Fig. 1.

Chapter 1
Life: Biological
Principles and the
Science of Zoology

BIO 2402
General Zoology
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Permission required for reproduction or display.

The Uses of Principles Zoology: the Study of Animal Life

Underlying Principles Central to
Understanding Zoology
1. Laws of physics and chemistry underlie  Z oo lo g i s t s
studying many
some zoology principles. dimensions base research upon
2.Principles of genetics and evolution a long history of work.
guide much zoological study.
 T w o central principles are
3.Principles learned from one animal
evolution and the chromosomal
group can be applied to others.
theory of inheritance.
4.Some science methods specify how to
conduct solid research.

According to your book, all living things exhibit 1. Chemical Uniqueness

seven characteristics in combination.
Defining Properties of Life
1.Properties exhibited by life today are different from
those at its origin.
2.Change over time, or evolution, has generated many
unique living properties.
3.Definitions based on complex replicative processes would
exclude non-life, but also early forms from which
cellular life descended.
4. We do not force life into a simple definition, yet we
can readily recognize life from a nonliving world.
a.Macromolecules in organisms are far
more complex than molecules in nonliving
matter.
b.They obey the same physical laws as
nonliving molecules but are more complex.
c.Nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates
and lipids are common molecules in life.
d. Their general structure evolved early;
thus the common amino acid subunits of
proteins are found throughout life.
e.They provide both a unity based on
living ancestry and a potential for
diversity.
2. Complexity and Hierarchical Table 1.1
Organization

chemical (atom -> molecule

-> macromolecule)
Organelle
c ell*
tissue

o rgan
 o r g a n system
 mu lticell ul ar organism

Each level of biological organization 3. Reproduction, Growth &

exhibits emergent properties. Development
Asexual reproduction - involves a
single parent; progeny are
Ex. Capillaries transport genetically identical to the parent.
blood (property not Sexual reproduction - involves 2
exhibited by individual parents; progeny are genetically
endothelial cells).
diverse.
Is it essential for an individual to
reproduce?

4. Possession of a genetic program

 a. Structures of protein molecules are encoded ni
nucleic acids.
 b. Genetic information in animals is contained
nDNA.
i
 c. Sequences of nucleotide bases (A, C, G and T)
code for the order of amino acids in a protein.
 d. The genetic code is correspondence
between bases in DNA and sequence of amino
acids.
 e. This genetic code was established early
nevolution
i and has undergone little change.
 f. The genetic code in animal mitochondrial DNA
sslightly
i different from nuclear and bacterial
DNA.
 g. Changes in mitochondria DNA (it contains fewer
proteins) are less likely to disrupt cell
5. Energy Use & Metabolism
Metabolism - biochemical
reactions that acquire & use
energy.
Why do organisms need
energy?
 t o combat entropy
 t o build new structures
 t o repair/break down d ol
structures
 t o reproduce
How do organisms obtain
energy?

Maintenance of Homeostasis
Homeostasis - the ability of an
organism to maintain its internal
environment despite conditions in
the external environment.
Ex. Human body temperature is
~98.6ºF
 i f body temperature rises, you
sweat.
 i f body temperature lowers, yo u
shiver.
6. Development
Development describes characteristic
changes an organism undergoes from
origin to adult.
 I t involves changes in size and shape, d na
differentiation within the organism.
 S o m e animals have uniquely
embryonic, juvenile and adult forms.
different
 T h e transformation from stage to stage
is metamorphosis.
 A m o n g animals, early stages of
organisms are more similar.
related

7. Environmental Interaction
Adaptation - an inherited
behavior or characteristic
Ecology – study of organismal that enables an organism
interaction with the environment to survive & reproduce.
Irritability - immediate response to a
stimulus.

Over time, adaptations are modified by

natural selection.
 Characteristics of Animals
Natural Selection - the enhanced
survival & reproductive success of Animals are a branch of he
t
individuals whose inherited traits evolutionary tree of life.
better adapt them to a particular  A n i m a l s are part of a large limb

environment. f eukaryotes, organisms that include

o
fungi and plants with nuclei in cells.
 A n i m a l s are unique in nutrition; he
ty
eat other organisms and therefore
need to capture food.
 A n i m a l s lack photosynthesis, cell
walls found in plants, and also lack
absorptive hyphae of fungi.

Nature of Science Scientific Method

 Science is a way of asking about the nau trl  Criteria for science form a hypothetico-deductive d m
ote
h
world to obtain precise answers  Hypotheses are based on prior observations of nature
 Asking questions about nature is e
anc
t;i r derived from theories based on nature.
o
modern science is about 2000 years old.  Testable predictions are made based on hypotheses.
A hypothesis powerful in explaining a wide variety of
Science is separate from activities

related phenomena becomes a theory.
as art and religion.
such  Falsification of a specific hypothesis does not necessarily
Science is guided by natural law. lead to rejection of a theory as a whole.
 Science has to be explanatory by reference to  The most useful theories explain the largest array o f
natural law. different natural phenomena.
 Science is testable against the observable world.  Scientific meaning of “theory” is not the same as
 Science conclusions are tentative; they are not usage of theory as “mere speculation.”
common
necessarily the final word.  Powerful theories that guide extensive research are called
 Science is falsifiable. paradigms.
 Replacement of paradigms is a process known as a
revolution; the evolutionary paradigm has guided biology
scientific
research for over 130 years.

Experimental vs Evolutionary Sciences

 Questions can be divided into those that seek to understand
proximate versus ultimate causes.
 Studies that explore proximate causes are
experimental sciences using experimental methods
 Controls are repetitions of an experiment that lack
disturbance or treatment.
 T h e sub-fields of molecular biology, cell biology,
endocrinology, developmental biology and community ecology
rely heavily on experimental scientific methods.
 U l t i m a t e causes are addressed by questions involving
long- term timespans.
 Evolut iona ry sciences address ultimate causes.
 Evolut iona ry questions are often explored using a comparative
method.
 P a t t e r n s of modern similarities are used to establish hypotheses n o
evolutionary origins.
 S u b - f i e l d s include comparative biochemistry, molecular evolution,
comparative cell biology, comparative anatomy, comparative physiology
and phylogenetic systematics.
Central Theories of Evolution (Mayr) What Darwin Didn’t Know
Perpetual change: changes across generations e ra
a fact documented in the fossil record. Darwin lacked a
correct theory of
 C o m m o n descent: branching lineages form
heredity and assumed
a phylogeny that is confirmed by expanding the current theory
research on morphological and molecular
similarities. of blending
 Multiplication of species: splitting d na inheritance was
transforming species produces new species. correct; Mendel’s
 G r a d u a l i s m : small incremental changes over o
ngl theory of particulate
periods of time cause gradual evolution, but inheritance became
current research is still studying if this explains well known only in the
all changes. very early 1900s.
 Natural selection: based on variability in
apopulation, the inheritance of that variation, and Darwin’s theory as modified by
different survival of those variants, explains incorporation of genetics is often
adaptation. called “neo-Darwinism.”

Mendelian Heredity and the Chromosomal

Theory of Inheritance
Chromosomal inheritance is the foundation for
genetics and evolution, as laid down by Mendel.
Genetic Approach
 Mendel’s technique involved crossing true-

breeding populations.
 Production of F hybrids and F generations
1 2
showed lack of blending, and masking of
recessive traits by dominant traits.
 Traits assorted independently unless on the

same chromosome.