By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:
Identify the main characteristics of bryophytes
Describe the distinguishing traits of liverworts, hornworts, and mosses
Chart the development of land adaptations in the bryophytes
Describe the events in the bryophyte lifecycle
By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:
Discuss the challenges to plant life on land
Describe the adaptations that allowed plants to colonize the land
Describe the timeline of plant evolution and the impact of land plants on other living things
By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:
Describe the traits shared by green algae and land plants
Explain why charophytes are considered the closest algal relative to land plants
Explain how current phylogenetic relationships are reshaped by comparative analysis of DNA sequences
By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:
Identify the new traits that first appear in seedless tracheophytes
Discuss how each trait is important for adaptation to life on land
Identify the classes of seedless tracheophytes
Describe the life cycle of a fern
Explain the role of seedless plants in the ecosystem
By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:
Describe the important difference between the life cycle of amphibians and the life cycles of other vertebrates
Distinguish between the characteristics of Urodela, Anura, and Apoda
Describe the evolutionary history of amphibians
By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:
Describe the evolutionary history of birds
Describe the derived characteristics in birds that facilitate flight
By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:
Describe the distinguishing characteristics of chordates
Identify the derived characters of craniates that sets them apart from other chordates
Describe the developmental fate of the notochord in vertebrates
By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:
Describe the difference between jawless and jawed fishes
Discuss the distinguishing features of sharks and rays compared to other modern fishes
By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:
Name and describe the distinguishing features of the three main groups of mammals
Describe the likely line of evolutionary descent that produced mammals
List some derived features that may have arisen in response to mammals’ need for constant, high-level metabolism
Identify the major clades of eutherian mammals
By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:
Describe the main characteristics of amniotes
Explain the difference between anapsids, synapsids, and diapsids, and give an example of each
Identify the characteristics of reptiles
Discuss the evolution of reptiles
By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:
Describe the derived features that distinguish primates from other animals
Describe the defining features of the major groups of primates
Identify the major hominin precursors to modern humans
Explain why scientists are having difficulty determining the true lines of descent in hominids
By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:
Describe prions and their basic properties
Define viroids and their targets of infection
By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:
Identify major viral illnesses that affect humans
Compare vaccinations and anti-viral drugs as medical approaches to viruses
By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:
Describe how viruses were first discovered and how they are detected
Discuss three hypotheses about how viruses evolved
Describe the general structure of a virus
Recognize the basic shapes of viruses
Understand past and emerging classification systems for viruses
Describe the basis for the Baltimore classification system
By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:
List the steps of replication and explain what occurs at each step
Describe the lytic and lysogenic cycles of virus replication
Explain the transmission of plant and animal viruses
Discuss some of the diseases caused by plant and animal viruses
Discuss the economic impact of plant and animal viruses
