Class notes Science process of identifying patterns and asking questions that help us to best understand those patterns

s Theory when several related phenomena are identified, a theory relates the phenomena Non scientific - Attempts to explain an event with little/no evidence to support it Scientific brings together multiple hypotheses with evidence Pattern and process the process is the mechanism in which the pattern occurs pattern is the general observations of repetition one sees in a system Proximate vs. ultimate Proximate short term Ultimate lifelong/long-term Two unifrying themes of biology 1) all organisms are made of cells 2) cells come from pre existing cells Original theory of cell generation spontaneous generation (pastuer experiment) Cell theory all cells come from a common ancestral cell all organisms are made of cells all cells come from pre-existing cells Populations evolve, not individuals Evolutionary theory all life as we know it, is a product of the evolutionary process evolution explains variation all species are related to each other through common ancestry Biological Hierarchy atoms, molecules, organelles, cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, organisms, populations, communities, ecosystem(addition of abiotic factors), and the biosphere all of the organisms within a community have the same general complexity about them (biologically) Emergent property a whole is greater than the sum of its parts collection of units at one level takes on a trait that is greater than the sum of its parts

ex: a collection of heart cells combine to make a heart and pump blood a) organ systems cannot reproduce themselves, but an organism can b) evolution is the emergent property of populations

real grouping exists in nature why do we study hierarchy/ group species some phenomena are only observable by studying whole levels of organization in the hierarchy the set of phenomena that can be explained only by looking at an entire hierarchal level are the emergent properties of that level (phenomena explained by emergent properties sum of parts of a level) Organisms Organisms are individuals (made up of organ systems) Individuals are acted on by natural selection Organismal approach how the organisms behave in its pop. Community - How it survives as a result of its behaviors and physiology (this is what is studied at the organismal level) Populations collections of individuals of the same species Evolutionary change effects the population level (as a whole) Population biologists concerned with population growth over time as well as evolutionary processes through time (development over time in a population) Communities- collection of different species living together Boundaries can be natural or determined by humans (between communities) Community biologists concerned with diversity of species and relationships each species has with one another Ecosystem communities (species) plus their abiotic factors (sunlight, plants, etc.) Specific communities Ecosystem biologists concerned with the flow of energy and matter cycling (how energy flows from one areas of the community to another) Biome collection of very small ecosystems Multiple versions of a specific type of ecosystem Biosphere all of the biomes/ ecosystems put together Sunlight enters heat energy leaves

Case studies from class: a) Rabbit issue in Australia b) Myxemetosis released into environment via mosquitos 2 years later 99.9% rabbits dead c) Problem: .1% still alive (had genetic variation to resist disease) d) Population genetics change over time to resist the myxemetosis

Pre Reading Notes Page one Search for ideas that and observations that unify our understanding of the diversity of life 1) analyzing how organisms work at the molecular level 2) understanding organisms and their history What does it mean to be alive -to stay alive and reproduce, organisms have to acquire and use energy -made up of cells -organisms process hereditary information -populations/organisms continue to evolve -cell replication Cell theory all organisms are made of cells and come from pre existing cells Pasteurs Flask Experiment -swan neck and straight neck flask -cells placed in swan tube and straight in solution -cells didnt form in swan neck flask but did in solution of straight neck conclusion: cells must come from preexisting cells Darwin- theory of evolution (origin of species) Descent with modification - Species can be modified generation to generation Natural Selection certain traits help individuals survive better Artificial Selection = selective breeding Fitness ability of an individual to produce offspring Adaptation a trait that increases the fitness of an individual in a particular envt Together the cell theory and theory of evolution provided biology with two unifying ideas 1) the cell is the fundamental structural unit in all organisms 2) all species are related by common ancestry

Speciation species diverge as a result of natural selection and form new species Phylogeny their actual genological relationship Carl woese discovered a connection between organisms (rRNA) Large complex molecule made up of Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine, Uracil sequence of building blocks in organisms are all different (similar with closely related organisms) Three fundamental groups or lineages of organisms 1)bacteria - Prokaryote 2) archea - Procaryote 3) eukarya Eukaryote Prokaryote no nucleus Unicellular Eukaryote Has Nucleus Multicellular Taxonomy the effort to name and classify organisms Domain: Bacteria, Archea, Eukarya Phylum: major lineages within each domain Genus: closely related group of species (humans homo) Scientific name: genus species (homo sapien) Giraffes- sexual competition hypothesis, food competition hypothesis Ant experiment cut legs, add to legs, keep normal and test their distance walked ants walk based on number and lengths of steps taken phylogenetic tree graphical representation of the evolutionary relationships between speciesrRNA