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

Monarch butterflies

Inquiring about life

Inquiring about life

• Record amounts of dissolved phosphorus hit Lake Erie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TlXQazNx00

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