Biology of the Vertebrates Study Questions F2012

Note: These study questions are not comprehensive. 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 and handouts should be your primary reference.

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Lecture 1 (27 August 2012)

1. What are the reasons for studying a particular group of organisms such as vertebrates?

2. When an organism is considered an "ecosystem engineer"?

3. Organize the vertebrate groups from the most to the least diverse (# of spp.).

4. What might account for the differences in numbers of species among vertebrate groups? Roughly what fraction of animals do vertebrates comprise?

5. What is “cladistics”? Define “monophyly,” and describe how this differs from “paraphyly.”

6. What is a "monophyletic group"? Draw the vertebrate phylogeny and label all major monophyletic groups discussed in lecture.

7. Define “synapomorphy” and “plesiomorphy.” Explain how a synapomorphy at one level can be plesiomorphic at another (or vice-versa).

8. Provide an example of a bad character to use when reconstructing the evolutionary history of an organism.

9. What is evolutionary convergence and how could it bias a phylogenetic reconstruction?

10. What is a "paraphyletic group"? Give an example for vertebrates.

11. What is the blastopore? Explain the importance of understanding the embryonic development of the blastopore.

12. What is the evolutionary significance of Pikaia?

Lecture 26 (December 5, 2012)

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