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EES 1004 (UNO)
Chapter 6 vocab
84
Science
Undergraduate 1
02/23/2011

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Term
abyssal marine environment
Definition
Deeper than 4000 meters on the seafloor.
Term
adaptation
Definition
a modification of an organism that better fits it for existence in its present environment or enables it to live in a somewhat different environment.
Term
adaptive radiation
Definition
the diversity that develops among species as each adapts to a different set of environmental conditions
Term
Animalia
Definition
The kingdom of multicellular heterotrophic organisms
Term
Archaea (domain)
Definition
The domain that includes thermophylic (heat-dependent), halophylic (salt-dependent), methane-producing, and sulfur-producing bacteria.
Term
Archaebacteria
Definition
The kingdom that includes the only methane-producing bacteria and bacteria cable of living under extreme conditions of temperature of salinity.
Term
assemblage zone
Definition
___ are named after an easily recognized, usually common member of the assemblage. If the fossil that lends its name to the ___ is absent, other members permit recognition of the zone.
Term
Bacteria (domain)
Definition
Unicellular, prokaryotic microorganisms belonging to the Kingdom Monera. One of the three great domains of organisms.
Term
bathyal marine environment
Definition
The environment that extends from the edge of the shelf to a depth of about 4000 meters.
Term
benthic marine realm
Definition
The seafloor.
Term
bioturbation
Definition
the disturbance of sediment by burrowing, boring and sediment-ingesting organisms
Term
biozone
Definition
a body of rock deposited during the time when particular fossil plants or animals existed.
Term
calcareous oozes
Definition
___ are mainly the calcium carbonate coverings of coccolithophorids and foraminifera, as well as tiny planktonic snail shells called pteropods.
Term
carbonate compensation depth (CCD)
Definition
The water depth at which calcium carbonate is dissolved as fast as it falls from above is termed the ___.
Term
carbonization
Definition
the concentration of carbon during fossilization
Term
cast
Definition
a replica of an organic subject, such as a fossil shell, formed when sediment fills a mold of that object
Term
chromosome
Definition
a thread-like microscopic body composed of chromatin. ___ appear in the nucleus of the cell at the time of cell division. they contain genes. the number of ___ is normally constant for a particular species.
Term
cladogram
Definition
To construct a ___, organisms must be examined objectively for characteristics they share to determine their ancestor-descendant relationships. A ___ shows closeness of relationship by the arrangement of groups. The shorter the links between groups, the closer the evolutionary relationship.
Term
class (taxonomic)
Definition
A group of related orders
Term
concurrent range zone
Definition
The ___ is recognized by the overlapping ranges of two or more species or genera.
Term
crossing over (genetic)
Definition
During the initial chromosome division, while chromosomes are still paired, they may break at corresponding places and exchange their severed segments in a process called ___.
Term
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
Definition
The nucleic acid found chiefly in the nucleus of a cell that functions in the transfer of genetic characteristics and in protein synthesis.
Term
diploid cell
Definition
a cell having two sets of chromosomes that form pairs, as in somatic cells.
Term
domian
Definition
a major taxonomic division ranking higher than a kingdom. the three domains are the archaea, bacteria, and eukarya.
Term
ecology
Definition
___ studies relationships between organisms and their environments.
Term
ecosystem
Definition
any selected part of the physical environment, together with the animals and plants in it.
Term
epifaunal
Definition
organisms living on, as distinct from in, a particular body of sediment or another organism.
Term
Eubacteria
Definition
The kingdom of prokaryotes that live in water or soil or inside larger organisms like us. They include cynobacteria, formerly called blue-green algae.
Term
Superkingdom Eukarya
Definition
single or multi-celled organisms that have a distinct cell nucleus and cell membrane
Term
extremophiles
Definition
The only methane-producing bacteria and bacteria capable of living under extreme conditions of temperature or salinity
Term
family (taxonomic)
Definition
A group of related genera.
Term
fungi
Definition
The kingdom of multicellular eukaryotes, many of which are decomposers (saprophytes) that absorb nutrients from dead organisms or live as parasites on plants.
Term
gamete
Definition
either of two cells (male or female) that must unite in sexual reproduction to initiate the development of a new individual
Term
gene
Definition
the unit of heredity transmitted in the chromosome
Term
gene pool
Definition
all the genes present in a species population
Term
geologic range (E.g., of fossil species)
Definition
the geologic time span between the first and last appearance of an organism
Term
genus (taxonomic)
Definition
the major subdivision of a taxonomic family or subfamily of plants or animals, usually consisting of more than one species.
Term
hadal marine environment
Definition
The term ___ is reserved fro the extreme depths found in oceanic trenches.
Term
haploid cell
Definition
a cell having a single set of chromosomes, as in gametes.
Term
homologous structures
Definition
Basically similar structures in superficially dissimilar organisms
Term
index fossil (=guide fossil)
Definition
___ are abundant, are widely dispersed and lived during a relatively short interval of geologic time. Such fossils are helpful in identifying time-rock units and correlating them from area to area.
Term
infaunal
Definition
organisms that live and feed within bottom sediments
Term
kingdom (taxonomic)
Definition
a large group of related phyla. There are six of these.
Term
littoral zone
Definition
The part of the bethic realm (seafloor) that is the area between high and low tide.
Term
mass extinction
Definition
Since that time over a half billion years ago, when most of the principal phyla of animals had become estabished, the history of life has notbeen a steady continuum. it has been marked by times of relatively sudden worldwide extinctions so devastating that we call them ___.
Term
meiosis
Definition
That kind of nuclear division, usually involving two successive cell division, that results in daughter cells having on-half the number of chromosomes that were in the original cell.
Term
mitosis
Definition
the method of cell division in which each of the two daughter nuclei receives exactly the same complement of chromosomes as had existed in the parent nucleus.
Term
mold
Definition
an impression, or imprint, of an organism or part of an organism in the enclosing sediment
Term
mutation
Definition
a stable and inheritable change in a gene
Term
oceanic zone
Definition
The part of the pelagic realm (ocean water) that extends seaward from the shelves.
Term
order (taxonomic)
Definition
a group of related families.
Term
nekton
Definition
pertaining to swimming organisms
Term
neritic zone
Definition
The part of the pelagic realm (ocean water) that is above the continental shelf.
Term
paleoecology
Definition
the study of the relationship of ancient organisms to their environment
Term
pelagic marine realm
Definition
The water mass lying above the seafloor
Term
permineralization
Definition
a manner of fossilization in which voids in an organic structure (such as bone) are filled with mineral matter
Term
petrification
Definition
the process of conversion of organic structures, such as bone, shell, or wood, into a stony substance, such as calcium carbonate or silica.
Term
phenotypic trait
Definition
a trait that is the observable expression of an organism's genes
Term
phyletic gradualism
Definition
gradual evolutionary change of one species population into another
Term
phylogenetic tree
Definition
In a ___, the most recently evolved species or groups are on the upper branches and older, ancestral species are on the lower branches and trunk.
Term
phylogeny
Definition
___ refers to the historical development of groups of organisms.
Term
phylum (taxonomic)
Definition
a group of related classes
Term
phytoplankton
Definition
plants and plantlike protistans (including bacteria and algae) that perform photosynthesis.
Term
plankton
Definition
"floaters"
Term
Plantae
Definition
The kingdom of multicellular eukaryotes that typically live on land and undergo embryonic development. They are autotrophs.
Term
population (genetic)
Definition
a group of individuals of the same species that occupy a given area so that each individual has a chance to mate with members of the opposite sex within the group.
Term
Superkingdom Prokaryota
Definition
Single-celled micro-organisms that lack a distinct nucleus and cell membrane.
Term
Protista
Definition
The kingdom of protists, mostly single celled, animal-like organisms that devour food for energy (heterotrophs), plant-like photosynthesizers (autotrophs), and decomposers (saprophytes).
Term
punctuated equilibrium
Definition
Some argue that the fossil record for the past 3 billion years contains many examples of new groups that appear suddenly, and with no disruption in the geologic record.
Term
range zone
Definition
___ is the rock body representing the total
Term
replacement
Definition
a fossilization process in which the original skeletal substance is replaced after burial by inorganically precipitated mineral matter.
Term
reworked fossils
Definition
Weathering and erosion can free fossils from their host rock, to become part of new sediment that becomes lithified into a younger bed. This is called ___.
Term
siliceous oozes
Definition
___ are composed mainly of tests (shells) of diatoms and tiny "protozoans" called radiolaria.
Term
speciation
Definition
The entire course of evolution depends on the origin of new species. This process is called ___.
Term
species
Definition
a unit of taxonomic classification of organisms. in another sense, a species is a population of individuals that are similar in structural and functional characteristics and that in nature breed only with one another
Term
sublittoral zone
Definition
the marine bottom environment that extends from low tide seaward to the edge of the continental shelf
Term
supratidal zone
Definition
The part of the bethic realm (seafloor) that begins with the narrow zone above high tide.
Term
taxonomy
Definition
the science of naming, describing, and classifying organisms
Term
trace fossil
Definition
tracks, trails, burrows and other marking made in now-lithified sediments by ancient animals
Term
vestigial organ or structure
Definition
an organ that is useless, small, or degenerate but representing a structure that was more fully developed or functional in an ancestral organism
Term
zooplankton
Definition
animals that include foraminifera, inby mollusks, small crustaceans, and the mobile larvae of many invertebrate families that live on the seafloor (benthic) as adults.
Term
Heterotrophs
Definition
___ cannot generate their own food and so must consume other animals or plants
Term
autotrophs
Definition
They generate their own food through photosynthesis
Term
Eukarya (domain)
Definition
includes protists, fungi, plants, and animals, because of their molecular similarities.
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