Identification key

* Identification key is a method used to identify and categorize animals into groups.
* In an identification key, we suppose to ask questions that can have the answers “yes” and “No”
(also known as dichotomous key).
* Questions will be asked until only one animal left at the end.
* Further for questions we need to use physical characteristics which are observable.
Eg: Try to construct a key for following animals.
Salamander, toad, Python, Whale, salmon, Eagle, Bear
 1. Does it have legs? Yes, go to the 2nd question.
No, go to the 3rd question.
2. Does it have wings? Yes, go to 4th question.
No, go to 5th question.
3.

3.2 Variation
* A species is a group of organisms that share same characteristics and can breed together to
produce fertile off-springs (inter breeding).
* However, even within a species we can identify many differences.
* These differences among the organisms in the same species are called “variations”.
Activity: Measuring the wrist circumference of class mates
Use following values to work out the bar chart.
7.1, 8.0, 8.3, 8.5, 7.1, 8.3, 9.3, 10.4, 10.6, 9.1, 6.4, 6.5, 9.4, 8.7, 8.8 (cm)
Answer the questions A1-A3
What causes variations?
* There are two reasons for variations to occur within the members of the same species.
1- Genes
Genes, determine almost all the characteristics within an organism. An organism gets the genes
from parents. So, the genes that has in an organism is containing both characteristics from
parents. Also, mutations make new characteristics that cannot find in parents.
2- Environment
Environment also determine some characteristics of organisms. Basically for this food, weather
conditions, exercises can be affected.
Eg: More exercises  big muscles
Healthy food  Strong bones and muscles
High UV light  darker skin color
Inheritance
* Variations can be occurred due to genes and environmental effects.
* However, when variations occur due to genes, we call it inheritance.
* Inheritance happens when parents pass their features to their offspring.
* Inheritance of features can only happen through genes.
* Genes help for offspring to determine most of their features.
Eg: species of the organism, gender, skin color/pattern, size (height, weight) and etc.
* This is why most of the children share features of their parents.
Eg:
A boy shares features of both of his father and mother. Like, their eyes are brown, hair is red, has
the same shape of his mother’s face and his hair is curly just like his father’s. This is because, he
has genes from both father and mother. – Inheritance, (genetic features)
Also, he shows some features that can’t be seen in his parents. Like, he is way taller and heavier
than both of his parents. This is because, he eats way too much than his parents. – Environmental
effects.
* Organisms receive genes through their parent’s sex cells (gametes). – Half from mother and
half from father.
* So, when the organism building up, these genes will determine how the organism looks like
and some of its traits (inherited physical characteristics) and instincts (inherited behavior
characteristics).
* Plants, bacteria, fungi and even virus types contain genes that determine their characteristics.
Genes and environment
* Even the organism receives most of their characteristics from genes, the environment that the
organism lives has a strong influence on it.
Eg: Height, weight are some characteristics that determine by the genes (traits) But, if the
organism eats lots of food, may be the organism will be much taller and heavier than it supposed
to be.
Eg2: When the weather turns chilly in the fall, animals prepare for the winter by instinct. Some
animals head for warmer climates during the winter. Other animals find a safe spot and curl up
for a long sleep. These are instincts of animals. However, it can be alter by the environment they
live in, for an example: A bear from a zoo doesn’t hibernate as their wild parents used to be.

More about inheritance

What is DNA, genes and chromosome?
* DNA are proteins and stays as long double helix codes.
* A part of a DNA can be a gene. Genes have the instructions to determine characteristics of an
organism.
Eg; DNA contains several genes in it. A gene that determines the hair structure and a gene that
determine the shape of the face.
* A characteristic can be determined by several genes as well.
Eg: There are many genes to determine the skin color of humans. In one person there could be
genes that instruct to make fair skin and dark skin as well. In this case the dominant gene will
make the characteristic.
* Sizes of genes can be different.

* A set of genes together make the chromosome.

* In single chromosome there can be up to thousands of genes.
* Several chromosomes together make the nucleus of the cell.
* In an organism, there is exactly same number of chromosomes in each of its cell and
chromosome in one cell is exactly identical to the chromosome in another cell of the same
organism.
Eg; Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes (46 altogether) in each of the cell. In one person,
these 23 pairs are exactly alike no matter where we going to take a sample cell (Except egg cell,
sperm cell and mature red blood cells).
* In egg cells and sperm cells we have only 23 chromosomes (not in pairs).
Passing on genes
* Humans start their life from a single cell call zygote which made by the two sex cells of
parents.

* Human sex cells carry half of the total chromosome they carry in each body cell.
* In fertilization, when the two nuclei of the sex cells fuse together, it makes again the normal
number of chromosomes in zygote.
* Then the zygote, will multiply their number of cells to make the baby inside the womb.
* When the cell division occur in zygote, it will replicate each chromosome and give it to two
daughter cells.
* This will make sure that all the cells will contain equally alike chromosome.
* Then, the two becomes four and so on.
* Once the baby born, it will grow by increasing the number of cells. That too involves cell
division.
* Since the zygote gets half of their chromosome from mother and half from father, the baby will
show both characteristics of its parents.

Selective breeding
* Selective breeding or artificial breeding is the process of allowing selected animals to breed
and make young ones.
* Famers, meet and milk produces often do this to make sure that their production increases.
Example:
Assume that you have a meet producing factory.
Here, you have to make young animals to make sure that your process is going on.
When you breeding young animals from adult animals, we have to involve animals that are big
and have high muscle weight, so we can make sure that the next generation animals are also big
and have a high muscle weight.
When the process carries out in the same manner, the future generations of cow will have a very
high muscle gain and weight.

Example of selective breeding

* Dogs – Dogs are descendants of wolves.
Wolves are wild and dangerous animal. So, people cannot domesticate them for their needs
(hunting, herding and protection).
When first humans, selected some wolves that are calm and not that dangerous they allow them
to breed and their puppies are much calm and friendly to humans.
When this happens through several generations, now we have several dog kinds that are tamed
for their owners. Later, this breeding happens based on their size, amount of body hair and so on.
* Corn plants – to get a high yield, pest resistive plants
* Wheat plants
Q. How a famer should select the seed paddy for his next year cultivation?

Natural Selection
* Natural selection is the way of allowing animals that have best adaptations to breed naturally.
* Here, the adaptation that continue to exist, will be determined by a natural phenomenon.
Example:

Q. Compare natural selection with selective breeding.

Factor Natural selection Selective breeding
Presence of variation yes yes
Factors affecting the Naturally occurring phenomena The characteristics will be chosen
selection. gives the advantage to one of depending on how advantageous
the characteristic. for humans
What determine the Best adaptive characteristic to Characteristic chosen by us will
 characteristic to pass the habitat will pass on pass on
on?
Passing of genes presence presence

Q. Use your ideas on natural selection to form an argument on how sea animals make their first
movement to land to start their life on land.
Q2. Why do you think we can’t find many albino tigers (white tigers) in tropical forests? But,
more white tigers in tundra forests? Though they are apex consumers.

Natural selection in action

* Natural selection is a theory that is hard to experiment with, this is because it takes long period
of time to observe several generations of animals.
* However, some scientists have already used their precious time to observe such incidents.
Some examples are:
Bacteria and antibiotics
Pepper moths in England
* Another example for such incident is as follows:
Deer mice
* Deer mice is a species lives in different locations.
* Such like, where snow falls and where greenish trees exist.
* Deer mice that lives in snow falling area have lighter color fur and deer mice lives in greenish
areas has dark color fur.
* Though they are in the same species, snow falling area is vulnerable for dark color deer mice
and vice versa.
* This change along with other environmental factors and adaptations that will occur in future,
scientists believe that this species will be divided into two distinguishable species.

Charles Darwin
* Charles Darwin was the first person who identified the theory of the natural selection through
extensive observations.
* Later this idea of natural selection aided to Darwin to explain his theory of evalution.