What is Life?

Levels and Branches of Biology

Biology 1

Biology is the study of what?Break down the word –

“ology” = study of“bio” = life (comes from the greek word bios)

Biology is the science that wants to understand the LIVING world

Biologists use the SCIENTIFIC METHOD to study living things

What is Life?

Is this alive?

What is life?

Is this alive?

What is life?

Is this alive?

What is life?

Living things share several characteristics – what are they?

Group Project:Work together to come up with the

characteristics that all living organisms share.Write down what you come up with in your

notebooks (EVERYONE!!!!)You have 10 minutes.

What is life?

What are the characteristics of life

What is life?

You have: 10 Minutes

What are the characteristics of life

What is life?

You have: 7 Minutes

What are the characteristics of life

What is life?

You have: 4 Minutes

What are the characteristics of life

What is life?

You have: 1 Minutes

What did you come up with?

What is life?

Living things are made up of units called Cells

Living things reproduceLiving things are based on a universal genetic

codeLiving things grow and developLiving things obtain and use materials and

energyLiving things respond to their environmentLiving things maintain a stable internal

environmentTaken as a group, living things change over

time.

What is life?

What are Cells?Small self-contained unitsGrow, reproduce and respond to their

surroundingsUnicellular means: One Celled (“Uni” = One)

MicroorganismsMulticellular means: Many Celled (“Multi” =

Many)Animals and plantsDiversityHuman body: 85+ different types of cells

Living Things – Made up of Cells

Sexual ReproductionMajority of multicellular organismsTwo cells from different parents combine to

make the new organismAsexual Reproduction

Majority of unicellular organismsOne cell divides in half to form two new

organisms

Living Things - Reporoduce

What is Genetic Code?How do dogs produce dogs, flies produce flies?DNA

Deoxyribonucleic Acid

Living Things – Based on Genetic Code

Life CyclesTypical Growth and Death Patterns

Differentiation (Development)Changes – Eggs -> Maggots -> Flies

Living Things – Grow and Develop

Metabolism – Builds up or breaks down materials to live.

How does Algae do this?How do Plants do this?How do Sheep do this?How do Wolves do this?How do Buzzards do this?

Living Things – Need Materials & Energy

LightTemperatureWaterGravityAirShelter

Living Things – Respond to Environment

Homeostasis – process in which an organism keeps their

internal conditions relatively stable.

What happens when you get sick?

How does a bird maintain its body temperature in the snow and in the heat?

Living Things– Maintain Internal Balance

Things EvolveOver Time

As a large group

How can we tell?

Living Things – Change Over Time

Ecology - What is it?The study of living things and how they interact with nonliving things.

Each organism depends in some way on other living or nonliving things.

Levels of organizationBiosphere: Broadest level of organization

including all things found on Earth and in it’s atmosphere.

Ecosystems: Includes all the organisms and the nonliving environment found in a particular place.

Community: Only includes living parts of the ecosystem.

Levels of organizationPopulation: Includes all the members of a

species that live in one place at one time.

Organism: Simplest level of organization that consist of only one living thing.

Example: BiosphereThink of it this way: If the earth were an apple the biosphere would be only as thick as the skin on the apple.

Are Living Things distributed evenly throughout the biosphere?

No!!!!

Example: EcosystemA pond is an ecosystem that contains a variety of living things: fish, turtles, aquatic plants, algae, insects, and bacteria.

Also don’t forget the nonliving: chemical and physical composition (water, sunlight)

They all interact in ways that affect their survival.

Example: Community

All the living organisms in the pond: fish, turtles, plants, algae, and bacteria.

Can contain thousands of species

*Group Names*

Example: PopulationAll the members of a species that live together at one time. Like a species of frogs living in the same pond and interacting.

Example: OrganismOne single organism like a duck.

Biotic and Abiotic FactorsBiotic: all the living things in environment:

animals, plants, bacteria, etc.

Abiotic: all of the non-living things in environment: pH, salinity, temp, minerals, amount of sunlight, and precipitation.

Biotic and Abiotic interactionsAbiotic and Biotic factors are NOT

independent.

Ex: Plants (biotic) need nitrogen (abiotic)

The NicheA species’ niche is its way of life, or role the

species plays in its environment.

A species niche includes a range of things: Methods of how it obtains foodNumber of offspringTime of reproductionAll other interactions with its environment

Niche DifferencesA species niche can change in a single

generation.Some species survive better than others.

Specialist: have narrow nichesEx. Koala who feeds

only on a few species of eucalyptus leaves.

Generalist: tolerate a broad range of thingsEx. Virginia Opossum

lives all over the U.S. and eats almost anything

Species InteractionsSeveral types:

1. Predation – predator captures, kills, and consumes preyImportant role in natural selection

Does the coyote ever catch the roadrunner? Does he eat him?

No

Is this predation?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWkOjowSFzs&feature=endscreen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdg9gkmWsEA&feature=related

Predator/Prey Videos

Another Interaction: Avoiding predators

a. Camouflage -hiding

Avoiding predators - contb. Advertising poison –

caterpillars eat poisonous plant – bird eats them and then gets sick or dies.

Avoiding predators - contc. Mimicry – harmless

species resembles a dangerous or distasteful one.

Harmless viceroy (bottom) looks like poisonous monarch butterfly.

Avoiding predators - contd. Looking

scary

2. Parasitism – one individual, the parasite, feeds on another individual, the host

Can you think of some different types of Parasites?

Species Interactions

a. Ectoparasites: live externally.Ex. Fleas, ticks, lice, leeches,

lampreys

b. Endoparasites: live internally.

Ex. Flukes, tapeworms, disease-causing bacteria

Highly adapted – may lack digestive system, limbs, etc

4. Competition – results from the use of same resources by 2 or more species.

Can you think of some animals that compete for food, water, land?

Species Interactions

5. Mutualism – cooperative relationship between 2 organisms in which both benefit.Ex.

Acacia tree and ant (protection and

water)

Next slide: Sea anemone and

clown fish (protection and food);

6. Commensalism – interaction in which one species benefits, the other is not helped or harmedEx. Cattle and egrets

Communities Change Succession –

gradual regrowth of species in an area

A. Primary succession – development of community in an area not previously inhabited.Ex. New island (bare rock), sand dune, lava flow

B. Secondary Succession – replacement of species after a disruption (by fire, storm, human activity)

Pioneer species – the first to appear in succession;

small and fast growingEx – lichen

Climax Community – Stable, mature ecosystem. Stays the same a long time.

Ex – Forest, prairie

Pioneer Climax