble today’s bacteria
Archaea – prokaryotic
• Superficially resemble bacteria, but have unique biochemical features
• Diverged from bacteria 3.5 billion years ago
Eukarya – eukaryotic (animals, plants, fungi, protists)
• Traits: membrane -enclosed cell nuclei + mitochondria
• Emerge in fossil record about 1.6 billion years ago → first fossils are single -celled org.
3. What was one of the most dramatic transitions in evolution? The origan of multicellular
organisms
• Multicellularity evolved dozen of times
• Oldest known fossil of recognizable multicellular eukaryotes = 1.6 billion years old
4. Describe some key events that occurred during the dawning of the animal kingdom.
• Sponges mark earliest appearances of animals in fossil record (abt. 600 million years old)
• 570 million years ago → bigger organisms in the fossil record
o Ediacaran fauna – existed before Cambrian period (went extinct)
o Cambrian fauna – 540-485 million years ago → divided into 4 stages
▪ Chordates – includes vertebrates, lancelets, + tunicates (515 mya)
• As embryos, have: notochord, pharyngeal gill slits, + postanal tails
▪ Trilobite – marine arthropod (present until 252 mya)
5. What was another major transition in evolution? Transition of life from ocean to land
• Earliest hint of terrestrial life = prokaryotes (rocks w/ remains of microbial mats)
• Oldest plant fossil = 475 millions years old
• Animals – 480 million year old rocks display invertebrate tracks
o Oldest fossil of full terrestrial animal = 414 million yea rs old
o Oldest known track by a vertebrate = 390 million years old
o Oldest known fossil of vertebrates w/ legs (tetrapod) = 370 million years old
6. Describe some recent arrivals in the history of life.
• Fish – most species belong to teleosts (lineage of bon y fish)
• 280 million years ago → dominant vertebrates = synapsids
o 200 million years ago → emergence of synapsids similar to today’s mammals
o 160 million years ago → 1st members of living groups of mammals evolved Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
3 / 3
