Chapter 1

Chapter 1
Introduction to Biological
Concepts and Research
Russell, Biology: The Dynamic Science, 5th edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Learning Objectives (1 of 3)
1. Describe seven characteristics of living systems that distinguish them
from nonliving systems.
2. Identify the emergent properties at each level in the hierarchy of
biological organization.
3. Explain how the structure of an organism’s DNA governs its structure
and function.
4. Diagram the movement of energy and nutrients through ecosystems
and identify the roles that plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms
play in these processes.
5. Explain how natural selection can change the characteristics of a
population from one generation to the next.
6. Compare the information content of a hierarchical classification to that
of a phylogenetic tree.
7. Distinguish between the primary and secondary domains of living
systems and identify the distinguishing characteristics of the major
groups of eukaryotes.
8. Explain how scientists explore new ideas and observations in a
formalized method of inquiry.
9. Formulate scientific hypotheses and define how experimental or
observational data can test the predictions of those hypotheses.
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Why It Matters. . .
• How did life originate, how does it persist, and how is it

changing?
• Biology, the science of life, provides scientific answers to these
questions.
• Life has existed for billions of years, ever since nonliving
materials assembled into the first organized, living cells.
1.1 What is Life? Characteristics of Living
Organisms
• Living organisms share a set of characteristics that collectively
set them apart from nonliving matter.
• Living organisms have biological molecules that contain
instructions for building other molecules.
• Living organisms gather energy and materials from their
surroundings to build new biological molecules, grow in size,
maintain and repair their parts, and produce offspring.
Characteristics of Living Organisms
• Living organisms respond to environmental changes by altering

their chemistry and activity in ways that allow them to survive.
• The structure and function of living organisms often change
from one generation to the next.
Living Organisms and Inanimate Objects
• Tarantulas, rocks, and

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Emergent Properties
• The organization of life extends through several levels of a

hierarchy.
• Complex biological molecules exist at the lowest level of
organization, but these molecules are not alive.
• Characteristics that depend on the level of organization of
matter, but do not exist at lower levels, are called emergent
properties.
• Life is thus an emergent property of the organization of cells from
matter.
Levels of Organization (1 of 2)
• Cells are the lowest level of biological organization that can

survive and reproduce.
• Many single cells, such as bacteria and protozoans, exist as
unicellular organisms.
• Multicellular organisms, such as plants and animals, are made up of
groups of interdependent cells.
• Populations are groups of organisms of the same kind that

live together in the same place.
Levels of Organization (2 of 2)
• A community is the group of all the populations of different

organisms that live in the same place.
• An ecosystem includes the community and the nonliving
environmental factors with which it interacts.
• The biosphere includes all the ecosystems of Earth’s waters,
crust, and atmosphere.
The Hierarchy of Life (1 of 2)
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Genetic Information Governs Structure and
Function
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Pathway of Information Flow (1 of 2)
• All of the DNA in the cells of a living organism constitutes its

genome.
• DNA contains the genetic information that makes organisms unique.
• Genes are specific regions of the genome that encode instructions for
building RNA and protein.
• The instructions in DNA are copied into molecules of
ribonucleic acid (RNA); each different mRNA directs the
synthesis of a different protein molecule.
• Proteins carry out most of the activities of life, including the
synthesis of all other biological molecules.
Pathway of Information Flow (2 of 2)
Reproduction and Development
• Reproduction is the process by which parents pass on their

DNA and produce offspring that resemble them.
• The transmission of DNA (genetic information) from one
generation to the next is called inheritance.
• Multicellular organisms undergo development, a series of
changes in which a fertilized egg is transformed into an adult.
• The sequential stages through which individuals develop (as
encoded in DNA) comprise the life cycle of an organism.
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Metabolic Activities (1 of 2)
• Metabolism describes the ability of a cell or organism to

extract energy from its surroundings and use that energy to
maintain itself, grow, and reproduce.
• Plants carry out photosynthesis, in which the electromagnetic
energy of sunlight is absorbed and converted into chemical
energy in biological molecules.
• Most organisms use the process of cellular respiration to
break down complex biological molecules with oxygen,
releasing chemical energy for cellular activities.
Metabolic Activities (2 of 2)
Energy Flow and Nutrient Recycling (1 of 3)
• Photosynthetic organisms are primary producers of the food

on which all other organisms rely.
• They assemble complex molecules (sugars) from water and CO2.
• Animals are consumers.

• They feed (directly or indirectly) on the complex molecules
manufactured by plants.
• Certain bacteria and fungi are decomposers.
• They feed on dead organisms and break down biological molecules
into simpler raw materials, which may then be recycled by producers.
• Energy from sunlight supports most life on Earth.

• Some energy that photosynthetic organisms trap from sunlight
flows within and between organisms, populations,
communities, and ecosystems.
• Each time energy is transferred, some is lost as heat.
• Matter (nutrients, such as carbon and nitrogen) cycles between

living organisms and nonliving components of the biosphere.
• Matter is used again and again with no loss.
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Organisms Regulate Their Internal Environment
(1 of 2)
• Only living organisms can regulate the environment within their
cells by detecting environmental changes and compensating
for them through controlled responses.
• Diverse and varied receptors (molecules or larger structures,
found on individual cells and body surfaces) detect changes in
external and internal conditions.
• When stimulated, receptors trigger reactions that produce a
compensating response (e.g., regulation of body temperature).
Organisms Regulate Their Internal Environment
(2 of 2)
• Regulation of internal body temperature within a narrow range
is an example of homeostasis.
• The maintenance of a steady internal condition by responses that
compensate for changes in the external environment.
• All organisms have mechanisms that maintain homeostasis in

temperature, blood chemistry, and other important factors.
Populations Change Through Generations
• Populations of all organisms change from one generation to

the next, because some individuals experience changes in
their DNA and pass those modified instructions along to their
offspring.
• This biological evolution is a fundamental process of life.
STUDY BREAK 1.1
• List the major levels in the hierarchy of life and identify one
emergent property of each level.
• What is a life cycle?
• What do living organisms do with the energy they collect from
the external environment?
1.2 Biological Evolution
• Our understanding of the evolutionary process reveals several

truths about the living world:
• All populations change through time.
• All organisms are descended from a common ancestor that lived in the
distant past.
• Evolution has produced the diversity of life.
• Evolution is the unifying theme in biological sciences.
Darwin and Wallace (1 of 2)
• 1800s: Two British naturalists, Charles Darwin and Alfred

Russel Wallace, proposed a mechanism for evolution.
• On a five-year voyage around the world, Darwin observed many
organisms, and noticed how fossils of extinct species often resembled
living species in some traits.
• Darwin concluded that species change from one form into another over
generations.
• Wallace came to the same conclusion based on his work in South

America and Southeast Asia.
Natural Selection
• Darwin also studied the process of evolution through

observations and experiments on domesticated animals.
• Darwin noted that pigeon breeders who wished to promote a
certain characteristic permitted only birds that had the desired
characteristic to mate (artificial selection).
• Darwin called the equivalent process that occurs in nature
natural selection.
Artificial Selection
Paul Fearn/Alamy Stock Photo

Darwin and Wallace (2 of 2)
• 1858: Darwin and Wallace summarized their observations and

conclusions:
• Most organisms produce numerous offspring, but environmental
factors limit the number that survive and reproduce.
• Heritable variations allow some individuals to compete more
successfully for space, food, and mates.
• Successful individuals somehow pass the favorable characteristics on
to their offspring.
• Favorable traits become more common in the next generation and less
successful traits less common.
Mutations in DNA
• The origin and inheritance of new variations arise from the

structure and variability of DNA.
• Variability among individuals arises through random changes
(mutations) in the structure, number, or arrangement of DNA
molecules.
• Many mutations are of no particular value to individuals.
• Rarely, a mutation offers a benefit to an individual under the prevalent
environmental conditions under which it lives.
Adaptations
• Favorable mutations may produce characteristics

(adaptations) that help an organism survive longer or
reproduce more under specific environmental conditions.
• Example: Rock pocket mice (Chaetodipus intermedius):
• Mice with cryptic colorations are camouflaged in their habitats and less
likely to be captured.
• Random mutations in the Mc1r gene can produce fur colors ranging
from light to dark.
• Natural selection conserves random mutations that produced black fur
in mice that live on black rocks.
Camouflage in Rock Pocket Mice
A. Camouflage in rock pocket mice (Chaetodipus intermedius)
Sandy-colored mice are well camouflaged on pale rocks, and black
mice are well camouflaged on dark rocks (top); but mice with fur
that does not match their backgrounds (bottom) are easy to see.
Hopi Hoekstra, Harvard University

STUDY BREAK 1.2
• What is the difference between artificial selection and natural

selection?
• How do random changes in the structure of DNA affect the
characteristics of organisms?
• What is the usefulness of being camouflaged in natural
environments?
1.3 Biodiversity and the Tree of Life
• A species includes all populations of individuals that have very

similar structure, biochemistry, and behavior, and can
successfully interbreed.
• A genus is a group of similar species that share recent
common ancestry.
• Each species is assigned a two-part scientific name:
• The first part identifies the genus.
• The second part identifies a species within that genus.
Traditional Hierarchical Classification (1 of 2)
• In traditional classification, species are grouped into

successively more inclusive categories:
Species > Genus > Family > Order >

Class > Phylum > Kingdom
• In recent years, biologists have added the Domain as the most

inclusive group.
Traditional Hierarchical Classification (2 of 2)
The Tree of Life
• Biologists now use DNA and other biological molecules to

construct detailed phylogenetic trees illustrating the
evolutionary pathways through which species and more
inclusive groups appeared.
• Each fork between trunks, branches, and twigs on the
phylogenetic tree represents an evolutionary event in which
one ancestral species gave rise to two descendant species.
• Major branches roughly equal traditionally-defined classes of
tetrapod vertebrates; the smallest twigs represent species or
individual populations.
PHYLOGENETIC VIEW OF THE TETRAPOD
VERTEBRATES
SUMMARY Phylogenetic trees illustrate which ancestors

gave rise to which descendants, as well as when those
evolutionary events occurred. Each fork between trunks,
branches, and twigs on the phylogenetic tree represents
an evolutionary event in which one ancestral species gave
rise to two descendant species. Detailed phylogenetic
trees illustrate how, over time, descendant species gave
rise to their own descendants, producing the great diversity
of life.
Two Primary Domains and Once Secondary
Domain
• Two primary domains (Bacteria & Archaea) and one secondary
domain (Eukarya) are the major trunks on the Tree of Life.
• Bacteria and Archaea, are prokaryotes.
• The DNA in their cells is not separated from other cellular components.
• The Eukarya are eukaryotes.

• Their DNA is enclosed in a separate structure (a nucleus) within the cells.
• The nucleus and the other specialized internal compartments of the cell are called
organelles.
Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells
(A)Dr. Terry Beveridge/Visuals Unlimited, Inc., (B) Biophoto

Associates/Science Source
Domain Bacteria
• Microscopic unicellular organisms.

• Found almost everywhere on Earth.
• Use a wide variety of metabolic processes.
A. Barry Dowsett/Science Source

Domain Archaea
• Microscopic unicellular
organisms.
• Inhabit extreme
environments.
• Distinctive structural
Eye of Science/Science Source

molecules.
Domain Eukarya, The “Protists”
• Diverse set of single-celled C.Domain Eukarya

and multicellular eukaryotic
species.
• Often consumers and
decomposers, but some
photosynthetic producers
Jubal Harshaw/Shutterstock.com
(most algae).
Domain Eukarya, Kingdom Plantae
• Mostly photosynthetic
multicellular organisms.
• Producers, such as
flowering plants, conifers,
and mosses.
Col Swain/Shutterstock.com
Domain Eukarya, Kingdom Fungi
• Decomposers that break

down and absorb biological
molecules from dead
organisms.
• Includes yeasts and molds.
© Ann & Rob Simpson

Domain Eukarya, Kingdom Animalia
• Multicellular consumers.
• Move actively from one
place to another during
some stage of their life
cycles.
Jr./NHPA/Photoshot
James Carmichael
Model Organisms
• Certain species have become favorable research subjects

because their characteristics make them easy to study.
• Model organisms have rapid development, short life cycles, and small
adult size.
• Research on these organisms provides insights into biological

processes in larger and more complex ones.
STUDY BREAK 1.3
• What is a major difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic

organisms?
• In which domain are humans classified?
• Why do biologists often use model organisms in their
research?
1.4 Biological Research
• Biological research includes all efforts to understand diverse

aspects of the living world.
• Basic research often seeks explanations about natural
phenomena to advance our collective knowledge and may not
have a specific practical goal.
• Applied research has the goal of solving specific practical
problems, such as the development of new drugs.
The Scientific Method
• The scientific method is an investigative approach to

acquiring knowledge.
• Scientists make observations about the natural world, develop
working explanations (hypotheses) about what they observe,
and test their predictions by collecting information (data).
• Scientists share their work through publications, which allows
other researchers to repeat and verify their findings.
Observational and Experimental Data
• Observational data (descriptive science)

• Basic information on biological structures or details of biological
processes.
• Provides information about systems that have not yet been well
studied.
• Experimental data (experimental science)

• Describes the result of careful manipulation of the system under study.
• Answers questions about why or how systems work.
Testing Hypotheses (1 of 2)
• Once the facts have been observed, scientists develop a

tentative explanation (hypothesis) to explain them.
• A null hypothesis is a statement of what they would see if the
hypothesis being tested is not correct.
• A scientific hypothesis must be falsifiable by experimentation or
further observation.
• Hypotheses generally explain the relationship between
variables – factors that may differ among places or individuals.
Testing Hypotheses (2 of 2)
• Hypotheses yield testable predictions.

• What the researcher expects to happen to one variable if another
variable changes.
• Scientists then test their hypotheses and predictions with tests

that generate relevant data.
• If data from just one study refute a scientific hypothesis, the hypothesis
must be modified or abandoned.
Testing Hypotheses
• No amount of data can prove beyond a doubt that a hypothesis

is correct.
• Scientists state that positive results are consistent with, support, or
confirm a hypothesis.
• Scientists must always consider alternative hypotheses when

designing experiments.
The Process of Science
Controlled Experiments
• A control represents a null hypothesis; it tells us what we

would see in the absence of the experimental manipulation.
• In controlled experiments, everything is exactly the same, or as close
to exactly the same as possible, except for the experimental variable.
• Any difference in results observed between the experimental group
and the control group can be attributed to the experimental variable.
• Nearly all biological experiments include replicates.

• Multiple subjects that receive the same treatment.
Experimental Research
Question: Will giving the plant Experiment: Establish six replicates
fertilizer induce it to flower? of an experimental treatment
Friend added fertilizer You did not add fertilizer
Possible Result 1:
Neither experimental nor control Possible Result 2:
plants flower. Plants in the experimental group flower, but
plants in the control group do not.
Conclusion: Fertilizer alone does Conclusion: The application of fertilizer

not cause the plants to flower. induces flowering in this type of plant.
The Null Hypothesis
• When the systems under study are too large or complex for
experimental manipulation, biologists can use a null
hypothesis to evaluate observational data.
• Example: temperature regulation in lizards:
• Researchers used copper models to establish a null hypothesis about
the percentage of lizards that would perch in sunlit spots by chance.
• The temperatures of the models provided a null hypothesis about what
the temperatures of lizards would be if they perched at random in their
habitats.
Observational Research
(Top)Kevin de Queiroz, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian

Institution, (Left Bottom) Alejandro Sanchez
Source: P. E. Hertz. 1992. Temperature regulation in Puerto Rican Anolis lizards: A field test using null hypotheses. Ecology 73:1405–1417.
Molecular Tools Allow Researchers to Explore
• New techniques allow us to study life processes at the

molecular level.
• Can isolate individual genes and manipulate them in the test tube and
modify organisms by replacing, deleting, or adding genes.
• Genomics characterizes entire genomes and has been an
important tool for creating the Tree of Life.
• Proteomics studies the proteome (an inventory of proteins),
which constantly changes in response to the environment,
unlike the stable genome.
• Bioinformatics tools are used to analyze the huge volume of
data generated by these research projects.
Scientific Theories
• When many different tests consistently confirm a hypothesis

that addresses many broad questions, it may be considered a
scientific theory.
• Scientists usually regard scientific theories as established
truths that are unlikely to be contradicted by future research.
• This use of the word theory is quite different from its informal
meaning in everyday life.
Motivations for Scientific Research
• Intense curiosity about ourselves, our fellow creatures, and the

chemical and physical objects of the world and their
interactions is a basic ingredient of scientific research.
• Biological research has practical motivations – for example, to
cure disease or improve agricultural productivity.
• One strict requirement of science is honesty – otherwise, the
work of science is meaningless.
STUDY BREAK 1.4
• In your own words, explain the most important requirement of a

scientific hypothesis.
• What information did the copper lizard models provide in the
study of temperature regulation described earlier?
• How would you respond to a nonscientist who told you that
Darwin’s ideas about evolution were “just a theory”?

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Chapter 1

• How did life originate, how does it persist, and how is it

• Living organisms respond to environmental changes by altering

• Tarantulas, rocks, and

the same physical laws. hu

• The organization of life extends through several levels of a

• Cells are the lowest level of biological organization that can

• Populations are groups of organisms of the same kind that

• A community is the group of all the populations of different

• All of the DNA in the cells of a living organism constitutes its

• Reproduction is the process by which parents pass on their

• Metabolism describes the ability of a cell or organism to

• Photosynthetic organisms are primary producers of the food

• Animals are consumers.

• Energy from sunlight supports most life on Earth.

• Matter (nutrients, such as carbon and nitrogen) cycles between

• All organisms have mechanisms that maintain homeostasis in

• Populations of all organisms change from one generation to

• Our understanding of the evolutionary process reveals several

• Evolution is the unifying theme in biological sciences.

• 1800s: Two British naturalists, Charles Darwin and Alfred

• Wallace came to the same conclusion based on his work in South

• Darwin also studied the process of evolution through

Paul Fearn/Alamy Stock Photo

• 1858: Darwin and Wallace summarized their observations and

• The origin and inheritance of new variations arise from the

• Favorable mutations may produce characteristics

Hopi Hoekstra, Harvard University

• What is the difference between artificial selection and natural

• A species includes all populations of individuals that have very

• In traditional classification, species are grouped into

Species > Genus > Family > Order >

• In recent years, biologists have added the Domain as the most

• Biologists now use DNA and other biological molecules to

SUMMARY Phylogenetic trees illustrate which ancestors

• The Eukarya are eukaryotes.

(A)Dr. Terry Beveridge/Visuals Unlimited, Inc., (B) Biophoto

• Microscopic unicellular organisms.

A. Barry Dowsett/Science Source

Eye of Science/Science Source

• Diverse set of single-celled C.Domain Eukarya

• Decomposers that break

© Ann & Rob Simpson

• Certain species have become favorable research subjects

• Research on these organisms provides insights into biological

• What is a major difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic

• Biological research includes all efforts to understand diverse

• The scientific method is an investigative approach to

• Observational data (descriptive science)

• Experimental data (experimental science)

• Once the facts have been observed, scientists develop a

• Hypotheses yield testable predictions.

• Scientists then test their hypotheses and predictions with tests

• No amount of data can prove beyond a doubt that a hypothesis

• Scientists must always consider alternative hypotheses when

• A control represents a null hypothesis; it tells us what we

• Nearly all biological experiments include replicates.

Friend added fertilizer You did not add fertilizer

Conclusion: Fertilizer alone does Conclusion: The application of fertilizer

(Top)Kevin de Queiroz, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian

• New techniques allow us to study life processes at the

• When many different tests consistently confirm a hypothesis

• Intense curiosity about ourselves, our fellow creatures, and the