137687931

Scholarship Biology

93101

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Question One:

Ecological processes leading to the diversity of extinct and living species of these flightless
seabirds:

Various processes and changes have occurred to lead to the diversity of extinct and living
species of these flightless birds. Several ecological processes have occurred.

A niche is the function and fundamental role that the organism has in its surrounding
environment. The niche of the Penguin is that of an Oceanic Carnivore. This means that
penguins only eat meat, in the ocean. They feed on animals such as seals, other penguins,
fish and seafood.

A species is defined as a collective group of individual living organisms that can breed with
one another and produce fertile offspring. There are many different species for instance
Penguins have many different species such as the emperor penguins or the Macaroni
penguins.

Speciation is the formation of a new species from an original species. This can occur in the
same geographical area or in a different geographical area.
In this instance, the formation of different species of penguins has occurred in the same
geographical area. Therefore, this is known as sympatric speciation.

Sympatric speciation is the divergence of one species into two in the same geographical
area. Sympatric speciation often occurs through a process known as polyploidy. Polyploidy is
the formation of a new species due to a mistake occurring during meiosis. When the
chromosomes are separating to form the zygote, non-disjunction can occur. Non-disjunction
is where the chromosomes do not separate properly, therefore producing a zygote with a
different number of chromosomes to the parents. Having a different number of
chromosomes means that this offspring is a hybrid.

Modern day penguins are now completely flightless and have lost ariel flight. Therefore, the
wings serve no purpose to the penguins. They cannot help them to hunt, they cannot help
them to walk, they serve no purpose. The penguins’ wings are an example of a vestigial
structure. A vestigial structure is an anatomical feature that has lost its use overtime.
Originally, the wings would have been used for flying. This can be seen by the fact that many
modern-day species that came from the same ancestor that being the Procellariforms still
have wings. However, these modern-day species such as albatrosses and shearwaters use
their wings for the purpose of flying. They still serve to have a function on the body of the
animal.

There are currently 20 species of penguins alive. This is an example of adaptive radiation.
Adaptive radiation is where one species, that being the Procellariforms, diverges into
forming many new species. Adaptive radiation has led to the formation of the different
species of penguins.

Penguins can go for long periods without feeding. This means that they can travel very long
distances for long periods of time and not eat. Therefore, penguins are very able to explore
new territories with no survival risk. If this new location, then seems to have a good food
source, mates and is inhabitable, the penguins can then inhabit these new locations. If this
location then became geographical isolated from the original population, then allopatric
speciation would occur, and a new species would be formed.

Penguins have a strong ability to thermoregulate. This means that they can swim to a
variety of different places. They can live in warm water, cool water and freezing water. The
great ability to thermoregulate comes from the genetic and structural makeup of the
penguin. Genome research suggests that penguins have more than 100 genes under strong
selection.

Penguins are very proficient at movement through water. Penguins have streamlined
contour feathers, increased visual sensitivity of the eye lens and dense bones. All these
traits mean that penguins are very good at swimming through water. Being strong
swimmers means that penguins can cover vast distances and explore a variety of oceanic
habitats. They can then decide which habitat suits them best and the inhabit that habitat.
This leads to the divergence of the species as the penguins live in many different habitats
and do so without needing to return to the original population. The lack of this need ensures
that the penguins can develop reproductive isolating mechanisms and form new species.

Evolutionary processes leading to the diversity of extinct and living species of these
flightless seabirds:

Around 66 million years ago, the Procellariforms begun its diversion into several different
species which we see today as albatrosses, shearwaters, penguins and petrels). This period
occurred at a similar time to the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. During the Cretaceous-
Paleogene Boundary, the extinction of an array of apex predators, such as large sharks and
marine reptiles occurred. The extinction of these species led to an increased survival rate of
penguins. They were able to travel further and inhabit new spaces. They were able to
reproduce with a greater variety of mates.

Around 25 million years ago, oceanic carnivores, larger and stronger than penguins began to
become more abundant in the ocean. During this time, there were large numbers of large
penguins. These large penguins provided a food source to the oceanic predators. As these
oceanic predators fed more and more, they reproduced more and more. This meant that
the populations of predators grew, therefore a need for more food became apparent. These
predators fed more and more on the penguins to the point where they made a large
number of them extinct.

Then, around 22 million years ago, the Antarctic Circumpolar current (ACC) was formed by
the final separation of Antarctica from Australia and South America. This led to the
formation of new island groups and the cooling of Antarctica. Penguins began to inhabit
these different locations, and this led to the diversification of the species.

The great auk was a species that had undergone convergent evolution. Convergent
evolution is where an anatomical feature of one animal evolves to fulfil the same function as
that of another animal. In this instance, the Great auk developed strong lungs. Birds that live
on land do not need to hold their breath. Whereas birds that dive for their food underwater
need to be able to do so. The Pinguinus impennis, or the Great Auk developed a strong
ability to dive to depths of a kilometer and stay underwater for around 15 minutes. This
allowed the Great auk to hunt and feed on food. They developed this ability in order to feed
on a food source that very few other animals used.

Nowadays, larger penguins are found to inhabit the cooler regions. Cooler regions provide a
safer home for the larger penguins as there are less predators in these cool regions. In
contrast, the smaller penguins such as the Little Blue penguin are food in the warmer
regions. The smaller penguins are a less attractive food source to the predators. They
demand a large amount of energy to catch for relatively little food.
Question Two:

Difscuss the likely role and interaction of named factors that have contributed to the
critically endangered status of the black-footed ferrets.

There are a variety of factors that have contributed to the critically endangered status of the
black-footed ferrets. The roles and interactions of these factors will be discussed.

Prairie dogs make up more than 90% of their diet. Black-footed ferrets are discriminate
hunters which means that they are highly selective on what they eat. Having such a specific
diet means that if the Prairie dogs were to reduce in number or if they were to find a
defense mechanism against the black-footed ferrets, then the primary food source of the
black-footed ferrets would no longer be accessible.

This is an example of a parasitic, predator-prey relationship. The ferrets benefit off the
Prairie dogs while the prairie dogs are exploited. The ferrets make use of the homes of the
ferrets and also the dogs themselves.

Black-footed ferrets are solitary species. That means that they, for the most part, live alone.
The only time they are with other black-footed ferrets is when they are breeding or looking
after their young. This fact means that they have no defense from predators at night. They
have no protection from nocturnal predators. This serves to means that black-footed ferrets
are easy to be caught by predators at night. Being easy to catch means that they are an ideal
food source for predators. The fact they are an easy food source means that they are
hunted a lot by predators and because so many are caught and killed, the numbers of black-
footed ferrets is kept low. They also cannot hunt in groups making hunting for food much
more difficult. The fact that they hunt alone means that the success rate of catching a
Prairie dog is low. For instance, they do not have a partner to catch the Prairie dog in case it
escapes the grasp of the first ferret. The difficulty that comes with hunting for food means
that it starvation of black-footed ferrets is not uncommon. Being solitary means that they
are severely disadvantaged.
They live in a large open area of grassland known as a prairie. This sort of habitat greatly
exposes this species to predators. At night, it is extremely easy for a predator to spot the
movement of the Black-footed ferrets on the Prairie.

Females usually give birth to a litter of 3-4 in late spring. They have a lot of parental
involvement in the development of the offspring. This ensures that the Ferrets have a high
chance of survival to adulthood.

The black-footed ferrets are highly susceptible to a variety of diseases. This means that if
they encounter a disease, it is highly likely that they will then carry the infection. Often,
these infections lead to death. Being so susceptible to diseases means that they are unlikely
to live for a long time. The short lifespan ensures that the number of ferrets is kept low.

Thee ferrets underwent the bottle-neck effect. This is where an unexpected event caused
the species to have a quick reduction in the number of ferrets in the population. The ferrets
experienced a disease outbreak in 1986 which left only 18 individual ferrets. This significant
reduction in the number of ferrets in the population left a very small amount of genetic
variation. Therefore, when the ferrets breed, which happens relatively frequently,
approximately every year, the individuals breeding are already very genetically alike. This
leads to an increase in homozygosity. The increase in homozygosity causes recessive alleles
to be expressed. These recessive alleles can have a negative impact on the ferret when
expressed. In this instance, the increase in homozygosity meant that the ability of the
ferrets to fight off infections was greatly reduced. Along with this, there was also a
reduction in the allele frequencies.

Male black-footed ferrets have a low sperm quality which means that there is reduced
fertility, pregnancy rates and litter sizes. This low sperm quality means that breeding for
these ferrets is often unsuccessful. This serves as a disadvantage because the annual
breeding of these ferrets is drastically low.
Being territorial means that if there are no Prairie dogs in the territory of one particular
ferret, then the ferret will simply die.

Analyse options for the management of the black-footed ferret to improve their
vulnerable status.

Captive breeding programmes, including use of assisted reproduction (artificial

insemination) are currently in place. This means that these ferrets are being kept in a place
where the conditions are ideal for the species. The conditions will remain constant and the
ferrets will have a high likely-hood of survival.

Applying anti-flee treatment onto prairie dog colonies will remove the fleas and in doing so,
should also remove the presence of the Sylvatic plague. By removing the plague, the dogs
will no longer be infected. Therefore, the food source of the ferrets will still exist and the
ferrets will be able to feed more, reproduce more and will have an increased survival rate.

Giving black-footed ferrets vaccinations against sylvatic plague and CDV is another option.
However, this demands a strong human involvement in the lives of the ferrets. The
vaccinations could potentially cause harm to the ferrets.

The conservation of prairie and grassland habitats will be a majorly beneficial action that
can be taken to improve their vulnerable status. Currently around 95% of prairie dog habitat
has been lost and often the remaining areas are fragmented. The ferrets need the prairie
dogs in order to survive. The fact that Prairie dogs are the main food source for the ferrets
means that the ferrets rely on the dogs. If the dogs are unable to reproduce in a safe, stable
environment, then the number of dogs will be reduced. This reduction in the number of
dogs will guarantee that there are not enough to feed the ferrets.

The cloning of Black-footed ferrets ensures that the numbers of the ferrets increase.
However, doing this will also reduce the genetic variation in the population. This decrease in
genetic variation will mean that the homozygous recessive alleles will be expressed. The
expression of these homozygous recessive alleles will mean that potentially harmful alleles
will be expressed. This could cause a further decrease in the number of Black-footed ferrets.
Instead, an increase of genetic variation must take place. Therefore, the genetic coding of
the Black-footed ferrets can be altered, naturally, to favour the ideal phenotypes.
Question Three:

Evaluate the two models of the evolutionary origin of H. Floresiensis.

Out of Africa Theory:

The Out of Africa Theory (henceforth referred to as OOAT) suggests that H. Floresiensis, H.
Habilis, or a similar form that also had a relatively small body and brain, left Africa 2 million
years ago and reduced in size even further.

The theory suggests that humans evolved in Africa, and only in Africa, up until the formation
of the modern hominin species. Then some of these early hominins left Africa and spread
across the world to evolve into who we are today.

Specific to the H. Floresiensis’ situation, the idea that the H. Habilis were the ones who left
Africa and then reduced in size further seems plausible. H. Habilis weigh 33 kilograms
(approximately) and H. Floresiensis weigh 28 kilograms (approximately) in contrast to H.
Erectus which weigh 51 kilograms (approximately). The size difference between these three
species suggests that H. Floresiensis did evolve from a small Hominin. Therefore, it is valid to
assume that they came from H. Habilis.

Additional evidence for this lies in the fact that H. Habilis had a brain volume almost directly
between the brain volumes of H. Floresiensis and H. Erectus. The brain volume difference
suggests that where the cranial volume of H. Habilis decreased from that of H. Erectus, H.
Floresiensis just followed in the footsteps of this trend.

Evidence for this theory primarily finds itself in genetic coding evidence. The similarities
between proteins, the Y chromosome and other genetic specificities delineate the closeness
and relatedness of individuals.

Replacement Model:
The Replacement Model (henceforth referred to as RM) or the Multiregional Hypothesis
suggests that the larger bodies H. Erectus left Africa, and later moved through Indonesia and
Flores, evolving into H. Floresiensis.

The Model suggests that humans evolved in Africa, and only in Africa, up until the formation
of the H. Erectus species. Then, these hominins dispersed across the world. Slowly,
overtime, these hominins evolved into H. Sapiens. They did so, by evolving separately in
different regions whilst still interbreeding with neighbouring populations.

Looking at the RM, we can consider the idea that H. Erectus evolved into H. Floresiensis. This
idea would require a significant change in the anatomical construction of H. Erectus to
become H. Floresiensis.

Significantly, the fact that there are no other fossils found nearby, besides on the island of
Flores, suggests that the evolution must have taken place on the Island. The unchanging
nature of the island enforces the fact that there would have been no change to the selection
pressures. The lack of change to the selection pressures would mean that there would be no
need for anatomical changes to be made to the H. Erectus. Therefore, the drastic change
would simply have not occurred.

Evidence for this theory mainly exists as transitional fossils. Transitional fossils represent the
intermediate forms of the evolution of one species to another.

Justify which model is likely, discussing the possible reasons for the cultural and unusual
biological evolution.

The OOAT model is most likely. This means that H. Floresiensis, H. Habilis, or a similar form
that also had a relatively small body and brain, left Africa by 2 million years ago and reduced
in size even further.

This comes down to a variety of reasons.

800,000 years ago, hominin wrist bones developed to become different to African apes and
australopithecines. The formation and introduction of tools into the society of Hominins
meant that wrists needed to become a lot stronger. This change occurred at least 800,000
years ago. The fact that these Hominins do not have these wrists suggests that they must
have left before this adaption took place.

H. Floresiensis have an array of significantly primitive features. Firstly, the fact that they
have a flat arch is a characteristic specifically associated with tree-dwelling species. They
had not undergone very much development to make them bipedal. The evolution of
bipedalism took place around 1.8 million years ago which suggests that they must have left
Africa before this.

However, conflicting is the fact that these Hominins used tools. This idea rejects the fact
that they must have evolved on the island. Even at low sea level the water-crossing was at
least 24 kilometers. Therefore, there is no way that H. Erectus would have been able to
share their wisdom to the Hominins living on the Island of Flores.

It is plausible that the use of fire may have stemmed from the opportunistic nature of
harnessing fire that started the use of fire by H. Erectus. Therefore, they could have learned
to use fire on their own.

The small brain size accounts for the simplistic lifestyle that the H. Floresiensis lived. They
did not need to hunt for predators that were intelligent or had defense mechanisms. The
heavily forested nature of the island ensures that there was no need for the H. Floresiensis
to hide from predators. This ease would have ensured the brain to be used very scarcely.