ZOOLOGY: A STUDY GUIDE - Ye. O. Nevedomska - 2013

LECTURE 1. DIVERSITY OF THE ORGANIC WORLD

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- Terrestrial organisms exhibit a greater species diversity than aquatic organisms. Land animals account for 93% of species, whereas aquatic animals account for only 7%. These figures indicate that terrestrial environments offered more favorable conditions for speciation than aquatic environments.

FROM THE HISTORY of Science

- The term "biology" was coined by the prominent French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1802.

- The definition and naming of The Biosphere as a distinct envelope of the Earth were proposed by the renowned Austrian geologist Eduard Suess in his work on the geology of the Alps. METABOLISM/2.html">THE CONCEPT OF the biosphere was thoroughly elaborated by the Ukrainian scientist V.I. Vernadsky, the first president of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

- Aristotle (384–322 BC) from Stagira was a student of the distinguished Athenian philosopher Plato, who was a friend and pupil of Socrates. Aristotle was convinced that the Earth is a sphere, proving this by the way ships disappear over the horizon and the appearance of lunar eclipses, which simultaneously demonstrated the spherical shape of the Moon. Aristotle laid the foundations of logic, psychology, ethics, aesthetics, physics, biology, and astronomy, and is therefore considered the founder of the natural sciences. Based on his views, the living world came to be divided into animals and plants. Observing how the morphophysiological characteristics of organisms correspond to their environmental conditions, Aristotle concluded that this adaptation cannot be accidental; he believed that a general teleology governs the interaction of natural objects and phenomena, predetermined by an inherent final cause.

From the World of Science

- Archaea (from the Greek archaios, meaning ancient, and bakterion, meaning small staff) are the least studied kingdom of cellular organisms, considered the most primitive group on our planet. All of them are obligate heterotrophs lacking the peptidoglycan (murein) Cell walls characteristic of most eubacteria. The genetic material of archaea contains highly repetitive sequences, and their genes include non-coding regions (introns), which is typical of eukaryotes. Replication, Transcription, and Translation in archaea and eukaryotes are very similar. Archaea are capable of MOLECULAR Nitrogen Fixation, yet they cannot assimilate complex Organic compounds due to a lack of hydrolytic exoenzymes. Consequently, there are no parasitic or pathogenic species among archaea.

- Fish and meat are occasionally overgrown by large quantities of harmless Bacteria that emit a greenish-blue light. The German scientist Emil du Bois-Reymond cultivated colonies of these luminescent bacteria in Petri dishes containing a nutrient Agar medium. Using these bacteria, he managed to illuminate a large room with a light comparable to bright moonlight, making it possible to read in the evenings.

- The exceptional resilience of cyanobacteria has drawn the attention of astrobiologists. Since the early 1960s, A number of laboratories in the USA (such as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California) have been developing techniques and breeding strains of cyanobacteria capable of reproducing in extraterrestrial environments, specifically on Mars.