CHAPTER 0 Life

Living things

0.1.

What is biology?

Biology is the study of life (living things). Living things are called organisms. Biology deals with how organism functions react to each other and how the environment affects their lives. Organisms range from microscopic bacteria to large plants and complex animals.

0.2.

What are the characteristics of living things?

Living things are have eight (8) characteristics that make them different from objects which are not alive: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. They reproduce They feed They respire- release energy from their food by combining it with oxygen They grow They move. They excrete release waste from the body by the process of metabolism They are sensitive they can sense and response to changes in their surroundings 8. They are made of cells.

0.3. Organisms interact with their environment.

Living things are often studied where they live. The surroundings in which an organism lives is called their environment. The study of the interaction between living organisms and their environment is a branch of biology called ecology.

0.4. Scientific words are very useful in biology We need to be familiar with the scientific terms used in biology. They are typed in bold print in this text and are used everywhere in the world with the same meaning. The place where an organism lives is called a habitat. A population is all the organisms of the same species that lives in the same place. Different organisms of different species living in the same habitat are called a community. An ecosystem consists of a community and its environment. The way in which an organism lives their live (the role of an organism) is called a niche.

Studying ecosystems 0.5. Different types of organisms have different names Groups of similar organisms which are able to interbreed made up a species. Each species have a scientific name made up of two Latin words the generic name and the specific name. Closely related species share the same generic name but have different specific name. The scientific name for an organism is used by scientists throughout the word. The scientific name for humans is Homo sapiens.

0.6. Keys are used for identification. Different types of organisms can be identified, that is given names, from their characteristics. Examples human identify each other by using these characteristic height, weight, complexion, eye colour, hair style, etc. the table below show that the number of legs an organism has can help to identify its type.

Number if legs Types of animal 0 Molluscs, Echinoderms 2 Birds 4 Mammals, Reptiles 6 Insects 8 Spiders 2 per body segment Centipedes 4 per body segment Millipedes The number of legs on some different type of animals.

Organisms which are not easily identified from pictures or there are no pictures of, can be identified using a key. A key that gives two descriptions at a time to choose between, each choice leads to another pair of descriptions until you have the name of your organism. This is called a dichotomous key because you choose between two descriptions each time (di means two). 1. Animals of one cell, normally lives in water. Animals of more than one cell. 2. Animals without legs. Animals with legs. 3. Animals with scales. Animals without scales. 4. Animals with fins, living in water. Animals without fins, normally living on land. 5. Sessile animals with no mouth or digestive system. Animals with a mouth. 6. Animals with body made up of ring like segments. Otherwise. 7. Animals with an obvious central body cavity and tentacles. Animals without tentacles or with a muscular foot. 8. Animals with a five-fold symmetry. Animals with a muscular foot. 9. Animals with two legs and feathers. Protoctista 2 3 9 4 5 Fish Reptiles Sponges 6 Annelids 7 Cnidarians 8 Echinoderms Mollusks Birds

Animals with more than two legs 10. Animals with four legs. Animals with more than two pair of legs. 11. Warm-blooded animals with hair or fur. Cold blooded animals. 12. Animals with scales. Animals without scales. 13. Animals with three pairs of legs. Animals with more than six legs. 14. Animals with eight legs. Animals with more than four pairs of legs. 15. Animals often with a pair of claws. Animals with fifteen or more pair of legs. 16. Animals with one pair of leg per body segment. Animals with two pair of legs per body segment. A dichotomous key to the major groups of animals.

10 11 13 Mammals 12 Reptiles Amphibians Insects 14 Arachnids 15 Crustaceans 16 Centipedes Millipedes

0.7. Care should be taken when observing and collecting organisms When investigating the ecosystem rocks or stones moved should be replaced exactly as found, as it provides a protected home for the organisms found there and if the protection is disturbed they may die. Only collect organisms that you cannot identify or a single representative of a species you want to draw. Rare animals and plants should not be collected. When collecting plants take only pieces large enough to show all their characteristics. Another important reason for taking care when collecting organisms is personal safety. Many plants have spines or bristles and others produce toxic juices. Animals may bite or string and some can be extremely dangerous.

Food and energy in an ecosystem 0.8. The green plants are food producers Green plants are able to capture some of the energy from sunlight by the process of photosynthesis. Plants use this energy to make organic substances; some of the energy from these organic substances can be released by a process called respiration. The energy captured by plants is the only source of energy for all living organisms. Therefore plants are the primary producers of food in any ecosystem.

0.9. There are many different types of feeding relationships Organisms that feed on others are called predators. Animals that feed on plants are predators called herbivores (primary consumers); Example sheep, cattle and slug. Predators that feed on animals are called carnivores (secondary consumers). Example sharks, lizards and spiders. Predators that eat both animals and plants are called omnivores. Humans are omnivores. Humming-birds collect nectar from plant and are herbivores; they are also carnivores because they collect small insects to feed their young. They are also pollinators because they carry pollens from one plant to another. Parasites lives on or inside other species (the host which is not usually killed) on which they feed. Example, tapeworms are parasites of humans. Insect parasitoids are predators that live part of their life inside the insect host, which is eventually killed. Example, Apanteles plutellae, a very small wasp, is a parasitoid which kills the diamond-back moth, Plutella xylostella.

0.10. Food chains and food webs show feeding relationships.

A food chain is the passing of energy in the form of food from plants to animals, then to other animals. Example, plants (primary producers), eaten by, grasshopper (primary consumer), eaten by, bird (secondary consumer). Organisms often have more than one food source. A food web is used to represent their feeding relationship. Example: Cats Herbivorous Birds plants Lizards Carnivorous birds

Insectivorous birds

herbivorous insects

0.11. Organisms feed at different trophic levels. Trophic level is a stage in a food chain that reflects the number of times energy has been transferred by feeding. A pyramid of numbers is a diagram that shows the number of organisms that feeds at different trophic levels in a food chain. Example: Trophic level 4 3 2 1 Top carnivores carnivores herbivores primary producer

All organisms respire and use some of the energy from their food to carry out their function. Therefore, there are fewer organisms at each tropic level as less energy is available. If mass is used instead of organisms there would be more herbivores than primary producers, then the same amount of carnivores as primary producers. But only a few top carnivores. Example, in a tropical rain forest there are only a few large trees and the herbivores are mainly small insects that feeds on their leaves and other parts of the trees. A pyramid used to represent this would be called a pyramid of biomass (biological mass).

0.12. Understanding energy flow helps agriculture The closer to the beginning of the food chain we feed the more energy is available for use. That is why our staple foods, wheat, rice potatoes are plants. When we eat meat, eggs, etc., less energy is available than provided by the sun because we are feeding further along the food chain. Humans cannot release the energy in grass. Cattles turn the energy in cellulose into energy in protein and fat which we can digest. Soya beans are a plant which we can eat which are cheaper and yield a high amount of protein more efficiently.

Symbiosis 0.13. Symbiosis means living together When two different species live together intimately their relationship is called symbiosis. There are three types of symbiosis. Parasitism This is where one partner, usually the smaller, benefits from the association and the other suffers.

Commensalism This is where one partner benefits and the other dont usually gain from the relationship. Mutualism This is where both organisms gain from the association. In extreme cases one cannot live without the other.

0.14. Parasitism is one extreme form of symbiosis The tapeworm is a parasite that affects human and cattle; it gains nourishment and shelter from it host and give nothing in return. Humans with tapeworm have to eat more than usual are they will die. Plasmodium is a parasite that causes malaria in humans.

0.15. Commensalism is another form of symbiosis An epiphyte is a plant that grows on another, (whose root dont enter the ground), but dont depend on it for nutrition. Some benefits are that it grows closer to the light and it escapes herbivores which gaze on plants on the ground. It does not affect the host unless the weight becomes excessive.

0.16. Mutualism is symbiosis for mutual benefit The situation in which both partners in a symbiotic relationship are unable to live without each other is called an obligate one. Meaning the two species are obliged to live together. Rhizobium is a bacterium which is able to use nitrogen gas from the air space in the soil and combine it with other substances to make nitrates and other compounds. Flowering plants use the nitrates, as they require nitrogen compound but are unable to use the nitrogen gas to make them. The bacteria live in swellings, called nodules, on the roots of these plants. The plants benefits because they use the nitrates produced by rhizobia to make proteins. The

bacteria benefits because it obtain sugars from the plants. Legumes are examples of these plants and due to the present of their mutualistic bacteria do not need nitrogenous fertilizers. Mycorrhizae Most plant roots have fungi growing in and on them. Some of the fungi are disease organisms (pathogens), including those that cause root rot. Many of the fungi do not cause diseases and are beneficial to the host. This form of mutualism called mycorrhizae (myco means fungus, rhizae means roots). Plants with these root partners are better at taking up phosphates from the soil, are more tolerant of drought conditions and are less likely to suffer from root diseases. The fungi obtain sugars and other organic substances from their hosts.

0.17. The type of symbiosis between species may change in different ecosystems. Although in the Caribbean the relationship between cattle egrets and cattle is commensalism, in Africa it is mutualism. On that continent there are many large predators of cattle and other hoofed animals. From their perch on their partners back the cattle egrets are able to see approaching predators. The alarm cries of the egrets warn the cattle of their approach. Thus the benefit is mutual.

0.18. Biologists count from zero In a biological experiment which investigates change over time, the recording of results always starts at the time zero. The first quadrat in a transect is always numbered zero. Hence, the chapter in a biology text book should be chapter zero.