The Origin of Life. Lab Exercise 18. Contents. Introduction. Objectives

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1 Lab Exercise The Origin of Life Contents Objectives 1 Introduction 1 Activity.1 Geologic Time 2 Activity.2 Time Periods 2 Resutls Section 6 Introduction The history of the earth is recorded in the rocks near its surface. These layers upon layers of rocks were formed as upland rock broke down into fine particles that were carried to lowlands and the seas. As these deposits of sediment formed, they slowly became compacted. Eventually they formed new rocks while new sediments continued to be deposited above them. Objectives Gain appreciation for the scale of geologic time Mark significant biological events of the past Become familiar with some of the organisms of the past All this occurs while the landscape is also constantly in motion as earth s plates are sliding past one another. Some areas sink down to form new seas while others are thrust up forming mountains. Those areas that have become lowlands are now set to receive new deposits while those that have been uplifted will now begin to erode. Occasionally, as sediment rains down from the higher elevations, organisms become buried and rather than decaying, become preserved in the forming rock. These we now know as fossils. These fossilized organisms of the past tell a story of the evolutionary history of the earth. The progression from simple prokaryotic cells to singlecelled eukaryotes to multicellular eukaryotes and the evolutionary explosion of the multicellular species has given rise to the diversity of life found on earth today. 1

2 Activity.1 Geologic Time Activity.2 Time Periods The earth is immensely old. It is so old that it is difficult for humans, with their relatively miniscule life span, to appreciate when various events in earth s history occurred and to place them in context. One way to help appreciate this span of time is to compress all of earth s history into one calendar year with the earth forming January 1st and today being 11:59:59 PM on December 31st. In this calendar, the oldest biological fossils would appear around April 8th (3.5 billion years ago). Around July 1st (2.4 billion years ago) the first photosynthetic organisms appear, starting the process of enriching earth s atmosphere with oxygen. The Paleozoic Era starts November th. The first land plant and animals appear around December 1st (400 million years ago). On December 21st, the first flowering plants appear. And at 11:58 PM on December 31st, Homo sapiens makes its appearance. Use the information below in conjunction with the information from the Timeline in the Origin of Life simulation on the BiologyOne DVD to fill in the charts in the Results Section. Precambrian (earth s formation to about 543 mya) The Precambrian is a time period spanning the first 88% of the earth s history. Its during this period that we see the beginnings of life on earth and the setting of the stage for the extraordinary diversification of living organisms seen in the 500 million years. Haden Eon (4500 to 3800 mya) This is the period of time when the earth was not yet a solidified planet. There are no earth rocks that exist from this time (only meteorites age earlier than 3.8 billion years of age). Obviously there is no record of life on earth from this period of time. Archaean Eon (3800 to 2500 mya) During the earlier part of the Archaean, about 3500 million years ago, the first biological organisms appear in the fossil record. These were bacterialike organisms. Many of these grew is mounds called stromatolites along the shores of the prehistoric oceans. The environment in which they lived was very different from today s. Instead of our oxygen rich atmosphere, they most likely lived in an atmosphere filled with methane, ammonia and other gases that are toxic to today s organisms. Proterozoic Eon (2500 to 543 mya) For the vast majority of the Proterozoic the dominant life forms are the stromatolite forming bacterialike organisms the first appeared during the Archaean. Early on, some of these developed the ability to utilize the sun s energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into organic molecules (the process of photosynthesis). Fossils that may represent the first multicellular organisms first appear about 2100 million years ago. The first organisms that truly appear to be the first animals appear in the fossil record during the last 100 million years of the Proterozoic. 2

3 Paleozoic Era (543 to 248 mya) The Paleozoic era spans some 300 million years and is divided into the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian periods. The fossil record shows us a vast number of biological experiments that were tried during this time. Most of these failed, the organisms going extinct, but those that succeeded were refined, creating most of the groups of organisms we see today. Cambrian ( mya) The Cambrian begins with a rapid appearance of new organisms in the fossil record. Sometimes referred to as the Cambrian Explosion or Cambrian Radiation, one finds numerous, often bizarre species of trilobites, clams, snails and other aquatic organisms. Most animal groups can trace their origins directly to the period of time. Here we see the first sponges, cnidarians, echinoderms, annelids, mollusks, arthropods and chordates. Jawless vertebrates were present. Seaweeds are abundant including types of red and green algae. Ordovician ( mya) The Ordovician is characterized by and abundance of trilobites and conodonts. Bryozoans, corals, clams and cephalopods appear for the first time. Bony vertebrates that are covered by bony shields appear. The first tentative steps of moving onto land may have occurred at the end of the Ordovician as suggested by some arthropod and plant spore fossils. Devonian ( mya) Fish were abundant in the Devonian. Around the middle of this period the first jawed fish appear. Toward the end of the period lobedfined fish are found, giving rise to the earliest tetrapods, the amphibians. By the end of the Devonian most species of trilobites were extinct. Toward the middle to end of the Devonian, several vascular plant lineages had diverged into groups which may be ancestral to extant plants. Fossils placed in the division Trimerophyta appear around 395 mya but disappear from the record by the end of the Devonian. While shortlived, characteristics of these plants suggest they gave rise to the ferns, progymnosperms and horsetails that become so abundant in the Carboniferous. The progymnosperm Archaeopteris and others (plants that has anatomical features similar to gymnosperms but reproduces like ferns) appear from the middle to end of the Devonian. Carboniferous ( mya) The climate of the Caboniferous appears to have been more uniform, tropicallike and less seasonal than what we see today. This led to widespread swamp forest supporting luxuriant growth of seedless plants such as lycopods, sphenopsids and ferns. These in turn have given rise to much of the fossil fuel deposits mined today. While amphibians are the dominant terrestrial animal during this period, reptiles make their first appearance. Silurian ( mya) During the Silurian the jawless fish became widespread. The first freshwater fish appear. Other common animals include mollusks, trilobites and corals. The earliest undisputed vascular plants appear in the late Silurian around 420 mya. Fossils of these plants are placed in the extinct division Rhyniophyta. The most completely known of these plants are Horneophyton and Rhynia. These plants appear to range in height from 20 to 50 cm in height. They are characterized by leafless stems that branch dichotomously. In North America this period is divided into the Mississippian ( mya) and Pennsylvanian ( mya) ages. During the Mississippian swamp forests become abundant. Many of the progymnosperms (i.e. Aneurophyton and Archaeopteris) become extinct. Seedlike plants first appear. In the Pennsylvanian age members of the Sphenophyta reach their maximum abundance. The extant genus Equisetum may have first appeared at this time. 3

4 Permian ( mya) During this era, earth s climate cools and becomes more arid. The swamp forests of the Carboniferous decline as gymnosperms (conifers, cycads, ginkgo) increase in abundance. Members of the Ginkgophyta (ancestors or today s Ginkgo biloba) appear around 280 mya. Toward the end of this era, the large woody lycopods which were so abundant in the swamp forests of the Carboniferous become extinct. Perhaps most important of the new insects during this period are eusocial bees. This is because its during the earlier part of the Cretaceous that the first flowering plants appear. Flowering plants were extraordinarily successful, becoming the dominant plant group by 120 mya. By 75 mya many of the modern angiosperm families are present. The dominant gymnosperm in North America at this time is Metasequoia. Mesozoic Era ( mya) The Mesozoic era is sometimes referred to as the Age of Dinosaurs. It is divided into the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Triassic ( mya) The forests of the Triassic are dominated by gymnosperms and ferns. The largest land animals are the dinosaurs. Perhaps because of the climatic conditions at this time, the coldblooded types of dinosaurs were more prominent than the warmblooded types. Toward the end of the Triassic, the first true mammals appear. These were small, probably nocturnal, rodentlike organisms. Jurassic ( mya) The Jurassic marks the period of time during which the largest land animals ever to exist were present. These were the herbivorous Diplodocus, Brachiosaurus and Apatosaurus. Predatory Allosaurus and other carnivorous dinosaurs were also present at this time. Besides the dinosaurs, in the Jurassic we see the first birds Near the end of the Jurassic, members of the family Taxodiaceae appear (Sequoia, redwoods and cypress). Cenozoic Era (65 mya to present) The Cenozoic is sometimes called the Age of Mammals. These is because mammals are the largest land animals during this time. However many other groups of organisms are as important, and in many ways more dominating life on earth than mammals so it would not be improper to label this as their Age as well (e.g. the Age of Insects or the Age of Flowering Plants). The Cenozoic era is divided into the Tertiary and Quaternary periods. Tertiary (65 2 mya) Climates during the Tertiary were generally mild, cooling toward the end of the period with some glaciation occurring near its end. By the end of this period the continents are approximately in their current locations. Much of the period is characterized by widespread grasslands. While mammals first appeared in the Triassic, until the Tertiary, mammals were small, mostly nocturnal organisms. With the demise of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous, mammals quickly diversified, many becoming larger. With the widespread grasslands at the end of the Tertiary, longlegged grazing species spread widely. Cretaceous ( mya) No great shifts in the types of animals occurred between the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Dinosaur, mollusk, fish and bird groups continued much as they had (although types of species changed). Here we do see some of the first of many modern groups of insects appear. Ants, butterflies and grasshoppers are present. Quaternary (2 mya to present) Over the last 2 million years climates have fluctuated from cold to mild with more than 2 dozen glacial events occurring in just the past 300 thousand years. These resulted in major geographic shifts in plant communities. In North America today, many species are still expanding north 4

5 ward after the most recent glaciation event some ended some 10,000 years ago. In North America, until the end of the last ice age (about 10,000 years ago), this period was marked by large land mammals such as mammoths, mastodons, giant ground sloths, sabretoothed cats, horses and camels. All of these mammals went extinct in North America by around 10,000 years ago. Near the end of the Devonian a mass extinction occurred that appears to have affected tropical communities the most. Glacial conditions in the southern hemisphere and cooling oceans are thought to be the cause. Perhaps the largest of the mass extinctions was the one occurring at the end of the Permian. Three quarters of all vertebrate families were lost and an astounding 96% of all marine species. The last 10,000 years of earth s history is sometime known as the Age of Man. Extinctions The past 500 million years of life on earth is marked by a series of mass extinctions. Mass extinctions are periods during which over half of the estimated species at that time become extinct. Based on the fossil record, at least five major mass extinction events have occurred. Four of these events mark the end of the geologic periods Ordovician (440 mya), Permian (248 mya), Triassic (206 mya), and the Cretaceous (65 mya). The fifth mass extinction occurred during the Devonian, approximately 376 mya. At the close of the Triassic a fourth mass extinction occurred with over half of he living species on the land and in the water going extinct. Hypotheses for the cause of this extinction include asteroid impact, climate changes and massive volcanic eruptions. During the mass extinction that occurred at the end of the Cretaceous is it estimated that as many as 60% of all species then living became extinct. Perhaps most notably, this marks the end of the dinosaurs although many other groups of organisms when extinct at this time as well. The Ordovician mass extinction is considered the second most devastating to marine life in earth s history. It s estimated that over 100 marine families went extinct including many reef building organisms (85% of marine species, at this time plants and animals may have been just taking their first tentative steps onto land). One hypothesis for this extinction was the cooling of earth s climate. A second is that the earth was struck by a burst of gamma radiation. 5

6 Millions of Years Ago Lab Exercise Name Results Section Activity.1 History of Life Eons Precambrian Phanerozoic Hadean Archean Proterozoic See next page for events in the Phanerozoic 6

7 Millions of Years Ago Activity.1 History of Life Eras Paleozoic Mesozoic Cenozoic Periods Tertiary Cretaceous Jurassic Triassic Permian Pennsylvanian Mississippian Devonian Silurian Ordovician Cambrian Quaternary 7

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