Unit #5 - Chapter 12 Study Guide

Describe the history of bird species extinctions and predictions for future bird extinctions.

Birds are going extinct 100 times faster than they used to.

Describe at least three examples of adaptive radiation, using living species.

1) Darwin's finches 2) Cichlid fishes in East Africa 3) Mountain beavers

Trace the steps between the Siberian traps and mass extinction? a. Step 1 b. Step 2 c. Step 3 d. Step 4 e. End step: Mass Extinction

1) step 1: volcanoes spewing CO2 2) step 2: global warming 3) step 3: oceans heat up and lose oxygen 4) step 4: bacteria creates lots of poisonous gases to kill animals all results in mass extinction

According to Douglas Erwin, __________% of all species in the ocean died as a result of the end-Permian mass extinction.

95%

Briefly describe the Siberian traps.

A large group of volcanos in Siberia that pumped out a lot of lava.

Describe some of the factors that might determine whether a species survives a mass extinction or not.

A wider range of population being spread around.

Unlike the mountain beaver, insects have increased in species number over time. What might explain this difference?

Ability to survive on plants, small bodies requiring smaller amounts of food to survive, wings have allowed insects to spread further

Explain why humans should be concerned about the current rate of species extinction.

All of life contributes to the human species in some ways, so if they all die out, so will the humans.

Explain why the highest marsupial biodiversity is found in Australia.

Australia was isolated to the point where only marsupials existed on the continent. There were marsupials in South America and Antartica, but in Antartica they died out due to the extreme cold, and they mostly went extinct in South America.

Explain the reasons for the current increase in species extinction rate.

Habitat destruction by the growing population of humans and continuing deforestation.

Explain how this statement applies to modern populations: Move, adapt, or die.

Either an animal is going to be given those traits needed to move into another environment and adapt to that new lifestyle or they are not going to survive.

Describe how human actions have affected the kaka of New Zealand.

European wasps were brought to New Zealand and began to eat the kaka's main source of energy. They will most likely eliminate the kaka for good.

What effect did the Siberian traps have on ocean chemistry?

It heated the ocean, causing it lose a lot of oxygen.

What other two hypotheses have been proposed as factors that might have caused the Cambrian species expansion?

Genetic toolkit - Animals that exist today used a similar set of genes to develop from the limited Ediacaran organisms during the Cambrian period. Fitness landscape - The evolution caused organisms to develop different defenses that made them more fit for survival.

As seen in the Paleozoic fauna, how might habitat loss affect the possibility of a species or group going extinct?

Habitat loss affects the possibility of a species or group going extinct because if the species or group ends up losing their habitat, then they will have no where to live or anything to eat, which makes their chances of going extinct even higher than usual.

Describe the current conservation efforts to prevent the extinction of the whooping crane of North America.

Humans are trying to teach the crane to survive in the wild. They also are using captive breeding, and rearing of crane chicks by hand.

Describe how human actions affected the passenger pigeons of North America.

Hunting and landscape changes destroyed the entire species.

Explain how climate change affected the white lemuroid possum.

It forced the possum to move to higher elevations to live, eventually running out of space.

Describe how the actions of Jesse Hendrix affected the survival of hummingbirds during migration.

Jesse Hendrix's home lies on the migration routes of many of the hummingbird species, so he sets out hummingbird feeders for them to feed on. Some are fitted with leg rings so he knows they visited before, and many come back to his home to feed. Being able to feed while migrating helps them survive.

What other evidences to support this hypothesis are they going to look for next?

Look for the poisonous bacteria and hydrogen sulfide in the rocks.

Explain the current distribution of the lineage of mite harvestmen shown in Figure 10.3 on page 214 of the textbook. (Note: These mites are terrestrial, not aquatic.)

Mite harvestmen's distribution is varied throughout the world. One lineage can be found on continents and islands separated by thousands of miles of ocean. They reached their present locations thanks to continental drift. Around 150 mya, the ranges of these invertebrates formed a continuous belt, and later the continents broke apart and moved away, taking the mite harvestmen with them.

What kinds of organisms were present on land at the end of the Permian?

No flowering plants, no dinosaurs, not furred animals. Mammal-like reptiles.

The Siberian traps were active during the _________________ geological period.

Permian

Describe how massive volcanic eruptions have affected species extinction.

Smoke and gases released have caused the temperature of the Earth to rise. The gas also destroyed ozone, allowing radioactive particles from space to fall to Earth.

Briefly explain why some birds became flightless.

Some birds became flightless due to the lack of large predators where they lived; instead of expending energy into flight they would never use, they focused on other, more important features for their success.

What evidence for this hypothesis was found when the Nevada rocks were analyzed?

Tests on the rocks have revealed that, in the years leading up to the extinction, the deep ocean water here had lost its oxygen.

What was the effect of the end-Cretaceous extinction on the relative diversity of mammals and large dinosaurs on the earth? (Also see the timeline on the inside back cover of the textbook.)

The effect of the end-Cretaceous extinction on the relative diversity of mammals and large dinosaurs on Earth was that the diversity that once ruled the Earth due to the dinosaurs was all but entirely gone. Millions of species died, causing relative diversity to dwindle.

Describe the evidence that supports an asteroid impact as a major factor in the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Period.

The element iridium lands on Earth steadily, but there was a large increase in it found. It was decided that a meteor or comet from space impacted the Earth.

Identify the factors that have caused species extinctions over the last few hundred years.

The factors that have caused species extinctions over the last few hundred years are killing off individuals of a species or habitat loss.

Describe the relationship between the isolation of an area, like an island, and the diversity of species that live on it.

The isolation of an area means that dispersing species can evolve into remarkable new forms, often unique to that specific isolated area, like Darwin's finches.

What happened to the marsupials of Antarctica after the southern supercontinent broke apart?

The marsupials of Antartica went extinct because of the freezing cold.

Describe the physical changes in the Earth that may have sparked the Cambrian species expansion. (Also, look at page 56 in the study guide.)

The physical changes that may have sparked the Cambrian species expansion are: 1) The Earth emerging from a climate so cold the Earth was in an Ice Age and 2) the ocean's oxygen levels began to rise, when it normally contained next to no oxygen.

Explain what an adaptive radiation is.

The rapid diversification of a group of organisms into forms filling different ecological niches.

Describe the lifestyle of the water opossum, also known as the yapok.

The yapok lives in the Amazon and is nocturnal. It hunts for fish and crustaceans. Its fur is thick so its skin can't get wet, and has webbed feet to move through the water. It relies on its senses of smell and hearing to find food in the dark. It hunts by feeling, like the platypus.

Describe the current distribution of marsupial species.

They mostly exist in Australia.

a. Explain the difference between mass extinctions and background extinction. b. Which one has claimed more total species over time? c. During which one does the highest rate of extinction occur?

a. Background extinctions are the normal extinction rate, while mass extinctions are a widespread event that takes out multiple species. b. Background extinctions. c. Mass extinctions accounts for only about 20% of extinctions, and the other 80% are background extinctions.

a. Define biogeography. (Review this concept on pages 25-26 in the study guide.) b. Define vicariance. c. Define dispersal.

a. Biogeography is the study of how biodiversity is spread around the world. b. Vicariance is when species become separated from each other when geographical barriers emerge. c. Dispersal is when species themselves spread away from their place of origin.

a. How has climate change affected speciation rates? b. How has climate change affected extinction rates?

a. Climate change has affected speciation rates, because new species emerge when the climate is habitable for them, and with the climate changing so much, new species have come and gone just as frequently. b. Climate change affects extinction rates, because the changing climate can affect a species' habitat, causing the species to go extinct due to the loss of it's habitat.

Describe the different lifestyles of modern marsupials in Australia. Think about the adaptations that allow these marsupials to live in different habitats and eat different foods. a. Koalas b. Wombat c. Numbats d. Honey possums e. Mountain pygmy possum f. Striped possum g. Red kangaroo h. Rock wallaby

a. Koalas: they live in trees in Australia and have pouches. They feed exclusively on eucalyptus leaves, but because they aren't very nourishing, they have to eat a lot of them. b. Wombats: has fur so thick it can remain active throughout the winter of Australia. it feeds on grass, and has strong front limbs to clear away snow to find food. It's pouch opens up backwards. c. Numbats: live in the woodlands, where it gets cold during the night, so they warm themselves in the morning sun. Grooming is essential. They eat termites with their long tongues that are sticky with saliva. d. Honey Possums: it eats pollen and nectar with it's long tongue, which soaks up nectar from even the deepest flowers. e. Mountain Pygmy Possums: will eat whatever food is around, like moths. It eats as much as it can to get through the winter, but other times of the year lives on berries and seeds. f. Striped Possums: It eats grubs! it lives in the rainforest in northeastern Australia. It has an excellent sense of smell, strong teeth, and a long, sticky tongue. g. Red Kangaroos: live in the arid, hot, dry desert of Australia. They are the biggest of marsupials, and they have to worry about keeping from overheating, so they stand in shade during the hottest part of the day and lick their arms to cool off. They only feed in the morning and evening. h. Rock Wallabies: hop around like kangaroos on mountains. Their soles have thick skin and pads that gives them a good grip on every surface. Rock wallabies can bring up fluid from their stomach to make sure their young don't go thirsty.

a. Explain the relationship between latitude (distance north or south away from the equator) and species diversity. (See Figure 10.1, page 212 of textbook.) b. Why do scientists think these relationships exist?

a. Latitude can factor into species diversity, because the closer a species is to the equator, the easier it is for it to survive, despite changes in the environment, but also means that there is more of an emergence of new species in those environments closer to the equator. b. Scientists think these relationships exist because the extra energy the tropics receive somehow creates extra ecological room for more species to live side by side.

a. Describe the microbes found in the deep waters of Green Lakes, NY. b. How could these microbes possibly relate to the end-Permian extinction?

a. The microbes found in the deep waters of Green Lakes, NY, are bright pink in color, which comes from another microbe, purple sulfur bacteria, that thrive in hydrogen sulfide. Bacteria like these can leave chemical traces in ancient rocks. They are highly poisonous and produce hydrogen sulfide. b. Such traces that come from the microbes and bacteria have been found in some rocks dating to the Permian extinction.

a. Most of the marsupials of South/Central America are mostly ___________. Most live in ______________, have few ___________________, and have a broad ______________. b. How does the pouch of South American marsupials differ from the pouch of Australian marsupials?

a. are mostly strictly nocturnal; live high in the canopy of the rainforest; have few specializations; have a broad diet. b. The pouch of South American marsupials is not as well formed as that of a kangaroo or koala.