BY 52 Lecture Study Guide #1
Describe natural selection and adaptation; Describe the evidence for evolution; Distinguish
between anagenesis and cladogenesis; Define biological species; Describe prezygotic and
postzygotic isolating mechanisms and give examples of each; Distinguish between allopatric and
sympatric speciation; Describe the effect of autopolyploidy and allopolyploidy in speciation;
Describe the role of allometric growth, and paedomorphosis in speciation.
Define a population; Contrast methods to measure the density of a species; Describe the
characteristics of populations that exhibit Type I, Type II, and Type III survivorship curves;
Compare the geometric model of population growth with the logistic model (J vs S); Explain how
an environment's carrying capacity affects the intrinsic rate of increase of a population; Define a
community; Explain how interspecific competition affects community structure; Describe the
competitive exclusion principle and its affect on community structure. Define an ecological nitch.
Define predation and describe the defense mechanisms in plants and animals in avoiding
predators. Distinguish among parasitism, mutualism, and commensalisms. Distinguish between a
food chain and a food web. Identify the controls on the length of the food chain.
Define phylogeny, taxonomy and systematics. Describe the effect of continental drift on
biological evolution. Explain how mass extinctions have occurred and how they affected the
evolution of surviving forms. List the major taxonomic categories from the most to least
inclusive. Define the parts and describe the interrelationships within a cladogram. Distinguish
between homologous and analogous structures. Distinguish between shared primitive and shared
derived characteristics. Contrast an ingroup and outgroup. Explain how nucleotide and amino
acid sequences can be used to classify organisms; Describe parsimony.
Describe the three-domain system; Describe the general size, structure & composition of
prokaryotic cells, & how they differ from eukaryotic cells; Distinguish between photoautotrophs,
chemoautotrophs, photoheterotrophs, chemoheterotrophs, saprobes, and parasites; Explain the
role of prokaryotes in the nitrogen cycle;
Describe the evidence that supports the theory that mitochondria and plastids evolved by
endosymbiosis. Describe the type of organisms classified in the kingdom Protista, their mode of
reproduction and nutrition.
List the characteristics that distinguish fungi from organisms in other kingdoms; Explain how
fungi acquire their nutrients; Describe the basic body plan of a fungus (hyphae & mycelium);
Describe the roles of fungi in ecosystems; Identify the method of reproduction and dispersal .
Describe the evolution of land plants; Describe the evidence for a phylogenetic connection
between land plants and green algae; Distinguish between vascular plants and bryophytes;
seedless vascular plants and seed plants (Gymnosperms & Angiosperms).
List the characteristics that define animals and distinguish them from other organisms; Outline
the major phylogenetic branches of the animal kingdom based on organization; symmetry and
embryonic germ layers; Distinguish among the acoelomate, pseudocoelomate, and coelomate.
Compare the developmental differences between protostomes and deuterostomes; Explain and
compare the three main hypotheses for the cause of the Cambrian diversification of animals.
Distinguish between the two subgroups of deuterostomes. Describe the four unique characteristics
of chordates; Describe the two-stage hypothesis for the evolution of vertebrates from
invertebrates; Define and distinguish between gnathostomes, tetrapods, and amniotes