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BIOL1310 Organisms to Ecosystems Lecture Notes
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BIOL1310 Organisms to Ecosystems detailed lecture notes (Lectures 1-17).
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BIOL1310 (Organisms to Ecosystems) Lecture NotesWEEK 1: LECTURE 1 (UNIT INFORMATION,
EXPECTATIONS AND SUPPORT)
UNIT CONVENERS:
Bruno A Buzatto
• bruno.buzatto@mq.edu.au
• Contactvia:biol1310@mq.edu.au • website:http://www.buzatto.info
• Twitter:@BrunoBuzatto
Linda Beaumont
• Contact via: biol1310@mq.edu.au
• Linda.beaumont@mq.edu.au
• https://sites.google.com/site/lbeaumontlab/
Lizzy Lowe
• lizzy.lowe@mq.edu.au
• website:http://lizzylowe.net/ • Twitter:@LizyLowe
Marie (Mariella) Herberstein
• marie.herberstein@mq.edu.au
• https://sites.google.com/site/behaviouralecologymacquarie/
FIRST YEAR COORDINATOR:
Kate Barry: Contact via: biol1310@mq.edu.au
SCIENTIFIC OFFICER:
Winnie man: 14 Eastern Road, room 103 winnie.man@mq.edu.au
• Contact via: biol1310@mq.edu.au
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
• Define evolution and describe its main mechanisms
• Define the major evolutionary transitions of organisms on earth
• Differentiate the main groups of organisms and interpret their evolutionary relationships
• Contrast major ecological processes and describe biogeographical patterns
• Synthesise experimental results and information from the scientific literature to prepare a scientific
report
• Demonstrate foundational learning skills including active engagement in the learning process
COURSE STRUCTURE:
• 24 main online lectures (some with guest lecturers!) + zoom discussion session
• 11 short recorded lectures
• 11 practicals (each 2 hours)
1
,SHORT RECORDED LECTURES:
• One per week - at your own pace!
o Online material relative to live lectures
o Material for the following week’s prac
o Must pass online quiz to attend prac (2 tries)
PRACTICALS:
• Pracs are compulsory
• No entry after 15 minutes past start time
• Only enclosed shoes in labs (no thongs)
• No eating or drinking in labs
QUIZZES:
• Part a (Quiz 2a) will test your knowledge of the 3 lectures of the previous week, and part b will be a
pre-prac quiz, to prepare you for the next prac. They always close at 9am on Thursday before the
pracs
ASSESSMENTS:
• Lab book – 5%
• Weekly online quizzes - 10%! • Mid-semester test - 15%
• Research report - 30%
• End of Semester Exam - 40%
TIME COMMITMENT:
• 10 credit points unit
• Spend around 1 hour / credit point / week = 10 hours
o Lectures & pracs
o Review & prac preparation
o Assessments & preparation for exams
2
, WEEK 1: LECTURE 2A: WHAT IS LIFE AND
WHERE SHOULD WE LOOK FOR IT? LECTURE
2B: GUEST LECTURE, CRAIG O’NEILL
LECTURE OUTLINE
Lecture 2: What is life and where should we look for it?
• History of our understanding of life
• Characteristics that define life
• Characteristics that can be mistaken for life
Guest lecture: “Tectonics, Evolution of Photosynthesis, and the Atmosphere” (by Craig O’Neill)
WHAT IS LIFE?
Do we need a definition?
• To study biology – not most of the time
• To discover life in the Universe - yes
• To observe life at the extremes - yes
• To generate synthetic life - yes
• There is no simple, clear, universal answer
DEFINITIONS: WHAT IS LIFE?
Greek Philosophers:
• Everything is made up of 4 elements (Earth, water, air and fire)
• Different life forms due to different mixtures of 4 elements
Aristotle: Living things consist of matter (4 elements) and form (soul)
• Vegetative soul
• Animal soul
• Rational soul – humans
Renaissance:
• Vitalism (17th Century)
• Living organisms can not be explained by the laws that apply to non-living material
• Extra force (vital force)
• Distinguishes living from non-living
Modern definition:
• Erwin Schrodinger -> Life resists decaying to disorder and equilibrium
• Over 123 definitions of life
CHARACTERISTICS THAT DEFINE LIFE
• Structural order
• Energy processing
• Regulation
• Response to the environment
• Growth and development
3
, • Reproduction
• Evolutionary change
Structural Order
• Living organisms have highly ordered structures
• Made of distinct components
Energy Processing
• Living organisms assimilate energy-rich compounds for:
- Movement
- Growth
- Development
- Reproduction
Regulation
• Living organisms regulate their metabolic processes
• E.g. regulation of body temperature; water content etc.
Response to the Environment
• Living organisms respond to environmental changes
Examples:
- Regular changes (daily / seasoned)
- Irregular changes (heatwaves / floods)
• Metabolic, physiological, and behavioural responses
Growth and development
• From the start of its life, an organism will grow and develop
Reproduction
• Asexual (e.g. binary fission of a bacteria)
• Sexual (e.g. mating by opposite sexes)
EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE
Evolution: Over generations, populations of living organisms change genetically and in their phenotype. All
life evolves
Characteristics that can be mistaken for life
• An observed object can have one or a few of the previous characteristics
• But if that object does not possess all the previous characteristics, it is generally considered not to
be alive
For example:
• Crystal: Has structural order, responds to the environment, however, cannot process energy
and reproduce
• Is a virus alive: Yes and No.
- Viruses do not reproduce themselves
- They induce their host to reproduce them
- Viruses do not need to process energy and growth
4
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