Islands Unit Study Guide
Geology
Plate tectonics – evidence to support the theory, role of convection currents
Tectonic boundaries – divergent, convergent, and transform. What sort of features (ocean ridges, trenches, island arcs) do you find at each type?
Volcanoes – characteristics of each different type (cinder cone, shield, composite), including behavior, viscosity, and type of rock produced (rhyolite, andesite, basalt), mafic vs. felsic lava, intrusive vs. extrusive igneous rocks
Rock Cycle – what are the three major types of rock and how are they produced? What processed can transform one type of rock into another?
What is the relationship between plate tectonics and the type of volcano they produce? What is the relationship between plate tectonics and the type of rocks they produce?
Biology
Speciation – what is it? What are some of the ways that it can occur on islands? What types of isolation can lead to the formation of new species?
Natural Selection vs. genetic drift – how do they work together and how are they different?
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What is adaptive radiation and how does it explain Darwin’s finches?
What is different about biological evolution on islands?
Why are islands good places to study evolution?
Key Vocabulary
Define the following key terms on a separate sheet of paper or make flashcards of these terms.
Clade
Cladistics
Linnaean classification
Phylogeny
Shared derived character
Homologous structure
Analogous structure
Vestigial structure
Divergent evolution
Convergent evolution
Embryology

Islands Unit Study Guide
Cladistics
Please answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper in complete sentences.
Describe how to create a cladogram depicting evolutionary relationships for a group of organisms.
Using the following data, create a cladogram on a separate sheet of paper.
Identify whether each boxed area is a clade or not and describe how you know on a separate sheet of paper.
1.
3.
2.
4.

Islands Unit Study Guide
Comparative Anatomy of Vertebrates
Please fill in the chart below to describe a characteristic from each body system that helps each organism survive in its environment.
Type of
Organism and
Environment
Fish— swimming in water
Skeletal
System
Nervous
System/Unique sensory traits
Lateral line:
Respiratory
System
Gills:
Circulatory
System/Number of chambers in the heart
Frogamphibious lifestyle
Reptile-life on land
Bird—life on land and in the air
Mammal—life on land
Hollow bones:
Tympanic
Membrane:
Infrared heat detection (in vipers):
Cutaneous
Respiration:
Air sacs:

Islands Unit Study Guide
Important Body Systems
In the chart below, describe what the major functions of each body system.
Organ System Function(s)
Skeletal
Nervous
Respiratory
Circulatory
Digestive
Reproductive