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Organismal Biology Study Guide for Test # 4 (4 MAY 2005 – Wed)
Chapter 34 – Section F – Primates and the Evolution of Homo sapiens
Opposable thumb – in primates; but fully opposable only in anthropoid primates
Prosimians – example – lemurs
Anthropoidea (anthropoids) – includes moneys, apes, humans
Brachiating – swinging through the trees by the arms
Overlapping fields of vision (3-D) – advantage for brachiating
Old World vs New World monkeys – differences and similarities
Know 4 genera of of apes
Paleoanthropology – definition
Hominoid = refers to great apes and humans collectively
Hominid – more narrow meaning; confined to those twigs of the evolutionary tree that
are more colosed related to us than any other species
2 groups of honidis – australopithecines (now extinct) and members of genus Homo
Be able to explain misconceptions about human and chimp evolution
Human evolution marked by the evolution of : brain size, jaw shape (prognathic jaws),
bipedal posture, reduced size differences between sexes
Be able to explain key changes in family structure
“Lucy” kind of fossil, where found, and characteristics
Homo habilis – earliest fossils placed in our genus
“Turkana Boy” age, characteristics
Homo erectus – age, characteristics – first hominid species to migrate out of Africa
(Bejing Man, Java Man)
Neanderthal – know about them
“Out of Africa” or replacement hypothesis – how it is supported, what it is
Chapter 50 – An Introduction to Ecology and the Biosphere
Section A – The Scope of Ecology
Ecology – definition
Abiotics vs biotic factors
Ecological time vs evolutionary time
Organismal biology
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Organism – population – community – ecosystem
Community ecology
Ecosystem ecology
Landscape ecology
Rachel Carson – DDT – wrote book “Silent Spring” – know her story
Section B1 – Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms
Global patterns in distribution of organisms (know names and locations of Neotropical,
etc)
Biogeography
Dispersal, transplants
Introduced species – e.g., Africanized bees, zebra mussels, etc.
Limpet/sea urchin experiment – to determine effect of predation on seaweed
Examples of abiotic factors
Section B2 – Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms (continued)
Climate - definition
Climate and biomes
Be able to interpret and know main concepts demonstrated in Fig 50.10, 50.11, 50.12
Equinox
Water air rises, as it cools, precipitation falls
Main direction of weather patterns in US ;What happens as warm air rises and goes over
mountain chains
Know Fig. 50.15 very well – terms and concepts
Microclimates
Global climate and global warming – what effects this could have on species distribution
Section C1 – Aquatic and Terrestrial Biomes
Marine biomes and their main characteristics
Photic zone, aphotic zone, thermocline, benthic zone (Fig. 50.18)
Littoral zone, limnetic zone, profundal zone
Oligotrophic, eutrophic, and mesotrophic lakes – know the differences
Oxbow rivers and streams
Problems with damming
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Wetlands
Estuaries
Be able to explain (and know names of) zones in marine environment – Fig. 50.22
Coral reefs
Ocean pelagic biome
Benthos
Abyssal zone
Section C2 - Aquatic and Terrestrial Biomes (continued)
Know main biomes and their main characteristics (e.g., savannas, deserts, chaparrals,
temperate grasslands, temperate deciduous forests, coniferous forests, tundra
Abiotic factors vs biotic factors
Vertical stratification
Canopy
Permafrost
Section D – The Spatial Scale of Distributions
Know various kinds of scales – see Fig. 50.26
Chapter 51 – Behavioral Ecology
Section A – Introduction to Behavior and Behavioral Ecology
Behavior – definition
Proximate vs ultimate causes – what each is
Nature-vs-nature – in behavior, BOTH are involved – understand example given by 51.1
Innate behavior – due to genetic programming
Ethology
Understand experiment in Fig 51.12 and what concept it is demonstrating
FAP = fixed action patterns ; and sign stimulus – definitions and examples (color red in
sticklebacks)
Behavioral ecology – definition
Be able to interpret Figs. 51.5, 51.6, 51.7, and Table on page 1127
Section B – Learning
Learning – definition
Learning vs maturation
Habituation – definition and examples
Imprinting – definition and examples
Konrad Lorenz and his famous imprinting experiments
Sensitive period
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bird song- genetic and learning components
associative learning, classical conditioning (Pavlov’s dog)
operant conditioning – definition and examples
importance of play behavior
Section C – Animal Cognition
Cognition – definition
Kinesis vs taxis and examples of each
Confitive maps
Migration
Piloting, orientation, navigation
Section D1 – Social Behavior and Sociobiology
Social behavior – definition
Agonistic, submissive, ritualistic behaviors
Reconciliation behavior
Dominance hierarchies – alpha, beta, etc. – more than 1 kind of hierarchy (“pecking
order”)
Territory and territoriality – costs and benefits – how territory is marked
Parental investment (usually more in females than males)
Mating systems – know the differences and an example of each – promiscuous,
monogamous, polygamous, polygyny, polyandry
Certainty of paternity – male investment is usually higher
Section D2 - Social Behavior and Sociobiology (continued)
Signal
Communication
Display
Pheromones
“Waggle dance” of the honeybee
Altruism
Kin selection
Naked mole rats – truly social species; demonstrates kin selection
Warning barks in ground squirrels
Inclusive fitness
Hamilton’s Rule and kin selection – understand the basic equation and ideas behind it to
mathematically explain kin selection
Reciprocal altruism
Humans – part of learning is cultural – what we pass down to the next generation
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Chapter 52 – Population Ecology
Section A – Characteristics of Populations
Population – definition and characteriscs ( like density, dispersion)
Mark-recapture methods – how they work, why important
Patterns of dispersion – clumped, random, uniform – why each might occur
Demography
Life table – main point of it
Cohort
Survivorship curves – Types I, II, III – characteristics and examples of each – Fig. 52.3
Reproductive tables – see Table52.2
Section B – Life Histories
Life history
Big-bang reproduction
Semelpariety
Repeated reproductive
Iteroparity
Tradeoffs between survival and reproduction – see Fig. 52.5
Quality vs quantify of offspring
Section C – Population Growth
Know and understand equations for population growth
ZPG
Exponential population growth – equation, graph, meaning, what kind of animals exhibit
this kind of growth, what kind of conditions
Carrying capacity (K)
Logistic population growth - equation, graph, meaning, what kind of animals exhibit this
kind of growth, what kind of conditions
Fig. 52.11 – be able to interpret
K-selection vs r-selection – what each is, characteristics of each, what animals represent
each kind
Section D – Population-Limiting Factors
Densitiy-dependent factors and negative feedback
Density-independent factors
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Intraspecific competition – what it is, examples – territoriality, predation, waste
accumulation (note wine example), disease
Population fluctuations; snowshoe hare and lynx example
Section E – Human Population Growth
Human – so far, exponential growth
Plague
ZPG
Demographic transition
Age structure – see Fig. 52.22 – know graphs and meaning of each
What is Earth’s carrying capacity?
Ecological footprint – components of; be able to explain Fig. 52.23
Chapter 55 – Conservation Biology
Section A – The Biodiversity Crisis
3 levels of biodiversity: genetic, species, and ecosystem – know what each is
Endangered species, threatened species – definitions
IUCN = International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources –
what this organization says
Ways in which biodiversity at all levels is vital to human welfare – see page 1127
Major threats to biodiversity – habitat destruction, introduced species, overexploitation,
and food chain disruptions
Introduced species – some examples – pages 1229-1231