What is Life? Levels and Branches of Biology

Biology is the study of what? Break down the word – “ology” = study of “bio” = life (comes from the greek word bios) Biology is the science that wants to understand the LIVING world Biologists use the SCIENTIFIC METHOD to study living things

Is this alive?

Living things share several characteristics – what are they? Group Project: Work together to come up with the characteristics that all living organisms share. Write down what you come up with in your notebooks (EVERYONE!!!!) You have 10 minutes.

What are the characteristics of life You have: 10 Minutes

What are the characteristics of life You have: 7 Minutes

What are the characteristics of life You have: 4 Minutes

What are the characteristics of life You have: 1 Minutes

What did you come up with?

Living things are made up of units called Cells Living things reproduce Living things are based on a universal genetic code Living things grow and develop Living things obtain and use materials and energy Living things respond to their environment Living things maintain a stable internal environment Taken as a group, living things change over time.

What are Cells? Small self-contained units Grow, reproduce and respond to their surroundings Unicellular means: One Celled (“Uni” = One) Microorganisms Multicellular means: Many Celled (“Multi” = Many) Animals and plants Diversity Human body: 85+ different types of cells

Sexual Reproduction Majority of multicellular organisms Two cells from different parents combine to make the new organism Asexual Reproduction Majority of unicellular organisms One cell divides in half to form two new organisms

What is Genetic Code? How do dogs produce dogs, flies produce flies? DNA Deoxyribonucleic Acid

Life Cycles Typical Growth and Death Patterns Differentiation (Development) Changes – Eggs -> Maggots -> Flies

Metabolism – Builds up or breaks down materials to live. How does Algae do this? How do Plants do this? How do Sheep do this? How do Wolves do this? How do Buzzards do this?

Light Temperature Water Gravity Air Shelter

Homeostasis – process in which an organism keeps their internal conditions relatively stable. What happens when you get sick? How does a bird maintain its body temperature in the snow and in the heat?

Things Evolve Over Time As a large group How can we tell?

 The study of living things and how they interact with nonliving things.  Each organism depends in some way on other living or nonliving things.

Biosphere: Broadest level of organization including all things found on Earth and in it’s atmosphere. Ecosystems: Includes all the organisms and the nonliving environment found in a particular place. Community: Only includes living parts of the ecosystem.

Population: Includes all the members of a species that live in one place at one time. Organism: Simplest level of organization that consist of only one living thing.

Think of it this way: If the earth were an apple the biosphere would be only as thick as the skin on the apple. Are Living Things distributed evenly throughout the biosphere? No!!!!

A pond is an ecosystem that contains a variety of living things: fish, turtles, aquatic plants, algae, insects, and bacteria. Also don’t forget the nonliving: chemical and physical composition (water, sunlight) They all interact in ways that affect their survival.

All the living organisms in the pond: fish, turtles, plants, algae, and bacteria. Can contain thousands of species *Group Names*

All the members of a species that live together at one time. Like a species of frogs living in the same pond and interacting.

One single organism like a duck.

Biotic: all the living things in environment: animals, plants, bacteria, etc. Abiotic: all of the non-living things in environment: pH, salinity, temp, minerals, amount of sunlight, and precipitation.

Abiotic and Biotic factors are NOT independent. Ex: Plants (biotic) need nitrogen (abiotic)

A species’ niche is its way of life, or role the species plays in its environment. A species niche includes a range of things: Methods of how it obtains food Number of offspring Time of reproduction All other interactions with its environment

A species niche can change in a single generation. Some species survive better than others.

Specialist: have narrow niches Ex. Koala who feeds only on a few species of eucalyptus leaves. Generalist: tolerate a broad range of things Ex. Virginia Opossum lives all over the U.S. and eats almost anything

Several types: 1. Predation – predator captures, kills, and consumes prey Important role in natural selection

Does the coyote ever catch the roadrunner? Does he eat him? No 

ture=endscreen ture=endscreen ature=related ature=related

a. Camouflage -hiding

b. Advertising poison – caterpillars eat poisonous plant – bird eats them and then gets sick or dies.

c. Mimicry – harmless species resembles a dangerous or distasteful one. Harmless viceroy (bottom) looks like poisonous monarch butterfly.

d. Looking scary

2. Parasitism – one individual, the parasite, feeds on another individual, the host Can you think of some different types of Parasites? Species Interactions

a. Ectoparasites: live externally. Ex. Fleas, ticks, lice, leeches, lampreys

b. Endoparasites: live internally. Ex. Flukes, tapeworms, disease-causing bacteria

Highly adapted – may lack digestive system, limbs, etc

4. Competition – results from the use of same resources by 2 or more species. Can you think of some animals that compete for food, water, land? Species Interactions

5. Mutualism – cooperative relationship between 2 organisms in which both benefit. Ex. Acacia tree and ant (protection and water) Next slide: Sea anemone and clown fish (protection and food);

6. Commensalism – interaction in which one species benefits, the other is not helped or harmed Ex. Cattle and egrets

Succession – gradual regrowth of species in an area

A. Primary succession – development of community in an area not previously inhabited. Ex. New island (bare rock), sand dune, lava flow

B. Secondary Succession – replacement of species after a disruption (by fire, storm, human activity)

Pioneer species – the first to appear in succession; small and fast growing Ex – lichen Climax Community – Stable, mature ecosystem. Stays the same a long time. Ex – Forest, prairie