BIO 012 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Blood Plasma, Ectotherm, Archaea
19 Jun 2018
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Study Guide Questions
Chapter 1
Section 1.1
p.2: What is a binomial in terms of Latinized names? Why is a binomial name important?
A binomial is a nomenclature composed of the species’ genus (a recent common ancestor) and
then its species. It is important because it is a way to classify a species.
p.4: What are the three domains and the characteristics that define them? (mostly covered in
lecture but mentioned in the book)
The three domains are archaea, which consists of organisms with one membrane; prokaryotes,
which are organisms with an internal membrane and specialized organelles; and eukaryotes
which have internal membranes, specialized organelles and cellular specialization.
p. 6: How does the process of evolution ACTUALLY work? (think about this in terms of what the
biological definition is relative to the simplified definition covered in class, and why is the
biological definition better?)
Another term for evolution is descent with modification. The genetic makeup of a population
can change over time due to natural selection favoring certain traits (structural, biological, or
behavioral), that therefore lead to adaptations that help the organisms reproduce and survive
better. Mutations, genetic drift, and sexual selection also can change the genetic makeup of a
population.
p.7: Why is the tree of life important for understanding organisms and life in general?
The tree of life allows us to organize the planet and understand what and how life used to be
before the species that exist now existed.
Section 2.2 (not covered in lecture, but will be important for lab and science in general)
p. 11: Why is data important?
Data is considered facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis.
p. 12: What is the difference between controlled and comparative experiments?
In a controlled experiment, a person conducts the experiment only changes one variable at a
time to isolate the results. In a comparative experiment, two samples or populations exposed to
different conditions or treatments are compared to each other.
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Chapter 22
Section 22.1
p. 450: What is a phylogeny? Understand how to read and use a phylogenetic tree. Can you
determine which traits are shared and which ones are different by each terminal node?
A phylogeny is the history of evolutionary relationships among organisms and their genes.
p. 451: What is the relationship between taxa, clade, sister species, sister clades? Why is the tree of
life important?
Taxa is any group of related organisms. A clade is any taxon that contains all descendants of an
ancestor and is monophyletic. Sister clades are clades who are each other’s closest living
relatives. Sister species are two species that are each other’s closest relative.
p. 452: What is the significance of the terms homologous, analogous, derived, ancestral, and
synapomorphy. What are homoplasies and how do they occur?
Homologous traits are similar traits that have been inherited from a common ancestor.
Analogous traits are traits that arise through convergent evolution (where independently
evolved traits subjected to similar selection pressures become superficially similar). Derived
traits are shared by two or more taxa and inherited from their common ancestor which is then
called synapomorphy. Ancestral traits are a trait that was present in the ancestor of a group.
Convergent evolution (independent evolution of similar features from different ancestral traits)
and evolutionary reversals (where an ancestral trait reappears in a group that had previously
acquired a derived trait) can give rise to such traits, which are called homoplasies (the presence
in multiple groups of a trait that is not inherited from the common ancestor of those groups.
p. 453: What is the process of creating a phylogeny? What is the relationship between “ingroups” and
“outgroups”?
Synamorphies can be used to create phylogenies. Sources of phylogenetic information include
morphology, patterns of development, the fossil record, behavioral traits, and molecular traits
such as DNA and protein sequences. In a phylogenetic analysis, the group of organisms of
primary interest is called the ingroup. As a point of reference, an ingroup is compared with
an outgroup, a species or group that is closely related to the ingroup but is known to be
phylogenetically outside it; the root of the tree is located between the ingroup and
the outgroup. Any trait that is present in both the ingroup and the outgroup must have evolved
before the origin of the ingroup and thus must be ancestral for the ingroup. In
contrast, traits that are present only in some members of the ingroup must be derived
traits within that ingroup.
p. 454-456: What kinds of traits can one use to build phylogenies? What does parsimony mean?
Phylogenetic trees can be constructed from Synamorphies using the logic of parsimony.
Parsimony is preferring the simplest among a set of plausible explanations of any phenomenon.
p. 458-461: What do phylogenies enable us to do?
Phylogenies enable us to portray a reconstruction of the evolutionary histories of species,
populations, and genes. Phylogenetic trees are used to make comparisons among living
organisms. Phylogenetic trees are used to reconstruct the past and to understand the orign of
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