Biology 211 Vocab Review

Front 1

Population

Back 1

: a group of individuals of the same species living in the same area at the same time.

Front 2

Genetic Drift

Back 2

: changes in allele frequencies at random; strongest in small populations.

Front 3

Founder Effect

Back 3

: refers to the loss of genetic variation when a new colony is established from a very small number of individuals from a larger population.

Front 4

Bottleneck Effect

Back 4

: a large population suddenly shrinks due to catastrophe, disease, etc.

Front 5

Gene Flow

Back 5

: movement of alleles from one population to another; results from immigration and emigration; changes allele frequencies by introduction new alleles.

Front 6

Mutations

Back 6

: changes allele frequencies by introducing new alleles; ultimate source of genetic variation.

Front 7

Sources of Mutations

Back 7

: UV (sequence level), X-RAY (copying error), chemicals, nitrous acid (abnormal chromosomal changes).

Front 8

Mutagen

Back 8

: a new substance/organism that is introduced and changes allele frequencies through mutation.

Front 9

Analogy

Back 9

: a similarity between like features of two things without common ancestry, on which a comparison may be based.

Front 10

Convergence

Back 10

: natural selection is favoring similar characters.

Front 11

Homology

Back 11

: characters shared because of common ancestry. Ex) structural, developmental (gill pouch, tail), and genetic (PAX6, aniridia).

Front 12

PAX6

Back 12

: the most researched of the PAX genes and appears throughout the literature as a “master control” gene for the development of eyes and sensory organs.

Front 13

Aniridia

Back 13

: a rare congenital condition characterized by the underdevelopment of the eye’s iris.

Front 14

Adaptation (Process)

Back 14

: change in a population (allele frequencies) in response to natural selection. *Individuals do not adapt, populations do.*

Front 15

Adaptation (Character)

Back 15

: traits that result from the process of adaptation (typically long-term).

Front 16

Biodiversity

Back 16

: the variety and relative abundance of species present in a certain area.

Front 17

Community

Back 17

: all the species that interact with each other in a certain area. (Several populations in the same place).

Front 18

Ecosystem

Back 18

: all organisms that live in a geographic area, together with abiotic components that affect or exchange materials with the organisms. (Several communities).

Front 19

Evolution

Back 19

: 1) the theory that all organisms on Earth are related by common ancestry and that they have changed over time, predominantly via natural selection.
2) Any change in the genetic characteristics of a population; especially a change in allele frequencies.
3) Changes in allele frequencies due to either natural selection, genetic drift, gene flow, or mutations.

Front 20

Fitness

Back 20

: the ability of an organism to produce surviving fertile offspring.

Front 21

Realitive Fitness

Back 21

: individuals’ fitness compared to the highest fitness in the population.

Front 22

Vestigial Trait

Back 22

: rudimentary or functionless feature with a functional version in a related species.

Front 23

Natural Selection

Back 23

: “survival of the fittest”
1) variation in phenotype
2) variations are heritable
3) organisms differ in fitness
4) fitness differences relate to phenotype differences

Front 24

Variation

Back 24

: quantifying: statistical measures of centrality (mean, median, and mode) and of variance (standard deviation, standard error of the mean).

Front 25

Heritability

Back 25

: (h²) proportion of phenotypic variation that is based on genetic variation.

Front 26

Population Genetics

Back 26

: the study of changes and distributions of allele frequencies in and among populations under the evolutionary mechanisms (natural selection, genetic drift, gene flow, and mutation).

Front 27

Assumptions of Hardy-Weinberg

Back 27

: in the absence of evolutionary forces, things remain the same.
a. Organisms: diploid, sexual reproduction, non-overlapping generations.
b. Gene: 2+ alleles, allele frequencies equal among sexes.
c. Processes:
1) no natural selection (no differential fitness)
2) no mutations (no new alleles)
3) no migration (no gene flow)
4) no chance events (no genetic drift)
5) mating is random

Front 28

Directional Selection

Back 28

: for example, directional selection caused overall body size to increase in a cliff swallow population. ∩-->∩

Front 29

Stablizing Selection

Back 29

: for example, very small and very large babies are most likely to die, leaving a narrower distribution of birth weights. ↓ ∩ ↓

Front 30

Disruptive Selection

Back 30

: for example, only juvenile black-bellied seedcrackers with very long or very short beaks survived long enough to breed. ∩↓∩

Front 31

Sexual Selection

Back 31

: selection via differences in mating success; nonrandom mating dependent on trait values; males must compete for mate, and females must choose.

Front 32

Inbreeding

Back 32

: mating among relatives; strongest inbreeding= selfing; increase rate of natural selection; deleterious (harmful) recessives are quickly purged.

Front 33

Cleistogamous Flowers

Back 33

: automatic self-pollination; guaranteed reproduction; flowers underground. (Examples: peanuts, peas, and beans).

Front 34

Phenotypic Plasticity

Back 34

: an environmentally based change in the phenotype; phenotype not necessarily based on genotype. (Example: plant height in low altitude vs. high altitude).

Front 35

Ecology

Back 35

: interactions of organisms with each other and with the environment.

Front 36

Pattern

Back 36

: distribution and abundance of organisms.

Front 37

Distribution

Back 37

: spatial arrangements of a species.

Front 38

Abundance

Back 38

: number of species at a location.

Front 39

Life Tables

Back 39

: show the probability an individual will survive and reproduce in any given year or in a lifetime.

Front 40

Fecundity

Back 40

: number of female offspring born per female in a population.

Front 41

Age-Specific Fecundity

Back 41

: average number of females by females at age x.

Front 42

Surviorship Curves

Back 42

: survival to a certain age; individual, or cohort (group of individuals born at the same time), or proportion of offspring that survives a particular age.

Front 43

Surviorship Curves: Type I

Back 43

: good survivorship when you’re young, die off when you’re older. Ex. Humans.

Front 44

Surviorship Curves: Type II

Back 44

: death rate equal over time. Ex. Birds, Coral.

Front 45

Surviorship Curves: Type III

Back 45

: most die off early then have good survivorship as they get older. Ex. Trees, fish.

Front 46

Life Histories

Back 46

: individual allocation to growth, reproduction, and activities or structures related to survival.

Front 47

Population Dynamics

Back 47

: how population size changes over time.

Front 48

Density-Independent Factors

Back 48

: birth rates, death rates, abiotic factors (catastrophes).

Front 49

Density-Dependent Factors

Back 49

biotic factors, competition, predation, etc.

Front 50

Age Structure

Back 50

: defining characteristic of populations; helps predict future populations.

Front 51

Birth Rate

Back 51

: live births per 1,000 estimated population in each area.

Front 52

Fertility Rate

Back 52

: live births per 1,000 woman aged 15-44 years estimated in each area.

Front 53

Conservation Biology

Back 53

: uses ecological and evolutionary theory.

Front 54

Population Viability Analysis (PVA)

Back 54

: trying to predict a population’s size over time; population is viable if there’s a 95% chance/probability of surviving 100 years.

Front 55

Competition

Back 55

: organisms that are attempting to make use of the same resources.

Front 56

Intraspecific Competition

Back 56

: competition within a species; results in density dependent.

Front 57

Interspecific Competition

Back 57

: competition between species; results in lower abundances and frequent extinction.

Front 58

Consumptive Competition

Back 58

: organisms consume the same resources. Ex: tree (roots) competing for water and nutrients.

Front 59

Encounter Competition

Back 59

: organisms interfere directly for access to specific resources. Ex: fighting over a dead carcass.

Front 60

Overgrowth Competition

Back 60

: one organism grows over another. Ex: plant overshadows another.

Front 61

Chemical Competition

Back 61

: one species produces toxins that negatively affect another species.

Front 62

Niche

Back 62

: the particular set of habitat requirements of a certain species and the role that species plays in its ecosystem.

Front 63

Realized Niche

Back 63

: range of resources use when competitor is present.

Front 64

Fundamental Niche

Back 64

: the particular set of habitat requirements of a certain species and the role that species plays in its ecosystem.

Front 65

Character Displacement

Back 65

: evolutionary change in a character due to competition.

Front 66

Cryptic Coloration

Back 66

: avoiding predation by blending in (camouflage).

Front 67

Aposematism

Back 67

: avoiding predation through warning coloration.

Front 68

Müllerian Mimicry

Back 68

: distasteful species that have similar appearances (mimic each other); benefit from negative reinforcement.

Front 69

Batesian Mimicry

Back 69

: palatable (tasteful) species mimics non-palatable (distasteful); aspects of parasitism.

Front 70

Consituitive Defense

Back 70

: always on.

Front 71

Induced Defense

Back 71

: on when there is predation at risk. Ex: Puffer fish.

Front 72

Top-Down Regulation

Back 72

: predators control prey population size. Ex: it’s the lynxes (predator/disease) that keep the bunnies (herbivores) down, and leave the world green.

Front 73

Bottom-Up Regulation

Back 73

: food resources regulate population size.

Front 74

Parasitoids

Back 74

: develops in the body of the host and kills host; common in insects; can be used as biological control (keep pest numbers down).

Front 75

Common Deadly Human Parasites

Back 75

: respiratory infections (Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae), HIV/AIDS, infections diarrhea (Rotavirus), Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

Front 76

Definitive Host

Back 76

: where sexual reproduction by parasite occurs.

Front 77

Intermediate Host

Back 77

: host where only asexual reproduction is occurring.

Front 78

Virulence

Back 78

: tendency of a parasite to kill its host; diminishes though time; lowered through competition.

Front 79

Mutualism (& Experiemental Example)

Back 79

: both benefit. Ex: Janzen’s acacia trees stopped growing as successfully and not as quickly when the ants were removed.

Front 80

Commensalism

Back 80

: one benefits, other harmed. Ex: birds living in trees.

Front 81

Amensalism

Back 81

: one hurt, other unharmed. Ex: humans trampling through the forest.

Front 82

Species Richness

Back 82

: the number of species in a community.

Front 83

Species Diversity

Back 83

: the number and relative abundance of species in a community.

Front 84

Trophic Levels

Back 84

: organization of species in communities; positions in the food chain.

Front 85

Keystone Species

Back 85

: a species whose removal dramatically alters the composition of the community.

Front 86

Keystone Species Experiement

Back 86

: Robert Paine’s experiments with Pisaster (starfish); removed the starfish resulting in species richness dropping to ½ the original.

Front 87

Stability

Back 87

: withstand disturbance without change; recover productivity or richness after disturbance.

Front 88

Resistance

Back 88

: how a community is affected by disturbance; correlated with diversity (Tilman and Downing experiment: the more plants in the plots, the less change after the drought).

Front 89

Resilience

Back 89

: time to recover post disturbance.

Front 90

Rhizobium

Back 90

: soil bacteria that fix nitrogen after becoming established in root nodules of legumes.

Front 91

Competitive Exclusion Principle

Back 91

: two species with the same niche cannot coexist.

Front 92

Density Dependence

Back 92

: as population density increase, per capita birth rate is reduced, and death rate is increased; the higher the density, the slower the population grows.

Front 93

Metapopulations

Back 93

: group of populations that have immigration and emigration; some go extinct, some are recolonized.

Front 94

Ecosystem

Back 94

: interacting biotic and abiotic components of a geographic area.

Front 95

Biogeography

Back 95

: how organisms are distributed geographically.

Front 96

Primary Productivity

Back 96

: photosynthesis per area per year; stimulated by iron.

Front 97

Net Primary Productivity

Back 97

: primary productivity in biomass; food available in consumers; Top 5: swamp/marsh, tropical rainforest, boreal forest, temperate grassland, and lakes/streams.

Front 98

Climate

Back 98

: the prevailing long term weather conditions in a particular region.

Front 99

Weather

Back 99

: the specific short term atmospheric conditions of temperature, moisture, wind, and sunlight.

Front 100

Seasons

Back 100

: regular, annual fluctuations in temperature, precipitation, or both; result from Earth’s 23.5° tilt.

Front 101

Hadley Cell

Back 101

: noticed that warm air tends to rise (ideal gas law), warmer gases take up more volume; warm air rises, cool air sinks and absorbs moisture.

Front 102

Rain Shadow

Back 102

: moisture-laden air blows onshore, air rises over mountains and cools; rain falls, dry air creates desert conditions (rain shadow).

Front 103

Biological Species Concept

Back 103

: distinct species do not produce fertile, viable offspring in nature.

Front 104

Extinction

Back 104

: species cease to exist.

Front 105

Speciation

Back 105

: development of new species from existing organisms.

Front 106

Species

Back 106

: group of populations that can produce viable, fertile offspring.

Front 107

Benthic Zone

Back 107

: found at the bottom of lakes or ponds; not enough light for photosynthesis, but provides habitat for burrowing animals and bacteria.

Front 108

Littoral Zone

Back 108

: consists of the shallow waters along the shore, where flowering plants are rooted; hosts abundant microscopic planktonic organisms that float or swim near the surface; supports photosynthesis.

Front 109

Limnetic Zone

Back 109

: includes open water that receives enough light to support photosynthesis.

Front 110

Intertidal Zone

Back 110

: found along the shore and consists of a rocky, sandy, or muddy beach that is exposed to the air at low tide but submerged at high tide; productivity is high due to the ready availability of nutrients and sunlight.

Front 111

Netric Zone

Back 111

: extends from the intertidal zone out toward the open ocean to depths of about 200m; edge is defined by the continental shelf (the gently sloping, submerged portion of a continental plate).

Front 112

Oceanic Zone

Back 112

: open ocean; the most unproductive environment on Earth; sunlight is abundant in the photic zone but nutrients are scarce.

Front 113

Vicariance

Back 113

: emergence of a geographical feature that splits up a population; leads to speciation. Ex: river changes course and splits up population.

Front 114

Allopatric Speciation

Back 114

: populations are physically separated causing selection for different characteristics.

Front 115

Allopatric Speciation Via Dispersal

Back 115

: species floats to an island and begins to diverge due to drift and selection resulting in two populations isolated from each other.

Front 116

Continental Drift

Back 116

: major cause of vicariance events; major contributing factor to mammal evolution.

Front 117

Polyploidy

Back 117

: change in chromosome number.

Front 118

Autopolyploidy

Back 118

: mutation within species.

Front 119

Allopolyploidy

Back 119

: cross between different species.

Front 120

Sympatric Speciation

Back 120

: speciation occurs within a species that is not separated by geography.

Front 121

Hybridization

Back 121

: common in plants; can sometimes result in a new species; selection is often against hybridization.

Front 122

Climax Community

Back 122

: the stable, final stage of an ecological community that develops from ecological succession.

Front 123

Morphological Species Concept

Back 123

: species are based on similar body structures and appearance; often misleading. Ex: fossils.

Front 124

Evolutionary Species Concept

Back 124

: emphasizes independent lineages and ancestor-descendent relationships. Ex: bacteria.

Front 125

Phylogenic Species Concept

Back 125

: species are based on lineages determined from a phylogenetic tree.

Front 126

Phylogenic Tree

Back 126

: classifies how species are related to each other.

Front 127

Phenetic Approach

Back 127

: “old school” tree estimation; computes a statistic based on similarity among taxa.

Front 128

Cladistic Approach

Back 128

: tree reconstruction; based on identifying synapomorphies.

Front 129

Synapomorphy

Back 129

: shared “derived” characters.

Front 130

Maximum Parsimony

Back 130

: the simplest solution; choosing a simple explanation over a complex explanation.

Front 131

Molecular Data

Back 131

: short interspersed nuclear elements (SINE); gene sequences that insert themselves into mammal genomes; suggested that whales and hippos are close relatives.

Front 132

Convergent Evolution

Back 132

: shared traits not due to common ancestry (analogy).

Front 133

Homoplasy

Back 133

: similarities via convergent evolution.

Front 134

Homology

Back 134

: shared characteristics via common ancestry.

Front 135

Adaptive Radiation

Back 135

: wide array of forms, in a wide array of habitats, often in short evolutionary time; produces star phylogenies; triggered by colonization events, extinction events, and innovation (wings, flowers, feathers, etc).

Front 136

Burgess Shale Fossils

Back 136

: preserved soft bodied organism from about 530 MYA; the origins of animal diversity.

Front 137

Bacteria

Back 137

: prokaryotes; no nuclear envelope, circular chromosome (some linear exceptions), DNA is not associated with histones, no organelles, almost all unicellular, do not perform true sexual reproduction, cell walls of peptidoglycan.

Front 138

Archaea

Back 138

: prokaryotes, often associated with extreme conditions; no nuclear envelope, circular chromosome, DNA associated with histones, no organelles, all unicellular, reproduction unknown, cell wall varies (but no peptidoglycan).

Front 139

Eukarya

Back 139

: eukaryotes, contain endosymbiotes; nuclear envelope, no circular chromosomes, DNA associated with histones, organelles, many multicelluar, sexual reproduction common, cell wall only in some groups (made of cellulose or chitin).

Front 140

Bioremediation

Back 140

: using bacteria to clean up solvents or fuels.

Front 141

Conjugation

Back 141

: the process by which DNA is exchanged between unicellular individuals; occurs in bacteria, archaea, and some protisits.

Front 142

Direct Sequencing

Back 142

: more species numbers; not all grown in culture; use of molecular phylogenetic techniques; more effective than culturing.

Front 143

Phototrophs

Back 143

: light; ATP through photophosphorylation.

Front 144

Organotrophs

Back 144

: oxidize organic molecules; ATP through cellular respiration, or fermentation.

Front 145

Lithotrophs

Back 145

: oxidize inorganic material (ammonia or methane); ATP through cellular respiration.