Difference between revisions of "Biology of the Vertebrates Study Questions"
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==Lecture 2== | ==Lecture 2== | ||
| + | 1. Describe 3 major evolutionary innovations, or trends, in the vertebrate body plan. | ||
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| + | 2. List, and briefly describe, each of the major organ systems shared by vertebrates. | ||
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| + | 3. What are ‘homologous’ bones? In which group (and roughly when in geologic time) does bone appear in the fossil record? What is bone comprised of, and how does it differ from cartilage? | ||
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| + | 4. Describe the 2 major regions of the vertebrate skeletal system (what features does each contain). Describe the 3 major embryological regions of the skull, and what what each gives rise to. | ||
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| + | 5. How does the tetrapod vertebral column differ from the ancestral condition (both in its morphology and capacity for movement). | ||
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| + | 6. Briefly explain the major transitions in the appendicular skeleton from sharks, to bony fish, to lobe-finned fish, and to terrestrial tetrapods. | ||
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| + | 7. In ancestral vertebrates, such as bony fish, axial muscles are divided into _________. What are the major regions of axial musculature called? With which features are the hypobranchial muscles associated? | ||
==Lecture 3== | ==Lecture 3== | ||
Revision as of 15:29, 9 September 2009
Note: These study questions are not necessarily comprehensive, nor are they meant to be. They are meant to supplement your lecture notes as you review them, and alert you to the ways in which you should be thinking about the material, and formulate questions to test yourself. Exams will NOT be limited to the material highlighted in these questions, or their formats, so your lecture notes should be your primary reference.
Contents
Lecture 1
1. List and describe 3 applications for the study of vertebrate biology, and be sure to provide examples.
2. Which major taxonomic group of vertebrates is the most speciose? The least? What might account for these differences in numbers of species? Roughly what fraction of animals do vertebrates comprise?
3. What is “cladistics”? Define “monophyly,” and describe how this differs from “paraphyly.”
4. Define “synapomorphy” and “plesiomorphy.” Explain how a synapomorphy at one level can be plesiomorphic at another (or vice-versa). Briefly explain how it is that we (humans) are considered ‘bony fish’.
5. Where do vertebrates fit in the larger scheme of organisms?
Lecture 2
1. Describe 3 major evolutionary innovations, or trends, in the vertebrate body plan.
2. List, and briefly describe, each of the major organ systems shared by vertebrates.
3. What are ‘homologous’ bones? In which group (and roughly when in geologic time) does bone appear in the fossil record? What is bone comprised of, and how does it differ from cartilage?
4. Describe the 2 major regions of the vertebrate skeletal system (what features does each contain). Describe the 3 major embryological regions of the skull, and what what each gives rise to.
5. How does the tetrapod vertebral column differ from the ancestral condition (both in its morphology and capacity for movement).
6. Briefly explain the major transitions in the appendicular skeleton from sharks, to bony fish, to lobe-finned fish, and to terrestrial tetrapods.
7. In ancestral vertebrates, such as bony fish, axial muscles are divided into _________. What are the major regions of axial musculature called? With which features are the hypobranchial muscles associated?
Lecture 3
Lecture 4
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