MASTERING BIOLOGY

1.01: Earth History

1
MASTERING BIOLOGY

The fossil record presents an incomplete picture of the history of life because all species are
not equally likely to leave fossils. Hard-shelled species that die where sediment is actively
being deposited are most likely to fossilize, whereas soft-bodied species that die where they
cannot be buried are rarely fossilized. Moreover, if a species is not abundant or does not
exist for a long time, its fossils will likely be rare. Species that die in an environment with a
low oxygen content are more likely to leave fossils because a low oxygen content inhibits
decomposition.

1.02: Animal Diversity

Animal bodies may exhibit symmetry or a lack of symmetry (asymmetry).

• Some symmetrical animals exhibit radial symmetry, in which the body is wheel- or
spoke-shaped, with no obvious front, back, right, or left.
• Other symmetrical animals exhibit bilateral symmetry, in which the body has left and
right sides, a front and back, and a top and bottom.
Triploblasts have tissues derived from three embryonic germ layers: endoderm inside,
ectoderm outside, and mesoderm in the middle.
The three basic body plans of triploblasts relate to the presence or absence of a body cavity.
• No body cavity: acoelomate
• Body cavity lined on the inner side by endoderm-derived tissue and on the outer side
by mesoderm-derived tissue: pseudocoelomate
• Body cavity lined entirely by mesoderm-derived tissue: coelomate
Protostomes and deuterostomes differ in several aspects of their early embryonic
development.

2
MASTERING BIOLOGY

1.03:

3
MASTERING BIOLOGY

All chordate embryos exhibit four derived characters: a notochord; a dorsal, hollow nerve
cord; a muscular, post-anal tail; and pharyngeal slits or clefts.

In many chordates, these characters develop into different structures or are reduced in form
as the animal continues its development. For example, the pharyngeal slits develop into gill
slits in aquatic vertebrates, and a jointed skeleton forms around a reduced notochord in
most vertebrates.

Tunicates and lancelets are two groups of chordates. Both possess the four derived
characters of chordates during their development. However, whereas adult lancelets retain
all four of these characters, adult tunicates retain only one (pharyngeal slits).
Lancelets swim by contracting a series of muscles located along the side of the notochord,
which results in a motion similar to the swimming motion of fishes. Larval tunicates are

4
MASTERING BIOLOGY

mobile, using their tail muscles and notochord to propel themselves through the water; adult
tunicates are sessile or float with the current.
Adult lancelets and tunicates use their pharyngeal slits to filter suspended food particles
from the water.

1.04: Ecdysozoans and Gymnosperms

The ecdysozoans include nematodes, arthropods, and other phyla that have tough external
coats, or cuticles, that must be shed as they grow. This process of shedding, or molting, is
called ecdysis.
Nematodes, or roundworms, are unsegmented pseudocoelomate worms that lack a
circulatory system. Although most nematodes are free-living, some well-known nematodes,
such as hookworms and pinworms, are parasitic.
Arthropods have a reduced coelom and an open circulatory system. Arthropods have
segmented bodies that enable specialization of body structures such as appendages.
Cheliceriforms, which are named for their clawlike feeding appendages, called chelicerae,
include sea spiders, horseshoe crabs, spiders, scorpions, ticks, and mites. Myriapods include
millipedes and centipedes, which are terrestrial species. Crustaceans are primarily aquatic
animals such as lobsters, crabs, and crayfish. Insects possess three body regions (head,
thorax, and abdomen), may have one or more pairs of wings, and have six legs. Insects are
the largest and most diverse group of arthropods, including numerous species of butterflies,
beetles, flies, ants, and many others.

Insects and their relatives are the most species-rich group of living organisms. The diversity
of characteristics such as wing shape, mouthparts, and reproductive tactics enable insects
to live in most terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

The evolutionary tree below shows the relationship between the phyla and subphyla within
the clade Ecdysozoa, which includes animals with tough outer coverings that must be shed
for growth to occur. Myriapods, cheliceriforms, crustaceans, and insects and their relatives
(hexapods) together comprise the phylum Arthropoda, which is marked by jointed
appendages, segmented bodies, and hard exoskeletons. Note that the tree does not show all
phyla in the clade Ecdysozoa, nor does it show all orders of insects and their relatives in the
subphylum Hexapoda.

Gymnosperms (literally "naked seeds") are vascular plants that produce seeds that are not
enclosed in an ovary. Like other land plants, gymnosperms have a life cycle called
alternation of generations.

5
MASTERING BIOLOGY

The four main groups of gymnosperms are cycads, ginkgos, gnetophytes, and conifers.
Cycads have palmlike leaves. Ginkgos, represented by one surviving species, have
deciduous, fanlike leaves. Gnetophytes include a variety of plants in three genera. Conifers,
including redwoods, pines, and cypresses, have needle-like or scaly leaves and produce
seeds in cones.

Mitosis is a form of cell division resulting in daughter cells with the same number of
chromosomes as the parent cell, whereas meiosis is a form of cell division resulting in
daughter cells with half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell. Pollination is the
transfer of pollen from the male reproductive structures to the female reproductive
structures. Fertilization is the fusion of gametes that results in the formation of a diploid
zygote. The zygote develops into an embryo, which develops into the sporophyte in plants.

Gymnosperms undergo alternation of generations, alternating between the diploid

sporophyte and the haploid gametophyte.

In conifers, the mature sporophyte produces two types of cones, in which diploid
microsporangia and megasporangia develop.

* A cell in microsporangia divides by meiosis to form haploid microspores. The

microspores then divide by mitosis to form haploid male gametophytes (pollen grains).

* Inside megasporangia, a diploid mother cell divides by meiosis to form a haploid

megaspore. The megaspore then divides by mitosis to form the haploid female
gametophyte, which produces eggs.

6
MASTERING BIOLOGY

The pollen grains produce sperm, one of which fertilizes one of the eggs, resulting in a
diploid embryo inside a seed. Once the seed germinates, it forms a diploid seedling
(sporophyte) that will eventually develop into a mature diploid sporophyte.

1.05: Animal Form and Function

Feedback Loops: (see pg. 861 and 868 for additional diagram?)

Thermoregulation relies on negative feedback. Negative feedback works to return a system

to homeostasis by reducing a stimulus, such as a change in temperature. By contrast,
positive feedback systems amplify or speed up a response.

In thermoregulation in mammals, the stimulus is either a decreased body temperature or an

elevated body temperature. If the temperature is too low, one response is vasoconstriction
in the skin and extremities, resulting in lower blood flow and less heat lost to the
environment through the skin. When body temperature increases to normal, homeostasis is
regained. If the temperature is elevated, one of the body's responses is vasodilation in the
skin and extremities. This response increases the amount of heat lost to the environment,
and body temperature decreases.

In mammals, the "thermostat," or temperature control system, is located in the

hypothalamus. When cells in the hypothalamus detect a body temperature below the normal
range, the hypothalamus will inhibit heat loss mechanisms and activate mechanisms such as
shivering and vasoconstriction. When the cells detect a body temperature above the normal
range, the thermostat activates heat loss mechanisms such as vasodilation, sweating, and
panting.

Countercurrent Heat Exchangers:

In marine animals, extremities are often cooler than the rest of the body due to the
presence of countercurrent heat exchangers that enable the animal to retain body heat. A
sea turtle's flippers are often cooler than the rest of its body for this reason.

In a male dolphin, a countercurrent heat exchanger helps keep the testes cool so as to avoid
damage to the sperm. A dolphin's testes are surrounded by muscle that warms with activity,
so the cooling effect is especially important during vigorous swimming.

Many marine animals, including sea turtles and dolphins, have adaptations that allow them
to regulate heat gain and loss. In cooler water, the countercurrent heat exchanger in the sea
turtle's flippers transfers heat from arteries to veins, resulting in heat retention in the body
and cooler temperatures in the flippers.

In addition to countercurrent heat exchangers in its flippers, a male dolphin's testes have a
countercurrent heat exchanger to help keep them cool. The testes are surrounded by
abdominal muscle that warms with activity, such as vigorous swimming. Because high
temperatures can damage sperm, a countercurrent heat exchanger transfers heat from the
arteries near the testes to veins carrying cooler blood from the tail. In this way, the testes
are kept cool enough to protect the sperm from damage, and heat is retained in the body
core.

Modes of thermoregulation can be described by two different sets of terms. One set of terms
describes the source of an animal's body heat:

7
MASTERING BIOLOGY

* Endotherms are able to warm themselves from heat generated by the body's metabolic
processes.

* Ectotherms gain heat mainly from the environment.

The other set of terms describes how constant or variable an animal's body temperature is:

* Homeotherms have body temperatures that remain relatively constant.

* Poikilotherms, also called heterotherms, have body temperatures that fluctuate with the
environment.

Animals can be described according to whether they generate their own body heat
(endothermic) or gain most of their body heat from external sources (ectothermic). They can
also be described according to whether they maintain a relatively constant body
temperature (homeothermic) or allow their body temperature to fluctuate with the
environment (poikilothermic).
The diagram below illustrates that animals are not strictly endotherms, ectotherms,
homeotherms, or poikilotherms but rather that there is a continuum. Although birds and
mammals are generally homeothermic endotherms (upper right in the graph), there is no
fixed relationship between the source of body heat and the stability of body temperature.
For example, the arctic shrimp is an ectotherm; yet it is also a homeotherm due to the fact
that its environment's temperature is relatively stable.

How does connective tissue differ from the other three major tissue types?
Top of Form
Connective tissue often consists of relatively few cells embedded in an
extracellular matrix.

8
MASTERING BIOLOGY

Bottom of Form

9
MASTERING BIOLOGY

Example of negative feedback: Eating raises blood sugar levels; insulin stimulates the
lowering of blood sugar level. In this example the response to the stimulus (increased blood
sugar levels) opposes that stimulus (by lowering blood sugar levels).

10