General Quiz Preparation

Living organisms are made of cells and replicate.

Fitness refers to an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in a given environment. Adaptation is the process by which organisms evolve traits that improve their fitness.

The three domains are Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. Bacteria and Archaea are prokaryotic, while Eukarya contains eukaryotic organisms.

<p>The central dogma describes the flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to protein. DNA is transcribed into RNA, and RNA is translated into protein.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An organism's niche represents its role and the resources it utilizes within an ecosystem. A successful niche enables an organism to acquire necessary resources, avoid competition, and thrive.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Abiotic factors are non-living components like temperature or sunlight, while biotic factors are living components like predators or prey. For example, temperature is an abiotic factor, while the presence of a predator, like a wolf, is a biotic factor.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The hierarchy arranges life from atoms to ecosystems, revealing how simpler structures combine to create more complex ones. It allows us to study biology at different levels, from the molecular to the ecological.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Linnaeus's system provides a standardized, two-part naming system for every species, ensuring universal recognition and communication in science.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Hybrid inviability and hybrid sterility.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Allopatric speciation occurs when populations are geographically isolated, while sympatric speciation occurs without isolation.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Polyploidy is the condition of having more than two sets of chromosomes. It can lead to speciation because polyploid individuals may be unable to reproduce with diploid individuals.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Autopolyploidy involves a doubling of chromosomes within a single species, while allopolyploidy involves the hybridization of two different species followed by chromosome doubling.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Disruptive selection favors extreme phenotypes over intermediate phenotypes, potentially leading to the formation of two distinct populations within a single geographic area.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An example of an event that can lead to allopatric speciation is a volcanic eruption that creates a new island.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The formation of a new mountain range or large lake.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The Grand Canyon has created a physical barrier, dividing populations of organisms into distinct groups that cannot interbreed.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Sympatric speciation requires very specific conditions where disruptive selection or chromosomal mutations isolate populations within a single geographic area.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Hybrid sterility occurs when offspring produced from two different species are unable to reproduce due to problems during meiosis, often resulting in an abnormal number of chromosomes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>When one species is a better competitor for shared resources than another, the poorer competitor may be driven to extinction. This is because the better competitor will outcompete the other for food, shelter, and other vital resources, leaving the weaker species unable to survive.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The benthic whitefish may be driven to extinction by the open-water whitefish if the latter is a better competitor for shared resources.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Lamarck believed that acquired traits, like those developed during an organism's lifetime, could be passed down to offspring. Darwin and Wallace, however, proposed that only changes in the genetic makeup (allele frequencies) within a population, driven by natural selection, lead to evolution.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Townsend’s warblers are driving hermit warblers towards extinction through competition for resources.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The 'scale of nature' concept placed organisms in a hierarchy based on their perceived complexity, with humans at the top. Early evolutionary thinkers, like Aristotle and Lamarck, relied on this idea to explain the progression of life forms, seeing evolution as a linear climb towards greater complexity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Fusion refers to the potential for two distinct species to combine into one after a prolonged period of competition, where one species might become absorbed into the other.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Evolution, according to the text, is defined as change in allele frequencies within a population over time. This means that the relative abundance of different gene variants changes, leading to shifts in the characteristics expressed by the population.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>'Extinct' refers to a species that has completely disappeared from the planet, while 'driven to extinction' refers to a species whose decline and disappearance are caused by specific environmental factors, such as competition.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Darwin and Wallace's theory overturned the idea that species are fixed and unchanging. It replaced typological thinking, which focused on ideal types, with population thinking, emphasizing variation within populations. Most importantly, it provided a testable mechanism – natural selection – to explain how change through time occurs.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A 'better competitor' is a species that is more successful at acquiring and utilizing resources, while a 'poorer competitor' is less successful, making it more vulnerable to extinction due to competition.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Natural selection occurs when environmental pressures favor certain traits, leading to those traits becoming more prevalent in a population over time. For example, a population of giraffes with longer necks may have a survival advantage in reaching food, leading to the increase of longer necks in the population over generations. Artificial selection, on the other hand, is driven by human intervention. For example, breeders selecting for specific traits in crops or domesticated animals, such as larger fruit or docile behavior, are examples of artificial selection.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The phrase 'may be' highlights the uncertainty surrounding the fate of certain species facing competition. While competition can lead to extinction, it is not a guaranteed outcome, and other factors may influence the final result.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The vast geologic record and fossils provide strong evidence for evolution. Older rock layers contain fossils of simpler organisms, while younger layers reveal more complex life forms. This supports the idea of change through time and common ancestry. Furthermore, radiometric dating allows for the precise estimation of the age of fossils and rocks, providing a timeline for the evolution of life on Earth.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Competition for resources might not lead to extinction if the species competing are able to adapt their behaviors or evolve to utilize different resources, effectively reducing the pressure on the shared, limited resources, thus allowing both species to coexist.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Understanding how fossils form allows us to interpret the fossil record and understand the history of life on Earth. We can learn about the organisms that existed in the past, their environments, and how they changed over time. It also helps us understand the processes that led to the preservation of these remnants of past life.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Allele frequencies are the relative abundance of different genetic variants within a population. When these frequencies change over time, it indicates that the population is undergoing evolution. This change in allele frequencies can be driven by various factors, including natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Prions are infectious proteins that become misfolded, leading to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) such as Mad cow disease.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Viroids are tiny, naked molecules of circular RNA that primarily cause diseases in plants.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Systematics is the study of evolutionary relationships that helps classify organisms.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The three domains of life are Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryota.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A rooted tree has a single common ancestor, while an unrooted tree illustrates relationships among organisms without indicating a specific ancestry.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Synapomorphies are shared derived traits that indicate common ancestry among related organisms.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A monophyletic group, or clade, includes an ancestor and all of its descendants.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Parsimony in phylogenetics refers to selecting the simplest explanation with the fewest evolutionary changes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Koch's postulates are a set of criteria used to establish a causal relationship between a specific microbe and a disease. The postulates state that the suspected microbe must be found in all cases of the disease, must be isolated and grown in pure culture, must cause the disease when introduced into a healthy host, and must be reisolated from the infected host. These criteria help scientists to differentiate between microbes that are simply present in a diseased host and microbes that are actually causing the disease.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Nitrogen-fixing bacteria are crucial for life on Earth because they convert atmospheric nitrogen gas (N2), which is unusable by most organisms, into a usable form like ammonia (NH3) or nitrates (NO3-). This process is essential for the production of proteins and nucleic acids, the building blocks of all living organisms. These bacteria can be found as symbionts with legumes, where they reside in root nodules, or as free-living organisms, contributing to the overall nitrogen availability in the ecosystem.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Prokaryotes exhibit remarkable metabolic diversity, encompassing a wide array of metabolic strategies, including photosynthesis, aerobic respiration, anaerobic respiration, and fermentation. This diverse metabolism allows them to thrive in a vast range of environments, from the harsh conditions of hot springs to the depths of the ocean. Their ability to exploit diverse energy sources and environments contributes to their ecological dominance and plays a critical role in maintaining global biogeochemical cycles.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Conjugation is a process of horizontal gene transfer in prokaryotes where genetic material (DNA) is transferred from one bacterium to another through direct contact. This transfer typically involves a pilus connecting the two cells, through which the DNA is passed. Conjugation allows for the exchange of genes between bacteria, increasing genetic diversity within populations. This genetic diversity can lead to the emergence of new traits, including antibiotic resistance, which can have significant implications for human health and the environment.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Extremophiles are organisms that thrive in extreme environments, such as hot springs, deep-sea vents, and highly saline lakes. Studying these organisms can provide insights into the early conditions of life on Earth. Since they survive and reproduce in extreme environments, it is possible that early life forms on Earth were also extremophiles, suggesting the possibility of life in extreme environments on other planets.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotes that are credited with significantly altering the early Earth's atmosphere by producing oxygen (O2) as a byproduct of their photosynthesis. This oxygenation event, known as the Great Oxidation Event, transformed the atmosphere, paving the way for the evolution of oxygen-breathing organisms and the development of complex multicellular life. Their contribution to the oxygenation of the atmosphere has had a profound impact on the course of life on Earth.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Prokaryotes exhibit high levels of genetic variation, which can lead to the rapid evolution of antibiotic resistance. Understanding the genetic mechanisms behind resistance is crucial for developing new drugs and therapies that can effectively target pathogenic bacteria. By studying the genetic diversity of prokaryotes, researchers can identify new targets for drug development and potentially overcome the challenges posed by antibiotic resistance.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Prokaryotes play a vital role in bioremediation, the use of living organisms to clean up environmental pollutants. In the case of oil spills, certain prokaryotes have the ability to break down hydrocarbons, the main components of oil, into less harmful substances. They can be used directly in oil spills or in bioaugmentation, where they are introduced to the contaminated environment to enhance the natural degradation process. Their ability to degrade oil and other pollutants makes them valuable tools for environmental cleanup.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Living organisms are made of cells, replicate, possess genes, undergo metabolic processes, and evolve as populations.

Cell Theory states that all living things are made of cells, which are the basic units of life, and that all cells arise from pre-existing cells.

Natural Selection is the process where organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.

The levels of biological organization include ecosystems, communities, populations, organisms, systems, organs, tissues, cells, organelles, molecules, and atoms.

A two-part naming system for organisms, created by Carl Linnaeus, which includes the genus and species names.

Nonliving components that influence the survival and success of organisms, such as sunlight, temperature, and water.

Living components that affect organisms, including interactions like predation, competition, and symbiosis.

Evolution is the change in the genetic composition of populations over successive generations, driven by processes like natural selection.

Segments of DNA that represent different versions of a gene.

Scientists who proposed evolution as descent with modification through natural selection.

The belief that species are unchanging and can be categorized into types.

Concept that emphasizes variation within species rather than fixed types.

Human-caused selection, leading to changes in species.

Records that show changes in species over geological time.

Infectious proteins causing transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs).

Tiny circular RNA molecules that cause diseases in plants.

The study of evolutionary relationships and classification of organisms.

A diagram representing evolutionary relationships among organisms or groups.

A phylogenetic tree with a single common ancestor at the base.

Lines in a phylogenetic tree representing lineages of organisms.

A group consisting of an ancestor and all its descendants.

Shared derived traits among a group of organisms in phylogeny.

The permanent loss of a species from Earth.

The total number of individuals of a species in a given area.

An organism that competes for the same resources as another.

A species of fish that lies in open water, possibly impacted by competition.

Species that live on or in the ground at the bottom of water bodies.

A type of bird that can influence the survival of other species.

A species of bird that might face extinction due to competition.

The act of allowing different species to use the same resources.

Prokaryotes play crucial roles in medicine, beauty, food production, and ecosystems.

Germ Theory, proposed by Koch, states that specific pathogens cause specific diseases.

Process of converting nitrogen gas (N2) into ammonia (NH3) or nitrate (NO3-) by bacteria.

Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic bacteria that produce oxygen and are primary producers in ecosystems.

Stromatolites are layered sedimentary formations created by cyanobacteria, providing evidence of early microbial life.

Bioremediation uses microorganisms to break down pollutants and restore environments.

Prokaryotes exhibit a wide range of metabolic pathways that allow them to exploit various environments.

Bacteria achieve genetic variation through transformation, transduction, and conjugation.

Hybrid embryos die during development due to genetic regulation failure.

Problems during meiosis lead to abnormal gametes, resulting in hybrid infertility.

New species arise when populations are geographically isolated from each other.

New species form without geographic isolation, often due to disruptive selection or mutations.

Individuals with 2 or more sets of chromosomes; common in plants.

A polyploid organism resulting from chromosome doubling in a single species.

Hybrid offspring from two species that may become fertile with doubled chromosomes.

A barrier forms that separates populations, leading to speciation.

The movement of individuals away from their original population, leading to speciation.

Changes in chromosome structure or number that can lead to new species.