This is a beneficial relationship to both partners of different species living together. For example a bee and a pollinating flower. The bee gains nectar from the flower for survival, as it uses the bee to carry its pollen to other flowers. So both organisms living together benefit from their existence. Parasitism:
Parasites are completely dependent on a host for survival. The relationship is beneficial to one, and harmful to the other. Parasites may live outside or inside a host; they are called ectoparasites (the prefix ecto means outside) and endoparasites (the prefix endo means inside). An example of the endoparasite is the tapeworms which live in the digestive systems of its host. Examples of ectoparasites are ticks and lice. Commensalism:
The association of two or more partners living together, where only one benefits from the partnership and the other remains unharmed. An example of this is the relationship between a sea anemone with and a clown fish. The anemone travels with the fish on route to its destination and the fish remains unharmed.
Monomer:Monomers are single units that make up the polymer (which are proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, nucleic acids).
The monomer of proteins are AMINO ACIDS. A bunch of amino acids make up proteins. That is all a monomer is, a building block for a larger unit.
The monomer for lipids are hydrocarbons.
Monomers for carbohydrates such as starch and glycogen (polysaccharides) are single sugar units called monosaccharides. Monosaccharides are sugars such as glucose and fructose, polysaccharides are larger sugar molecules such as starch and glycogen.
Monomers for nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, are nucleotides.
Functional group: Groups of atoms within a molecule that interacts n predictable ways with other molecules.
Functional groups for carbohydrates are hydroxides, and short hydrocarbons such as methyls and ethyls.
Functional groups for nucleic acids are small sugar units, nitrogen bases, and phosphate groups.
Functional groups for lipids are hydrocarbons, esters, carboxyls, hydroxol, and hydrocarbons.
Functional groups for proteins are amines, ammonias, carboxyls and 20 remainder groups, which you probably wont need to know.
Protein:come in a variety of structures and serve many functions. Protein is the major component of a cell's dry mass (i.e. next to water, cells are mostly protein). Some proteins serve a structural function (e.g. cytoskeleton), control chemical reactions (enzymes), provide motion (e.g. cilia, flagella), facilitate intracellular transport (e.g. motor proteins), and may play a role in intercellular communication (e.g. hormones, gap junctions, ligand-receptor binding, ion channels, etc.). Proteins are produced by ribosomes from mRNA templates, either in the cytosol or at the surface of the RER (for cytosolic or secreted proteins, respectively).
Fat: (dehydrated carbs) is major part of the cell membrane, also provides energy storage and insulation in animals. Lipids are produced in the SER.
Nucleic acid:DNA stores our genetic information (cookbook for proteins, etc.); DNA is found in the nucleus of eukaryotes, hence the name nucleic acids. DNA is by far the largest molecule in a cell. RNA comes in a few varieties, including mRNA and tRNA which are involved in protein production. mRNA and tRNA are found in the cytosol, not the nucleus.
Carbohydrate:(sugars) provide readily available energy. While ATP is the energy carrier in the cell, in animals, glucose carries energy between cells by way of the blood. In plants, starch is the main energy-storing carb, not glucose.
To be able to measure the amount of dissolved oxygen in water samples at different temperatures
To be able to analyze the effect of varying amounts of light on primary productivity
To fully understand what the ideal light conditions are for O2 to be dissolved in H2O
Procedures:
1.
The aquatic sample must be rich in photosynthetic organisms — water that is so algae-rich it appears green is good for this activity.
2.
Keep the water samples in a very bright light during the 24-hour period. Fluorescent bulbs do not give off much heat, but if you use an incandescent light bulb, you will need to place a heat sink (such as a beaker filled with water) between the light bulb and your bottles.
Typical results:
Lab bench questions:
Lab bench quiz: See in paper copy (could not attach on blog as it was saved as a PDF)
Ancient Organism Remains: Darwin found many types of remains of ancient organisms. In addition to fossil layers, he saw other fossils, bones, insects in amber (hardened tree sap), and petrified wood. Another type of preserved organism, which Darwin did not find, is animals such as mammoths frozen and preserved in ice.
Fossil Layers: Sedimentary rock forms in layers, with the oldest at the bottom and the youngest at the top. Fossils in the bottom layers are very different from the organisms alive today; Darwin didn't even recognize them. As one looks farther up, at younger and younger rock layers, the fossilized plants and animals become more and more familiar until they are a lot like organisms that are around now. The organisms also tend to become more and more complex. From this, Darwin concluded that organisms have not remained the same since earth's beginning, and that they have changed a lot, gradually becoming more and more complex. He also realized that as new species arise, other ones become extinct.
Similarities Among Living Organisms: One type of evidence for evolution (evidence that organisms are related, descended from a few common ancestors, and change to adapt to their environments) is that organisms are similar to each other, but not exactly the same. Similar organisms have differences that help them adapt to their environments. Many organisms have similar body plans. Horses', donkeys', and zebras' bodies are set up in pretty much the same way, because they are descended from a common ancestor. As organisms adapt and evolve, not everything about them changes. The differences, such as the zebra's stripes, show that each species adapted to its own environment after branching off from the common ancestor.
Similarities of Embryos: The study of one type of evidence of evolution is called embryology, the study of embryos. An embryo is an unborn (or unhatched) animal or human young in its earliest phases. Embryos of many different kinds of animals: mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, etc. look very similar and it is often difficult to tell them apart. Many traits of one type of animal appear in the embryo of another type of animal. For example, fish embryos and human embryos both have gill slits. In fish they develop into gills, but in humans they disappear before birth.This shows that the animals are similar and that they develop similarly, implying that they are related, have common ancestors and that they started out the same, gradually evolving different traits, but that the basic plan for a creature's beginning remains the same.
Natural selection is the gradual process by which biological traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of the effect of inherited traits on the differential reproductive success of organisms interacting with their environment. It is a key mechanism of evolution. The term "natural selection" was popularized by Charles Darwin who intended it to be compared with artificial selection, now more commonly referred to as selective breeding. Examples:
1. Humans
Are humans still evolving? The simple answer is yes, even if the changes are not obvious. Experts believe that about 9 percent of our genes are undergoing rapid evolution as we speak. The genes most affected by natural selection are those involving the immune system, sexual reproduction and sensory perception.
Lactose intolerance is one example of natural selection. We are the only species that doesn't become lactose intolerant as we grow up. According to experts, this seemed to have happened when cattle became domesticated in Europe centuries ago. Another example is the sickle hemoglobin gene, which occurs in people who live in certain regions of Africa and other areas where malaria is endemic. This gene mutation makes people who have it more resistant to malaria. While they can still contract the disease, they are less likely to die from it. The mutation probably happened over hundreds of generations as a result of the constant exposure to malaria and people contracting and surviving it
2. Lizards
A number of studies have been done on lizards to determine natural selection. One experiment temporarily eliminated the lizards' natural predators from a particular area, and then scientists observed what impact that had on the lizards. The surprising find was that it's not so much the predators that influence the death or survival of certain lizards. Instead, the smaller lizards were more likely to die off anyway despite the lack of natural predators, because the larger, stronger lizards in the area still had better access to food. The lizards with the longest legs were able to climb better, escape the ground when floods or storms came, and reach food that wasn't available down below.
3. Nylon-eating Bacteria
Since nylon wasn't invented until the 1940s, bacteria that can eat nylon can be nothing but new. The bacterium Pseudomonas is able to metabolize nylon thanks to certain enzymes it has. However, a surprising thing happens when you take a non-nylon eating variety of this bacterium and place it in an environment where the only type of food available is nylon. Every single time the experiment was tried, the bacteria would evolve until it was able to consume nylon. This is a very simple example of natural selection, where the most basic forms of life can adapt to whatever food the environment offers.
Regressive Evolution: the disappearance of traits that were once useful but now obsolete. One example is the existence of eyes on Mexican cavefish, a species found in subterranean caves. Because of the caves' perpetual darkness, eyes became no longer necessary and eventually fish were born without them. Cave-dwelling fish have also lost their pigmentation and have become nearly transparent, since they no longer need camouflage because of the lack of natural predators
4. Deer Mouse
Nebraska's Sand Hills is home to a deer mouse that's one of the quickest-evolving examples of natural selection in animals. The deer mouse is normally dark brown, which is a good color for mice living in the woods and surrounding areas, since it allows them to hide better and avoid predators. The deer mouse that lives in the Sand Hills, however, has evolved into a much lighter, sand-like color. Without this change, the deer mouse would be easily spotted by predators against the area's light terrain. Just one single gene had to change for the mouse's coat to become lighter. What's even more impressive? The change took only about 8,000 years, which is the equivalent to seconds in the evolutionary scale
5. Warrior Ants
The warrior ants in Africa are probably one of the most impressive examples of adaptation. Within any single colony, ants emit a chemical signal that lets the others know they all belong to the same compound. Or, put more simply, a signal that says "Don't attack me, we're all family." However, warrior ants have learned how to imitate the signal from a different colony. So if a group of warrior ants attacks a colony, they will be able to imitate that colony's signal. As a result, the workers in the colony will continue on, now under the direction of new masters, without ever realizing an invasion has taken place.
6. Peacocks
The more impressive the tail of a male peacock, the higher its chances of finding a mate. Female peacocks choose mates based on the color of the feathers and the overall physical prowess of the animal. According to experts, the brightness of the plumage might signal to females that the animal has high-quality genes. This would make him ideal for reproduction and to ensure the survival of the offspring, so they're chosen first when it's time to mate. In reality, not all males have bright, large tails, and this was especially true a few thousand years ago. And because females kept choosing the brightest males as partners, the ones without the impressive tails were less likely to mate and reproduce. As a result, their numbers diminished from one generation to the next, making them rare today.
Population of individuals all of the same kind (identical characteristics in all members). Individuals capable of transformation.
Population of interbreeding individuals with similar characteristics, though variation is common among all of them at all times. Individuals fixed and unchanging. Population capable of transformation.
Mechanism of new species production:
Internal drive toward greater complexity modified by the inheritance of acquired characteristics. Change directed to meet organism needs.
Natural selection. Variation exists regardless of organism's needs not directed toward any purpose.
Example of this type of explanation:
The giraffe's neck: “At some point in the past, giraffes must have found themselves in an environment where they had difficulty reaching food present on the tops of trees. In order to eat, they must have had to stretch their necks and in doing so physically elongated them some. This longer neck was passed on to the offspring in the next generation, who in turn stretched their necks even further, thus resulting in the giraffe species having very long necks."
Keen eyesight of the hawk: “In a population of hawks, individual variation existed in the power of their vision, just as variation exists in the color of their feathers. In their competition for food, the individuals with keener eyesight could more easily spot their prey (small voles and mice) and thus were successful in securing food to eat. The hawks with poor eyesight had difficulty spotting prey and died for lack of food. The hawks with the keen eyesight passed on this trait to their offspring. The hawks that died were not able to produce any offspring. Over a number of generations, the population of hawks all came to possess extremely powerful vision."
Xylem and phloem make up the big transportation system of vascular plants. As you get bigger, it is more difficult to transport nutrients, water, and sugars around your body. You have a circulatory system if you want to keep growing. As plants evolved to be larger, they also developed their own kind of circulatory systems. The main parts you will hear a lot about are called xylem and phloem.
Least advanced to most advanced: Charophyceans -> bryophytes -> pteridophytes -> gymnosperms -> angiosperms. Charophyceans: algae
In the water, algae were supported. Every cell had contact with the ocean, which brought water and nourishment that could be absorbed through the cell wall. Reproduction was simple: algae released their eggs and sperm cells into the water where they could meet and form tough little capsules called zoospores. On land, all this changed. Algae cast up on the sea shore or trapped in evaporating ponds were subjected to drying winds and often to large temperature swings. At first they probably just died, but over millions of years a few algae were able to resist short periods of dryness and live on. These became the ancestors of our land plants. Bryophytes: mosses
They form low mats, and the little plants, grouped tightly together, can absorb water like sponges. They do not have roots, although a cell at the bottom of each sprig forms a rhizoid that clings to rocks and other surfaces. Mosses do not have vascular structures (tubes like our veins for moving fluids around inside themselves) , but they do have an effective method of reproduction called alternation of generations. This method protects and nurtures the vulnerable zygote. A zygote is the new cell that is produced by the union of the genetic material from two parents. It is the cell from which a new and unique organism will grow. Mosses found a way to keep the zygote moist and alive. The zygote grows into a structure that makes spores, and the tiny spores float away in the air. Pteridophytes: Ferns
Ferns are the plants that developed vascular systems. Some ferns still have rhizoids, but they also have roots. This makes it possible for ferns to grow into large plants. Ferns do not have true seeds. They reproduce by alternation of generations. When you turn fern fronds over, you can often see little dots on the underside. These dots are groups of spores. When the dots are brown, the spores are getting ripe and will soon be released from the plant. Spores are tiny, and will float away in the air. Some of them will come down in a new place that is favorable for fern growth. Gymnosperms: naked seed
The first seed-bearing plants are called gymnosperms. Gymnosperm means "naked seed" because these seeds have only a dry, thin covering instead of a sturdy protective seed coat.One important change was the development of pollen to replace the swimming sperm. Pollen could float on the wind and was not damaged by the dry air. The plants made pollen cones (see picture above) which made only pollen and small, tough woody cones in which the female half of the process could be protected. (See picture with blue-green cones here.) The pollen fell on these woody cones and grew tubes down to find the ovules (eggs). After the eggs were fertilized, they developed and matured in the cone. The seed that resulted could survive drought in a dormant state. It could wait for a favorable season to begin its growth. It had a package of food to draw on when it germinated. These seeds were well adapted to the land. Angiosperms: flowering seed
About a hundred and thirty million years ago, a new kind of plant appeared. This plant developed two innovations. First, the new plants produced flowers. Flowers allowed the plants to form partnerships with insects, and insects, in exchange for pollen and nectar, greatly increased the efficiency of the plants' pollination.Second, the parent plant provided a protective covering for the seed. Sometimes this covering took the form of a burr or a fruit, which improved the dispersal of the seeds to other places.
Skeletal system: bones give support to the body and its organs. The human skeleton can be divided into the axial skeletonand the appendicular skeleton. The axial skeleton is formed by thevertebral column, therib cageand theskull. The appendicular skeleton, which is attached to the axial skeleton, is formed by thepectoral girdles, thepelvic girdle and the bones of the upper and lower limbs. The human skeleton serves six major functions; support, movement, protection, production ofblood cells, storage of ions and endocrine regulation.
Muscular system: moves the body with muscles. The muscular system is an organ system consisting of skeletal, smooth and cardiacmuscles. It permits movement of the body, maintains posture, and circulates blood throughout the body. The muscular system in vertebrates is controlled through the nervous system, although some muscles (such as the cardiac muscle) can be completely autonomous. Together with the skeletal system it forms the musculoskeletal system, which is responsible for movement of the human body.
Nervous system: collects & processes information from the senses via nerves and the brain and tells the muscles to contract to cause physical actions. The nervous system is the part of an animal's body that coordinates its voluntary and involuntary actions and transmits signals between different parts of its body. Nervous tissue first arose in wormlike organisms about 550 to 600 million years ago. In most animal species it consists of two main parts, the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The CNS contains the brain and spinal cord. The PNS consists mainly of nerves, which are enclosed bundles of the long fibers or axons, that connect the CNS to every other part of the body. The PNS includes motor neurons, mediating voluntary movement; the autonomic nervous system, comprising the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system, which regulate involuntary functions, and the enteric nervous system, which functions to control the gastrointestinal system.
Respiratory system: the lungs and the trachea bring air into the body to sustain life. The respiratory system(orventilatory system) is abiological systemconsisting of specificorgansand structures used for the process ofrespirationin anorganism. The respiratory system is involved in the intake andexchangeofoxygenand carbon dioxidebetween an organism and the environment. In air-breathing vertebrates like human beings, respiration takes place in the respiratory organs calledlungs. The passage of air into the lungs to supply the body with oxygen is known asinhalation, and the passage of air out of the lungs to expel carbon dioxide is known asexhalation; this process is collectively calledbreathingorventilation. Inhumansand other mammals, the anatomical features of the respiratory system includetrachea,bronchi,bronchioles, lungs, anddiaphragm. Molecules of oxygen and carbon dioxide are passively exchanged, bydiffusion, between the gaseous external environment and theblood. This exchange process occurs in thealveoli air sacs in the lungs.
Cardiovascular system: the heart, arteries and veins circulate blood through the body to carry oxygen and nutrients to organs & cells, and carry waste products away from organs & cells. The essential components of the human cardiovascular system are the heart, blood, and blood vessels. It includes: the pulmonary circulation, a "loop" through the lungs where blood is oxygenated; and the systemic circulation, a "loop" through the rest of the body to provide oxygenated blood. An average adult contains five to six quarts (roughly 4.7 to 5.7 liters) of blood, accounting for approximately 7% of their total body weight. Blood consists of plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Also, the digestive system works with the circulatory system to provide the nutrients the system needs to keep the heart pumping.
Digestive system: processes food with mouth, esophagus, stomach and intestines to provide nutrients to sustain life. In the human digestive system, the process of digestion has many stages, the first of which starts in themouth(oral cavity). Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller components which can be absorbed and assimilated into the body. The secretion ofsalivahelps to produce aboluswhich can be swallowed in theoesophagusto pass down into thestomach.
Saliva also contains a catalytic enzyme calledamylasewhich starts to act on food in the mouth. Digestion is helped by the masticationof food by the teeth and also by the muscular contractions ofperistalsis.Gastric juicein the stomach is essential for the continuation of digestion as is the production ofmucusin the stomach. Peristalsis is the rhythmic contraction ofmusclesthat begins in the oesophagus and continues along the wall of the stomach. This initially results in the production ofchymewhich when fully broken down in thesmall intestineis absorbed into theblood. Most of the digestion of food takes place in the small intestine. Water and somemineralsare reabsorbed back into the blood, in the colon of thelarge intestine. The waste products of digestion aredefecatedfrom theanusvia the rectum.
Excretory system: eliminates wastes from the body. The excretory system is a passive biological system that removes excess, unnecessary materials from an organism, so as to help maintain homeostasis within the organism and prevent damage to the body. It is responsible for the elimination of the waste products of metabolism as well as other liquid and gaseous wastes, asurine and as a component of sweat and exhalation. As most healthy functioning organs produce metabolic and other wastes, the entire organism depends on the function of the system; however, only the organs specifically for the excretion process are considered a part of the excretory system. (Kidneys, liver, bile, large intestine, skin, eccrine)
Endocrine system: provides chemical communication within the body using hormones. The endocrine system refers to the collection of glands of an organism that secretehormones directly into the circulatory system to be carried toward a distant target organ. The major endocrine glands include the pineal gland, pituitary gland, pancreas, ovaries, testes, thyroid gland, parathyroid gland, hypothalamus, gastrointestinal tract and adrenal glands. The endocrine system is in contrast to the exocrine system, which secretes its hormones using ducts. Examples of exocrine glands include the sweat glands, salivary glands, mammary glands, and liver. The endocrine system is an information signal system like the nervous system, yet its effects and mechanism are classifiably different. The endocrine system's effects are slow to initiate, and prolonged in their response, lasting from a few hours up to weeks. The nervous system sends information very quickly, and responses are generally short lived. In vertebrates, the hypothalamus is the neural control center for all endocrine systems. The field of study dealing with the endocrine system and its disorders is endocrinology, a branch of internal medicine.
Immune system: defends against disease-causing agents (includes the Lymphatic system). The immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease. To function properly, an immune system must detect a wide variety of agents, known as pathogens, from viruses toparasitic worms, and distinguish them from the organism's own healthy tissue. In many species, the immune system can be classified into subsystems, such as the innate immune system versus the adaptive immune system, or humoral immunity versus cell-mediated immunity.
Integumentary system: skin, hair, nails, with sweat and other exocrine glands. The integumentary system is the organ system that protects the body from various kinds of damage, such as loss of water or abrasion from outside. The system comprises the skin and its appendages(including hair, scales, feathers, hooves, and nails). The integumentary system has a variety of functions; it may serve to waterproof, cushion, and protect the deeper tissues, excrete wastes, and regulate temperature, and is the attachment site for sensory receptors to detect pain, sensation, pressure, and temperature. In most terrestrial vertebrates with significant exposure to sunlight, the integumentary system also provides for vitamin D synthesis.
Reproductive system: the sex organs allow the opportunity to create offspring. The reproductive system or genital system is a system of sex organs within an organism which work together for the purpose of sexual reproduction. Many non-living substances such as fluids, hormones, and pheromones are also important accessories to the reproductive system.Unlike most organ systems, the sexes of differentiatedspecies often have significant differences. These differences allow for a combination of genetic material between two individuals, which allows for the possibility of greater geneticfitness of the offspring.
The current system, the Three Domain System, groups organisms primarily based on differences in ribosomal RNA structure. Ribosomal RNA is a molecular building block for ribosomes. Under this system, organisms are classified into three domains and six kingdoms. The domains are Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. The kingdoms are Archaebacteria (ancient bacteria), Eubacteria (true bacteria), Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia.
Definition: Incomplete dominance is a form of intermediate inheritance in which one allele for a specific trait is not completely dominant over the other allele. This results in a third phenotype in which the expressed physical trait is a combination of the dominant and recessive phenotypes. Incomplete dominance is similar to, but different from co-dominance. In co-dominance, an additional phenotype is produced, however both alleles are expressed completely. Co-dominance is exemplified in AB blood type inheritance. Examples:
A snapdragon flower that is pink as a result of cross-pollination between a red flower and a white flower when neither the white or the red alleles are dominant.
A brown fur coat on a rabbit as a result of one rabbit's red allele and one rabbit's white allele not dominating.
A child with wavy hair as a result of one parent's curly hair and the other's straight hair.
An Andalusian foul produced from a black and a white parent is blue.
A carnation that is pink that is a result of cross-pollination between a red carnation and a white carnation.
A black sheep and a white sheep mate and have a grey sheep.
A black dog and a brown dog mate and the result is a dog with a brindle coat.
A white cat and a brown cat mate and the result is an orange cat.
A tall horse and short horse mate and the offspring is off medium stature.
A big American Bulldog and a small American Bulldog mate and their offspring is medium-sized.
A long tailed dog and a short tailed dog mate and the offspring has a medium lengthened tail.
A blue bird and a red bird mate and the resulting offspring have mixed colors.
A light-skinned person and a dark skinned person produce a child with a skin color that is in between each.
A brown rat and a white rat mate and create a rat with a mixed color coat.
A short-haired dog and a long-haired dog mate and the resulting offspring have medium length hair.
Tay-Sachs disease is an example of the result of incomplete dominance because the gene that makes the antibodies only creates half of the necessary antibodies which creates a vulnerability in the individual to get Tay-Sachs.
One parent has a large lip protrusion, the other parent has a small lip protrusion and the child has an average lip protrusion.
One parent has a high voice, the other parent has a low-pitched voice, so the child has a voice of medium pitch.
Sickle cell disease is the result of incomplete dominance as those who have the disease carry 50% normal and 50% abnomal hemoglobin.
If a red tulip and a white tulip are cross pollinated they result is a pink tulip.
A highly spotted cat and a cat without spots has an offspring that has only some spots.
A person with big hands and a person with small hands have offspring with hands of average size.
A red bird and a blue bird mate and their offspring are purple.
A brindle dog and a white dog mate and the offspring are a mix of white and brindle.
A dog with eye patches and dog without eye patches breed and produce offspring with one eyepatch.
