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CH 6

ch. 7

Terms

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what is the formal name for humans that were early toolmakers and bipedal? what was useful about toolmaking?
australopithecines; reduced the selection pressure to maintain large jaws and teeth
What was the later evolutionary principle added to Darwins theory?
sexual selection: selective pressures on opposite sex on characterstics that favour reproductive success
What are 4 observations Darwin made on his trip to the Galapogos?
reproduction will increase a population rapidly unless factors limit it, individuals of a species are not identical, some variation is inherited among species, not all offspring survive to reproduce
what can we predict from knowing the weight of the brain of a mammalian species?
we can predict the weight of each of the brains parts
What is the problem with fossil dates? molecular dates?
tend to be too recent because can never find the first specimen of a given species; too old because of problems with calibrating rates of change of DNA over time
homology
resemblance based on common ancestry (ex:forelimb structures in mammals)
what are two forms of fitness that are via behaviour?
social dominance and courtship displays
convergent evolution
adaptation to similiar ecological features that bring about similarities in behaviour/structure among animals distantly related
what 2 levels do linnaeus classify species in?
genus and species
analogy
similiar function although structures may look different
chromosomes
rod shaped assemblies of DNA in nucleus of each cell that bear genetic information
What are 3 criticisms of the study of evolution?
not testable, circular reasoning, complexity of human eye
What was the key point of Darwin's Origin of Species?
we all have a common ancestor
mutation
change in nucleotide sequence of a gene as a result of unfaithful duplication
phylogeny
the evolutionary history of a particular group of organisms; represented as a family tree
natural selection
variations in traits that increase fitness will increase probability of a species survival
What inference did Devries make from his observation?
evolution can occur not only slowly as Darwin hypothesized but also rapidly
comparative psych
study of brain and behaviour in animals other than humans; carry out study on range of species and interpret results based on different phyologenic backgrounds
what is more diverse, invertebrates or vertebrates?
invertebrates
what is one prominent feature of the nerve cord of insects? what does this do?
giant axons; big diameter sends messages quickly
What do we look at in order to determine if our brains have undergone evolution?
Fossils using endocasts (cast of cranial cavity), study present day animals that show similiarity/difference from ancestral forms
how does behaviour of animals determine their brain differences?
social dominance (dominant males mate more), courtship displays (to attract attention)
homoplasy
similiar appearance of features due to convergent evolution (ex:body of a fish/dolphin)
what are 2 simliarities between human brain structure and animal brain structure? what is the one difference?
main structures are located in both, all mammals have similiar types of neurons and organization of cerebellar cortex and cerebral cortex; difference is quantitative (size of brain, brain regions, brain cells)
describe DNA's molecular clock?
DNA changes at a relatively steady rate in all lineages of a given order of animals so the proportion of differences between DNA samples of two species can be used to estimate how long ago they diverged from a common ancestor
evolutionary psychology
study of how evolution might have shaped human behaviour (relationships, diff. between genders)
what is the order of classification from most broad to narrow (levels, 7)?
kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species
what is finding novel ways of finding food in bird brains correlated with?
size of the forebrain
what 2 things are the source for variation among species?
genetics/mutations
what are 4 costs for having a large brain?
long gestation period, prolonged dependence on parental care, consumes biggger portion of metabolic budget, complex genetic messages vulnerable to accidents/mutations leading to disorders
what is correlated with strategic ways of finding food among animals?
novel ways of finding food are correlated to brain size and structure
how do we now see animal evolution?
multibranching set of radiations
what are 8 misunderstandings of evolution?
does not proceed in straight line, homosapiens not evolutionary supremecy, evolution not always slow gradual process, present species on earth only fraction of the species that evolved, not perfectionist, not always adaptive, not all characteristics evolved to perform current function, similraity between species not indicator of common ancestor
what are the similarities (2) and differences (5) between vertebrate and invertebrate nervous systems?
similarity: both have CNS and PNS, both have brains; differences: vertebrates have more neurons for info. processing/invertebrates have few but larger more complicated neurons for info. integration, vertebrate ganglia have cell bodies on inside and dendrites/axons on outside/ invertebrates have outer rind of cell bodies and inner core of neuropil (dense network of axons and dendrites), vertebrate neurons have myelin/invertebrates no myelin, vertebrates show neural structure during development/invertebrates undergo large scale change during metamorphosis, vertebrate CNS is encased in skull and spinal column/Invertebrates nervous system is built around digestive tract
What is the one important inference Darwin made from his observations?
individuals better suited to the prevailing conditions will be those that reproduce and supply the next generation
adaptive radiation
evolutionary diversification of single lingeage into variatey of species with adaptive properties
What is the Lamarck theory?
inheritance of acquired characteristics
what 3 parts make up the insect brain? what is the most complex part?
two lobes of the protocerebrum and optic lobe; protocerebrum
what are the 3 things that researchers account for bigger primate brains?
innovations in behaviour, tools, social learning (learning by observation)
what are 9 reasons why scientists like to study invertebrates?
simple nervous system, varieties of behavioural adaptation, outstanding features (great smell), convenience of obtaining certain animals (rats), comparison of close related species, preservation of species is obtained, economic importance (agricultural animals/predators), able to learn about treatments for diseases
what are 4 findings of comp psych?
brain size due to behavioural adaptions, novel food seeking behaviours correlated wiht big brain, animals dependent on sound/smell etc have larger related brain structures, lifestyle related to cortical organization (stronger neural connections)
what are the 6 features shared by all vertebrate nervous systems?
1. development from a hollow dorsal neural tube 2. bilateral symmetry in cerebral hemispheres 3. pairs of spinals nerves extend from each level of spinal cord 4. cerebral hemispheres control activity of spinal cord 5. CNS seperate from PNS 6. certain functions controllated by certain locations in CNS
Inheritance of Aquired characteristics
experience caused changes in offspring (ex. giraffes get longer necks from stretching)
taxonomy
classification of animals
encephalization factor
a measure of brain size relative to body size; the greater the encephalization factor is for a species, the higher its value is above the diagonal line for it's class
In what respect did Devries studies on Primroses surpass Mendels on peapods?
found that occassionally a new variety arose spontaneously and then passed its characterstics on to future generations
What are 3 reasons why we should study other species?
gives us clues about evolutionary history, different species show different solutions to environmental changes, living animals/fossils allow study of brain and body
In what two ways was the old-fashioned reason for comparing species human-centered?
implicity pictured other animals as incomplete little humans, animals vary along a single scale from simple to complex
how did linnaeus classify species?
classified animals according to anatomical featues not ancestry
what does studying the fossil record and DNA help us do?
helps us to classify animals and make inferences about their evolution
what are the differences between human brains and other creatures?
growth of size, larger cerebrum led to more folds in brain, human neurons larger

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