BIO 7:  Lecture 13 Preview

There are many ways to be a successful organism, as seen in the many different species that have been identified.

What are advantages of being small?  What are disadvantages of being small?

What are advantages of being large?  What are disadvantages of being large? 

Large organisms require more organization

cells ---> tissues ---> organs ----> organ systems---> whole organism

Plants have 3-4 main types of tissues:  dermal, vascular, ground, (meristematic)

Plant Tissues are organized into 3-4 main organs:  leaves, stems, roots, (flowers)

Plant Organs are organized into 2 main systems:  shoots, roots

There are 4 basic types of Animal Tissues; cells forming tissues have specialized structures and functions.

Organs are 2 or more different tissues working together to carry out a special function.  Different organs work together in organ systems.

Animals commonly have 10 major organ systems.  Their main functions and organs are summarized at this site.

http://web.jjay.cuny.edu/~acarpi/NSC/14-anatomy.htm

Time for Another Poster Assignment

In the second part of this class we are looking at large organisms and their tissues, organs, and organ systems.  Information to make and operate these parts has been passed on in the DNA, mutations have resulted in some modifications, and those organisms with the modifications best suited for their environments have survived to reproduce more individuals carrying the successful information.

 To learn more about organs and systems, you will be working in 8 different groups of 5-6 people.  While hearing and reading about the general design of organ systems of successful organisms, each group will investigate a successful organism near to us in Sacramento:

ü      An invertebrate living in the water:  a zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha).

ü      An invertebrate living on land:  a honey bee (Apis mellifera).

ü      A vertebrate (or chordate) living in the water:  a Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha).

ü      A vertebrate living on land:  a California condor (Gymnogyps californianus).

For each animal, the group will prepare a poster with the following information (including citations).

1. The domain, kingdom, and phylum of your animal, along with 3 familiar relatives in the same phylum.
2. The stages in the life cycle of your animal, along with its average lifespan and adult size.
3. How it gets nutrition--energy and chemical building blocks.  What does it eat and how is its digestive system specialized for its diet?
4. How it transports nutrients to individual cells from the outside and wastes from the cells to the outside.  What kind of gas exchange system does it have and what kind of circulatory or transport system does it have?
5. How does it support its size and move.  What kind of material supports it, does it have an exoskeleton or endoskeleton or neither, and how does it move?
6. How it protects and defends itself on the outside and in.  What external and behavioral defense mechanisms and what internal defense mechanisms does it have?
7. How it maintains fairly constant internal conditions (e.g. water and temperature) so that its proteins function well. How does it regulate its water content and temperature?
8. How it senses its surroundings so that it can react appropriately.  What sense organs does it have?
9. How it coordinates the activities of different cells within it.  What is one important hormone it uses and what does that hormone do?  Does it have a brain and spinal cord or just a network of nerves?
10. How it relates to our lives.  What is a legal, social, and/or economic issue involving the animal and what are the 2 main sides of the issue?

For three of the design features (bullets 2-9) you will need to discuss what the advantages and disadvantages of the organism’s particular design features are.

 I will be introducing the systems over the next two weeks (March 18-April 8).  You will need to access outside sources about the specific organisms; the lectures should help give you some perspective on advantages and disadvantages of different designs. 

• You will be given part of a period to work in your groups on Thursday, March 27 and Thursday, April 10.
• On March 27 you will individually turn in the answers to the first 5 questions and on April 10 you will individually turn in the answers to questions 6-10.  You must cite your sources of information.  Make a copy for yourself to use at your group meeting.
• On Tuesday, April 15, each group will present a poster answering the questions above.   Students will have a chance to circulate and compare the features of different animals. The poster should highlight key points visually and accurately, so that other students can learn from them.  Posters will have a maximum score of 12 points, based on how accurately and thoroughly all questions were addressed and how well the information was presented.  Sources of information must be cited as they are used.

Group members will receive the same basic score, which will then be adjusted based on Peer Evaluations.