Post on 12-Jan-2016
Text book coverMagnolia
Flower – reproduction (key property of life)
Close association with other organisms – beetles carry pollen and obtain food (energy utilization)
Flower shape and structure – adaptation (key property of life)
Questions:What is the evolutionary origin of magnolias?Why do they grow in certain places and not in others?How do they grow from a single cell to a flowering tree?
EEES 2150-002: Biodiversity
Bark has antibacterial properties and may reduce allergic and asthmatic reactions
Inquiring about life
• Record amounts of dissolved phosphorus hit Lake Erie
Outline (Text book Chapter 1)• What is Biology, Biodiversity?• Some properties of life
• Order• Reproduction• Growth and development• Energy utilization• Response to the environment• Homeostasis• Adaptation• Form fits function
• What are the levels of biological organization?• What methods of science are used?
• Emergent properties• Holism vs. reductionism
Some Properties of life (Fig. 1-3)
Some Properties of life (Fig. 1-3)
Growth and Development (Fig 1-3)
Energy Utilization - Metabolismautotrophs heterotrophs
Some Properties of Life: Summary
homeostasis
ptarmigan
reproductionorder growth and development
Energy utilization
Response to environment
adaptation
Fig. 1-7
(a) Wings
(c) Neurons
(b) Bones
Infoldings ofmembrane
Mitochondrion
(d) Mitochondria0.5 µm100 µm
Figure 1.7: Form fits function
6.7. The smaller the cell, the higher the
surface-to-volume ratio
Fig. 6.7. Geometric relationship between surface area and volume.
Increase in size produces a decrease in the surface area/volume ratio.
Outline• What is Biology, Biodiversity?• Some properties of life
• Order• Reproduction• Growth and development• Energy utilization• Response to the environment• Homeostasis• Adaptation• Form fits function
• What are the levels of biological organization?• What methods of science are used?
• Emergent properties• Holism vs. reductionism
Fig. 1-4
The biosphere
Communities
Populations
Organisms
Ecosystems
Organs and organ systems
Cells
Cell
Organelles
Atoms
MoleculesTissues
10 µm
1 µm
50 µm
Figure 1-4. Levels of biological organization
Fig. 1-4c
The biosphere
Fig. 1-4d
Ecosystems
Fig. 1-4e
Communities
Fig. 1-4f
Populations
Fig. 1-4g
Organisms
Fig. 1-4
The biosphere
Communities
Populations
Organisms
Ecosystems
Organs and organ systems
Cells
Cell
Organelles
Atoms
MoleculesTissues
10 µm
1 µm
50 µm
Figure 1-4. Levels of biological organization
Fig. 1-4h
Organs andorgan systems
Maple
Fig. 1-4i
Tissues50 µm
Fig. 1-4j
Cells
Cell
10 µm
Fig. 1-4k
1 µm
Organelles
Chloroplast
Fig. 1-4l
Atoms
Molecules Chlorophyll
Fig. 1-5
Fig. 1-5. Organisms interact with their environments, exchanging matter and energy
Emergent Properties
• Each level of biological organization has properties that are not found at lower levels so how do we study these levels?
Outline• What is Biology, Biodiversity?• Some properties of life
• Order• Reproduction• Growth and development• Energy utilization• Response to the environment• Homeostasis• Adaptation• Form fits function
• What are the levels of biological organization?• What methods of science are used?
• Emergent properties• Holism vs. reductionism
Two different, complementary approaches
Dead fish in river
Take fish out and bring to the lab
Identify symptoms, affected tissues
Run tests on liver, kidney, etc.
Identify the chemical reaction that caused the death of the fish
Analyze water quality
Identify sources of pollution
Analyze activities that produce pollution
Identify the necessary changes in these activities that caused the death of the fish
ReductionismHolism
Solve the problem
Two different, complementary approaches
• Reductionism: Natural objects and processes can be explained by studying their parts (‘the whole is the sum of its parts’).
• Holism: Living nature is a scheme of interactions whereby the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
Everything is connected!
Malaria control with DDT (SE Asia)
DDTKills mosquitoes
Kills roaches
Reduces lizards
Increases straw-eating insects
Reduces cats
Destroys homesIncreases rats
Increases fleas
Increases bubonic plague
Test prediction
Hypothesis #1:Dead batteries
Hypothesis #2:Burnt-out bulb
Test prediction
Prediction:Replacing batterieswill fix problem
Prediction:Replacing bulbwill fix problem
Test falsifies hypothesis Test does not falsify hypothesis
Fig. 1-24.Scientific method: hypothetisis-based inquiry (cause and effect)[deduction]
Discovery science:Descriptive approach using careful observations and analysis of data[induction]
Engineering
1. Identify the problem
2. Propose a tentative solution to the problem
4. Formulate a new hypothesis, that includes the increased knowledge about the observation.
Two parallel approaches
Science
1. Make an observation
2. Propose an explanation for this observation (i.e. develop a hypothesis) and make a prediction based on that hypothesis
3. Test this prediction to see if it comes true
3. Test this solution in the form of a model (mathematical, physical, or other) to see if it solves the problem
4. Implement the solution in the real system and monitor its effectiveness
5. Collect fee ($)
Example test question
• What is the primary reason for including a control within the design of an experiment?
a) To provide more data so that one can perform a more sophisticated statistical analysis.
b) To test the effect of more than one variable.
c) To accumulate more facts that can be reported to other scientists.
d) To insure that the results obtained are due to a difference in only one variable.
e) To demonstrate in what way the experiment was performed incorrectly.
Outline
• Core themes in biology (‘paradigms’)
• How to organize the diversity of life?
• Systematics and taxonomy
• All organisms are composed of cells, their basic unit of structure and function. These cells ‘do’ chemistry.
• New properties emerge at each level in the biological hierarchy.
• Structure and function are correlated at all level of biological organization
• Organisms interact with eachother, take in energy from their environment and convert it into a useful format.
• There is a universal genetic code shared by all organisms and this code transmits information between generations.
• Evolution by natural selection results in adaptation.
Some paradigms in Biology(see also Chapter 1, p. 25-26)
Figure 1.20 Natural selection
peppered moth, Biston betularia
Des
cen
t w
ith
mod
ific
atio
n
Evolutionary adaptation is a product of natural selection
Seahorse Poorwill
Galapagos Islands
South AmericaCharles
Darwin
Figure 1.22 Descent with modification: Adaptive radiation of finches on the Galápagos Islands
• Different beaks adapted to food sources on different islands
How to classify all this diversity?
Taxonomy: The method of naming and classifying the diverse forms of life.
Systematics: The scientific study of the diversity of life.
Phylogenetics: The study of the evolutionary history of a species or a group of species.
Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cells
Lacks membrane-enclosed nucleus/organelles
Fig 1.15. The three domains of life
Fig 1.14. Classifying life
Linnaeus (1707-1778)
Binomial classification
Look at Chapter 1 Review (p. 25-26)
• Themes connecting the concepts of biology
• The core theme: Evolution producing unity and diversity of life
• Forms of inquiry in the study of nature