Diversity

I look forward to getting to

know you
Please list:
Name
Hometown
Something interesting about
yourself
What you hope to gain from this
course
Career goals
College science/math you have taken
Most outrageous (non-human) species
be creative!

A few biology videos:

ideas for endangered
species project?

Synaptic cleft
Lab safety rap
PCR song
Bio Rad GTCA
Too late to apoptize
Put some ACH into it
Asthma rap
Attenborough: Wonderful world

Plantae

Fungi

Animalia

Protista

Archaea

Bacteria

What is SCIENCE?
On a piece of paper, jot down a concise definition of
science. How does science differ from other fields?
Merriam Webster dictionary definitions:
1: the state of knowing : knowledge as distinguished from ignorance or
misunderstanding
2 a: a department of systematized knowledge as an object of study
b: something (as a sport or technique) that may be studied or learned like
systematized knowledge <have it down to a science>

3 a: knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths

or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested
through scientific method
b: such knowledge or such a system of knowledge concerned
with the physical world and its phenomena : natural science
4: a system or method reconciling practical ends with scientific laws <cooking is
both a science and an art>

Scientific Method
Process by which we construct an accurate (reliable, consistent,
reproducible, and non-arbitrary) representation or understanding
of the physical world.
- empirical (verifiable by observation)
observable, measurable, repeatable
- predictive
- iterative
- long-term
- reason-based
-Does NOT emphasize beauty, aesthetics or emotions.
-Is not equivalent to technology (but can lead to technological advances).
-Is not equivalent to absolute Truth. Scientists often use phrases such as
our current understanding is or the evidence suggests that. We
can numerically estimate a degree of confidence using statistical tests.
-Is not equivalent to faith or religion; is not a competing approach but IS a
different approach to knowledge (different goals and different methods).

Scientific Method
Steps:
Observation and description
Hypothesis / hypotheses to explain observation
Prediction
Experiment to test hypothesis
Results / analyses (statistics)
Interpretation (accept or reject hypothesis)
Communication (presentation and/or paper)
Additional tests (repeat and/or follow-up)

a)

b)

Observation:
When left out on the counter for a few days,
nutrient broth grows large populations of microorganisms.
Hypotheses:
(see above)
Predictions:
a) If protected from airborne particles, broth will remain
sterile.
b) Microbes will grow spontaneously, regardless of any
protection.
Experiment:
Boil broth; left out on the lab bench.
One experimental unit is protected from particles; other

Scientific Method
Designing experiments
-Reasoning (logical thinking):
Inductive: specific to general vs.
Deductive: general to specific
- control all variables other than the one being tested
- avoid experimenter bias (e.g., double-blind trials)
- dont discount results that conflict with hypothesis
(hypothesis may need modification)
- dependent vs. independent variables

Scientific
Method
Experimental design:
- Dependent vs. independent
variables
- Control all variables other
than one being tested

Scientific Method
Hypothesis:
- Comparatively limited scope
- Often explains cause-effect relationships
- Always subject to testing and possible falsification
- May need to be modified based on new information
Theory:
- Larger scope; brings together related hypotheses
- Has withstood the test of many, many, many
experiments
by many researchers
- Subject to modification, but generally understood to be
true
Communication:
- Examples: Gravity, Relativity, Plate Tectonics, Evolution
- peer review process

The Strange Case of BeriBeri

In 1887 a strange nerve disease attacked the people in the Dutch East Indies. The
disease was beriberi. Symptoms of the disease included weakness and loss of appetite,
victims often died of heart failure. Scientists thought the disease might be caused by
bacteria. They injected chickens with bacteria from the blood of patients with beriberi.
The injected chickens became sick. However, so did a group of chickens that were not
injected with bacteria.
One of the scientists, Dr. Eijkman, noticed something. Before the experiment, all the
chickens had eaten whole-grain rice, but during the experiment, the chickens were fed
polished rice. Dr. Eijkman researched this interesting case. he found that polished rice
lacked thiamine, a vitamin necessary for good health.
1. State the Problem
2. What was the hypothesis?
3. How was the hypothesis tested?
4. Should the hypothesis be supported or rejected
based on the experiment?
5. What should be the new hypothesis?
6. Was there a fundamental flaw in their experiment?

How Penicillin Was Discovered

In 1928, Sir Alexander Fleming was studying Staphylococcus bacteria growing in culture
dishes. He noticed that a mold called Penicillium was also growing in some of the
dishes. A clear area existed around the mold because all the bacteria that had grown in
this area had died. In the culture dishes without the mold, no clear areas were present.
Fleming hypothesized that the mold must be producing a chemical that killed the
bacteria. He decided to isolate this substance and test it to see if it would kill bacteria.
Fleming transferred the mold to a nutrient broth solution. This solution contained all the
materials the mold needed to grow. After the mold grew, he removed it from the nutrient
broth. Fleming then added the nutrient broth in which the mold had grown to a culture of
bacteria. He observed that the bacteria died.
1. Identify the problem/observation.
2. What was Fleming's hypothesis?
3. How was the hypothesis tested?
4. Should the hypothesis be supported or
rejected based on the experiment?
5. This experiment led to the development of
what major medical advancement?

Biology
A field of science: study of life.
What characterizes LIFE?
-Cellular organization: Cell Theory
-Order complexity: structure relates to function
-Sensitivity responsiveness
-Growth, development, reproduction:
Molecular Basis of Inheritance
-Energy utilization: heterotrophs vs. autotrophs
-Evolutionary adaptation:
Interact with other organisms and environment
-Homeostasis

Hierarchy in Biology
Always consider context
(consider smaller and larger).
Gene: unit of inherited material;
determines what organism is like
Organism: individual living thing
Population: group of organisms
of one species in one area
Species: group of populations
that can interbreed (more later)
Community: interacting
populations of different species
Ecosystem: geographic area
with all living organisms and
physical environment

World Biomes

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/
Features/ForestCarbon/

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/world_biomes.htm

World Biomes
What is a Biome?
large geographical area
distinctive plant and animal groups
determined by climate and geography
consists of many ecosystems
communities are adapted to that
environment/climate
Example biome types:
Ecosystem: All organisms in an an area,
Desert
together with their physical environment
Forest (tropical; temperate)
Community: all organisms living and
Grassland
interacting in an area
Tundra
Several types of aquatic environments.

Effects of Sun, Wind,

Water
Elevation:
temperature and
other conditions
change with
elevation
Air temperature
falls about 6C
for every 1000m
increase in
elevation
24

Biomes

Predictors of biome distribution:

Temperature and precipitation
25

Biomes
Tropical rain forests
High temperature and high rainfall
Very high diversity: e.g., 1200
species of butterfly in a single
square mile

26

Biomes
Savanna
Tropical or subtropical grasslands
Occur as a transition ecosystem
between tropical rainforests and
deserts (rainfall is in between)
e.g., Serengeti of East Africa

 Desert

Biomes

Minimal and unpredictable

rainfall
Plants and animals cannot depend on
any rainfall

Vegetation sparse, organisms

adapted to little water
availability

Biomes

Temperate grasslands:
prairies
Rich soils
Grasses with roots that penetrate
deep into the soil
In North America converted to
agricultural use
Adapted to periodic fire

Freshwater Habitats
Fresh water covers only 2% of
Earths surface
Wetlands: marshes, swamps, bogs
Rivers, lakes, streams

31

Marine Habitats
71% of the Earths surface is
covered by ocean
Principal primary producers are
phytoplankton (single cell or
colonial)

Marine Habitats

Mangrove Swamp

Louisiana Marsh

Coral Reef
33

Marine Habitats

Hydrothermal vent
communities: thick
with life
Large bodied animals
Do not depend on the
Suns energy for
primary production
Depend on sulfuroxidizing bacteria
Water temperature up
to 350C!
34

All living things are dependent on, and can affect

(and sometimes effect) their physical and
biological environment.
Any change in one part of an environment (even
distant events) causes ripple effects . . .