1. 1
Bio I
Biology:
Biolife
LogyGr.“Logos” = study of
Characteristics of life
1. Cellular - Made up of cells
2. Able to Reproduce - The ability to
perpetuate
3. Genetic code
DNA :Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine,
Thymine
RNA: Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, Uracil
deoxyribonucleic acid
ribonucleic acid
DNA – carrier
RNA – messenger
DNA is self-replicating which is efficient for
survival
Nucleic acids ~ nucleotides
1. 5C simple sugar
2. N-bases
3. Phosphate PO4
 DNA and RNA
Central / Molecular Dogma
4.Grow and Develop
Grow – increase size and/or number
of cells
Develop –changes from early stages to the
mature stages
5. Metabolism – sum total of all chemical
reactions
6. Exhibit to Irritability – respond to
environment
7. Undergo homeostasis – can maintain
internal balance
8. Adapt and evolve – suited to live in its
particular environment
Themes that unify Biology
1. Cell
Every organism’s basic units of structure
and function
Two main types:
Prokaryotic ( bacteria, archea)
Eukaryotic(Protists, plants, fungi, animals)
2. Heritable information
The continuity of life depends on the
inheritance of biological information in the
form of DNA molecules
Genetic information is encoded in the
nucleotide sequences of DNA
3. Emergent properties
The world has a hierarchical organization
Emergent properties – the result of
interactions among components at the lower
level.

2. 2
4. Regulation
Feed back mechanisms regulate biological
systems.
Unity and diversity
Biologists divided life into 3 domains:
› Bacteria , Archea , Eukarya
Unity  universal genetic code
The more related, the more characteristics
they share
Evolution
Darwinian theory of natural selection
Adaptation of populations are through
differential reproductive success of varying
individuals
Scientific inquiry
The process of science includes observation-
based discovery and the testing of
explanations through hypothesis based
inquiry.
Levels of organization
1. Atom
2. Molecule
3. Tissue
4. Organ
5. Organ system
6. Organism
7. Population
8. Community
9. Ecosystems
10. Biome
11. Biosphere
Ecology - Study of interaction among
organisms in their environment
Relationships
Biotic – biotic
Abiotic – abiotic
Abiotic - biotic
Biosphere
Portions of the planet in which life exists
 Atmosphere
 Hydrosphere
 Lithosphere
 Self-contained
 Patchy
Biomes
Group of ecosystems that have the same
climate and similar dominant
communities
Habitat – area where organisms live
Niche – role in the area
Ecological Niche
Each organism has a specific role that
contributes to the ecosystem

3. 3
Ecological succession
 the observed process of change in
the species structure of an
ecological community over time.
 The most efficient and most
adapted organisms become the
most adundant species
 Occurs when there are drastic and
sudden changes in the
environment
Pioneer community- the organisms
present that are most suited for this
environment
 Pioneer species
Climax community – organisms that are
most suited for the present environment
after the change
 Dominant species
Competitive exclusion principle
Fundamental rule in ecology stating that
no two organisms can occupy the exact
niche for an indefinite time
Perinial – long life
Annual – yearly
Biannual – every two years
Flow of energy
This the factor that controls what kind of
organisms live in an ecosystem
Determines the max number of organisms
in an ecosystem
Producers – produces energy storing
molecules
Consumers – consumes plants and
obtains their energy
Decomposers – returns organic
molecules to the ground
Scavengers – consumes carcasses
Primary energy source
Photosynthetic organisms:plants, algae,
bacteria
Primary productivity – the rate at
which organic material is produced.
Primary productivity determines the
amount of energy available in the
ecosystem
Trophic levels
Feeding positions in a food chain
These are represented in: food chains,
food webs, and ecological pyramids.
Food chains – sequence of food and
energy transfer.
Producer consumer  decomposer
Food webs – food chains that intersect
and link to each other
Ecological pyramids:
Number pyramid
Biomass pyramid
Energy pyramid

4. 4
Population dynamics
Referred to as how a number of
individuals change over time
Important for the conservation of
endangered species and management
of life
Exponential growth is unrealistic
Everything has a limit
Carrying capacity- population size that the
environment can sustain for a long period of
time.
Important characteristics of a population
1. Geographic distribution / range
2. Population density
3. Population dispersion
4. Uniformity
5. Random clustering
Factors that limit population size
1. Natality
2. Mortality
3. Number of individuals entering or
leaving an ecosystem
Limiting factors
Density-dependent
› Competition
› Predation
› Parasitism
› Disease
Density-independent
› Unusual weather
› Natural disasters
› Season cycles
› Human activities
Abiotic and biotic factors that limit
aquatic biomes
 Water chemistry
 Temperature
 Depth of water
o Light penetration
o Turbidity
o O2 content
o Wind action, water current,
microbial action
 Water pressure
 Salinity of aquatic biomes
 Biological Oxygen Demand
 Eutrophication
 Turnover / upwelling
 Early theories on Evolution
Historical development
Carolus Linnaeus– Nested Hierarchies,
Order of Nature. Classified humans among
primates
Plato – idealism / essentialism. Its
attributes are essentially determined and
made.
Aristotle – ScalaNaturae: Organisms
arrange in increasing complexity
Judeo Christian culture – Creationism
“admajoremdeigloriam”natural
theology

5. 5
SystemaNaturae - KPCOFGS
Binomial system of Nomenclature
Genusspecies
Thomas Malthus – ecology of human
popuations
Jean Baptiste Lamarck – Naturalist
 PhilosophieZoologique:
Desire to change, use and disuse,
passing of acquired traits
Georges Cuvier – catastrophism,
extinctions
Charles Lyell – uniformitarianism
James hutton – Graudualism
Profound change is the cumulative
product of slow but continuous process
George Mendell – father of modern
genetics
 discrete genes are inherited
Charles Darwin – naturalist
 Theory of natural selection
Alfred Russel Wallace – theory of natural
selection
Modern Theories
Francis Crick & James Watson – DNA
Understood mutations arrive to evolution
Rosalind Frank – x-ray crytallography
Structure is correlated with function
 Further explanation
Malthusian Dilemma
Thomas Malthus believed that the human
population would eventually grow larger
than the ability of the environment to
sustain it.
Natural vs. Artificial Selection
Natural – longer and random
Artificial – faster and has goals
Types of biomes
Desert - Little water, Extreme temperature
changes, Hot and Dry, Difficult to adapt
Includes: Hot and Dry, Semiarid, Coastal,
and Cold deserts
Forests - Dominated by trees and plants,
Diverse in terms of kinds of species
Includes: Tropical, Decidiuous, and Taiga
Freshwater - Has water that has a salt level
< 1%, A lot of plants and animals, Source of
drinking water
Includes: Ponds, lakes, Streams, Rivers and
Wetlands
Grassland - Filled with grasses, Length of
grasses depend on amount of rainfall
Marine- covers more of the Earth’s surface
than any other – about 70%, provides most
of the rainwater
Tundra - Cold climate, Remains wet
because of the cold temp that delays
evaporation
Finnish: Tunturi- treeless hill