ZOO 2040
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
Biology of Animals
Study Topics 4
Understand Garstang’s hypothesis about the evolution of the vertebrates from chordates. What is
paedomorphosis? What are some examples of paedomorphosis among the living vertebrates?
From what body structures did jaws evolve? Which vertebrate groups are agnathans and which are
gnathostomes?
How do the two modern agnathan classes differ in their life histories and ecologies? Why are sea lampreys
important in the Great Lakes?
What types of sensory organs are found in fishes? Which is unique to fishes?
How do freshwater and saltwater bony fishes regulate their osmotic levels? How do elasmobranchs
regulate their osmotic balance and how does this differ from teleosts?
Why are lungs and opercula important to some fishes?
What are the trends in fisheries and why is aquaculture increasing in importance?
What are the adaptations of mesopelagic and bathypelagic fishes?
In the Sarcopterygii, distinguish among rhipidistians, crosspterygians, and coelancanths. Which of these is
the ancestor of all tetrapods?
When did amphibians evolve, and from what group of fishes? When did they undergo more extensive
evolutionary radiation? What ecological conditions drove the movement toward a terrestrial life? What
evolutionary adaptations did amphibians have to have in order to live on land?
Know the characteristics, evolution, life histories, and ecology of the living amphibian orders, as presented
in class. Which of the modern orders of amphibians has paedomorphic species? Why is paedomorphosis
adaptive in these animals?
Why are hearing and vocalization important in amphibians? What kinds of breeding strategies and parental
care are known for the amphibians? How do most frogs minimize competition between larvae and adults?
What are “amphibian limb malformations”, and what explanations have been suggested for these
deformities? What other factors have been cited as reasons for amphibian population declines?
What distinguishes anamniote from amniote vertebrates? Which modern vertebrate classes are anamniotes
and which are amniotes? Aside from the egg, what other adaptations do reptiles have for terrestrial life?
What differentiates the three major groups of reptiles (anapsids, diapsids, and synapsids) what living
animals are most closely related to these groups?
Know the characteristics, evolution, life histories, and ecology of the living reptilian orders, as presented
in class. Which order is most closely related to birds?
What are squamates? What are the squamate suborders? What major group of reptiles (see above) do the
squamates belong to? Why are many squamates partially or completely limbless? How do snakes move?
What special sensory abilities are found in reptiles? What are venoms and what properties do they have?
What function(s) do venoms serve? How are venoms used in biomedicine?
Understand the modes of reproduction and the forms of parental care among reptiles. Which reptiles do
not have sex chromosomes? How is sex determined in these animals?
For what purposes are reptiles used by humans? Which groups are endangered because of human
overexploitation and why?
When did birds first appear? What group of reptiles did birds evolve from? Why does Dr. Peters call them
“volant reptiles”? When did birds begin to diversify, and what probably allowed them to do so? What
ecological role did the large birds of the early Cenozoic fill?
What are the different kinds of feathers, and what are their functions? Are feathers unique to birds? What
are the two hypotheses regarding flight in birds?
What birds are ratites? Why are tinamous different from other modern birds?
How are birds able to fly? How does wing shape and body size affect flight abilities?
What are neotropical migrants, and why are they endangered?
What happens to birds that are isolated on oceanic islands where there are no predators?
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
What characteristics distinguish mammals from all other vertebrates? From what reptilian group did
mammals evolve and when?
What is heterodont dentition, and why is it important? How does the ecological diversity of mammals
compare with other vertebrates (or, for that matter, all other animals)?
When did mammals first appear? What group; of reptiles did mammals evolve from? When did they begin
to diversify, and what allowed them to do so?
What is the difference between monotremes, marsupials, and eutherian (placental) mammals in terms of
reproduction? Which evolved first, and were are these kinds of mammals found today?
What are the functions of mammalian hairs? What is hair made of? What are the differences between
horns and antlers?
What kinds of exocrine glands are found in mammals? What are their functions?
What is the difference between fermentative and non-fermentative digestion? What are ruminants, and
why are ruminants important in the culture and evolution of humans (can you list important ruminant
species?)
What was the first domesticated mammal? What species of domesticated mammals no longer exist in the
wild? Can you name 10 domesticated mammals?
What diseases are carried by mammals? How have/are these diseases affecting human populations? What
are zoonoses and “reverse zoonoses”? What are examples of these?
What are the adaptations and ecological roles of bats?
In what ways does the introduction of non-native mammals into new environments by humans (either
accidentally or on purpose) negatively affect native species?
What changes have occurred in the evolution of the circulatory system from fishes though amphibians,
reptiles, birds, and mammals?
Throughout of the semester, we looked at examples of adaptations for:
• acquiring energy and nutrients (e.g., modes of feeding or prey capture)
• defending against predation (e.g., venomous stings or skin secretions)
• maintaining proper water and dissolved solute balance (e.g., salt glands, calciferous glands)
• increasing reproductive success and genetic diversity (e.g., alternation of asexual and sexual reproduction,
serial hermaphroditism)
• improving circulatory and gas exchange efficiency (e.g., lungs, biramous appendages)
• eliminating nitrogenous wastes (e.g., kidneys, Malphigian tubules)
• avoiding environmental extremes until conditions become more favorable (e.g., hibernation, resting eggs)
• sensing environmental stimuli (e.g., light, sound waves)
As you review the material, you should note these types of adaptations and be able to match them with
appropriate taxonomic groups. These will form the cumulative questions for the Final Exam.