Diversity of Life

Defining Characteristics:UnicellularExtremophilesNo nucleus or membrane bound organellesNo peptidoglycan in cell wall

Defining characteristics:Archaebacteria have no peptidoglycan in their cell wallsBacteria that are adapted to living in extreme environmental conditions (near volcanic activity, deep oceans)Do not need oxygen and light to survive.No nucleus or membrane bound organelles

Defining Characteristics:UnicellularCell wall consisting of peptidoglycanNo nucleus or membrane bound organellesMost have flagellas

Defining Characteristics:Peptidoglycan in cell walloften move around with a flagellano nucleus or membrane bound organelle

Defining characteristics:Cells have distinct nucleus and organelles that contain genetic information and multiply through mitosisMore complex cells than prokaryotic cells

Defining Characteristics:Chemoheterophic (absorb their food)Reproduce through sporesBoth sexual and asexual reproductionUsually not motileHave cell walls composed of chitin

Reproductive strategy:sexually or asexuallyHyphae from two opposite mating types meet that create progametangia that are dense and multinucleatePlasmogamy then occurs between the two gametangia to form a zygoteKaryogamy takes place within the zygoteGermination begins when the diploid nucleus undergoes meiosis and a sporangium develops at the end of a germ tube. Spores are produced within the sporangium

Reproductive strategy:Ascomycota have male and female gametangia in their haploid stagePlasmogamy, or the transfer of cytoplasm and nuclei, takes place when a part of the ascogonium, the trichogyne, fuses with the antheridiumAt the tip of this hypha, karyogamy or nuclear fusion takes place, resulting in the formation of a diploid ascus. Within this structure, the diploid nucleus undergoes meiosis, producing four haploid nuclei. These nuclei then undergo mitosis to form eight haploid ascospores

Reproductive strategy:Sexual reproduction in Basidiomycota takes place in the fruiting body, in specialized structures called basidiaThe basidia is itself formed by plasmogamy between mycelia from two different spores. 

Reproductive strategy:reproduce asexually by concidiosporesThe sexual stage is usually Ascomycota or Basidiomycota for these organismsAfter the stage is complete, it is reclassified in this subdivision. When both sexual and asexual stages occur, it is called telomorph andanamorph. 

Defining characteristics:Most are unicellular, some are multicellularAquaticMotileHeterotrophic or Autotrophiclarge complex cells with many organellesmove using pseudopods, cilia or flagellacan reproduce sexually and asexuallyAll eukaryotic organisms that are neither plants, animals, nor fungi

Feeding Characteristics:Engulf their prey by wrapping extensions (pseudopods) around the potential food then absorbing it into the cellMost rely on slow moving prey as they do not move quickly

Movement strategy:By means of Pseudopods or 'false feet'

Movement strategy:surrounded by tiny hair like projections called cilia that beat like the oar of a boat propelling organisms through waterthe cilia are also used to propel and direct food toward mouth opening

Movement strategy:By means of single flagellum tailPropel through water like a helicopter rotor

Movement strategy:No movement (are parasitic and spread by means of spores)They rely on other organisms to distribute them 

Feeding Characteristics:Most feed through photosynthesis (Autotrophic)Have the ability to perform photosynthesisSome absorb nutrients for food

Feeding Characteristics:Gets food from other dead organismsEat bacteria yeast and other decaying plantsParasitic

Defining Characteristics:multi-cellularPhotosynthetic –Contain chlorophyll a and bAlternation of Generationsdevelop from embryos –arise from multi-cellular structures in the maternal tissue product of sexual fusion

Adaptations:Bryophytes have no vascular tissue to get water from the soil so they need to live in moist and shaded environments to be able to access the water they need. Two adaptations made the move from water to land possible for Bryophytes: a waxy cuticle and gametangia.The waxy cuticle prevents the Bryophytes from drying out by losing their water and gametangia does the same things for their gametes. They also show embryonic development.

AdaptationsIn addition to a waxy cuticle and stomata, seedless vascular plants have well developed vascular tissueThey grow much taller than non vascular plants because of the strong structural support they haveThey still mostly occupy moist areas for reproduction though they are able to carry water from the soil into their higher tissue using the xylem and phloem. 

Adaptations:Gymnosperms generally have exposed seeds. Conifers are typical gymnosperms with cones and needles that go through photosynthesis but are able to live fully on land due to their low surface area and transportation of water and sugars through the xylem and phloem Low surface area helps them retain their water because there is not much space to lose it. 

Adaptations:They are completely on land and do not require water for reproductionStorage tissue to sustain growth and a protective coat give great evolutionary advantageThese are the same as gymnosperms in their sustenance methods but have a fruit or a flower, containing a seedAnimals are attracted to these, which allow them to spread over a vast geographical region. 

Defining characteristics:Heterotrophic (cannot produce their own food)DiploidMulticellularUsually develop from blastula

Evolutionary Milestone:Porifera are the first animals and therefore are not complex.Multicellularity is a milestone that all animals subsequent to it have.

Evolutionary Milestone:Cnidarians have two layers of true tissue and show radial symmetry

Evolutionary Milestone:First animals to show bilateral symmetry 

Evolutionary Milestone:Nematodes have Pseudocoelums which are false body cavitiesThey also have complete and complex digestive tracts. 

Evolutionary Milestone:Annelids have complex digestion and show segmentationThey also have closed circulatory systems

Evolutionary Milestone:Mollusks are coelomates which means they have true body cavities with their organs held together by a mesentary.

Evolutionary Milestone:Arthropods have jointed appendages and have hard exoskeletons

Evolutionary Milestone:Echinoderms have endoskeletons and are deutrosomes meaning the first opening in the blastula is the anus while the second is the mouthThey are also considered to have bilateral symmetry rather than radial because they have bilateral symmetry as larva.

Evolutionary Milestone:Chordates are classified with the development of notochords meaning a cartilaginous skeletal rod supporting the body in all embryonic and some adult chordate animals.

Adaptations to terrestrial life:no jaws, no paired finsstart off as jawed fish and can move around and hunt for food

Adaptations to terrestrial life:Jawed fish with paired fins, paired nostrils, scales and skeleton made of cartilageThey have nostrils to help smell, so hard skeletons start to form to keep organs and such inside of the body. This can aid terrestrial life

Adaptation to terrestrial life:have bone tissue as opposed to cartilage which makes the organism stronger and increases ability to fend for itself and also helps it to gain the power to move around more efficiently with speed and agility

Adaptations to terrestrial life:They have both gills and lungs because they spend their life in water and on landThe lungs allow them to live on land better because they can intake more oxygen and have acquired a proper respiratory systemWatertight skin that prevents water loss

Adaptations to terrestrial life:scales that aid in protection as well as help regulate body temperaturehard-shelled eggs (aminote eggs)stronger legs positioned directly beneath the body

Adaptations to terrestrial life:Hollow bones and feathers that allow them fly easily, avoiding predators on landwarmbloodedness provides some independence from environmental conditions

Adaptations to terrestrial life:fur/hairmammary glandsfull working internal systems and different modes of nutrition helps survive longer on landwarmbloodedness provides independence from environmental conditions

Reproductive strategies:They give live births, but they do not have long gestation times like placental mammalsInstead, they give birth very early and the young animal - a helpless embryo, climbs from the mother's birth canal to the nipples where it is nursed for very long timeThis is superior to monotremes because it provides safety of the offspring since it is so close to the mother, and lowers the risk of threat from other animals. Whereas, eggs can get eaten by other animals in the absence of the mother in monotremes.

Characteristics:the size ranges from a mouse to that of a large catits prehensile tail is used as a 5th limb and brace when climbing, unlike other mammalsnocturnalsexually dimorphic with males generally larger than femalescan be carnivores, insectivores, and herbivores

Reproductive strategy:Monotremes reproduce sexually but are the only mammals in which females lay fertilized eggs instead of giving live birth. Mating seasons consist of a female being pursued by up to ten males, and a single egg is laid 2 weeks after copulation. the egg hatches after 10 days.

Characteristics:endothermic, with a metabolic rateproduce milk through mammary glandsthree middle-ear bonessome reptilian characteristics (an egg tooth is present in young to help break open their shell)a pelvic girdle that is distinctly mammalian

Reproductive strategies:the developing baby is fed through the mother's placenta (spongy structure that passes oxygen, nutrients, and other useful substances from the mother to the fetus. Allows the fetus to grow for a long time within the mother).Placental mammals give birth to relatively mature and large infants which increases its chance of surviving as it is not so fragile and does not usually depend on the mothers milk for sustenance long after it is born. The offsprings are healthier in general than marsupials at birth. This makes placental mammals superior to marsupials.

Characteristics:Hands and Feet. Almost all living primates have prehensile hands and feet, and most have five digits on these appendages, including opposable thumbsShoulders and HipsBrainClavicleincreased emphasis on vision - forward facing eye orbits