Levels of Biological Organization
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Transcript of Levels of Biological Organization
Levels of Biological OrganizationIn your journal start with the biosphere and list the levels of life down to an atom.
Play the game!• Levels of Life Card Game…• http://www.ldsd.org/Page/1436
Biosphere• All of the life on
earth and all of the places where life exists
Ecosystem (and Biomes)• Consists of all the living
things in a particular area, along with all the nonliving components of the environment with which life interacts, such as soil, water, atmospheric gases, and light• Biome – any of the
world’s major ecosystems
Community• All of the living
organisms inhabiting a particular area
Population• Consists of all the
individuals of a species living within the bounds of a specified area
Organism• An individual living
thing
Organ System• A group of organs
that cooperate in to carry out a particular function for the organism
Organ• A body part that
carries out a particular function in the body
Tissue• A group of cells that
work together to preform a specialized function
Cells• Life’s fundamental
unit of structure and function• unicellular• multicellular
Organelles• Functional
components within a cell
Molecules and Atoms • Molecule - A chemical structure consisting of
two or more small chemical units called atoms• Atom – the smallest unit of matter that retains
the chemical properties of an element
So what do all of these levels of life allow for....• Emergent Properties –
due to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity increases an organisms is capable of specialized functions (i.e. oxidative phosphorylation)
Does emergence only stop at the organism level?• No –populations can
work together to carryout complex activities – think of a colony of Ants; emergent properties are present at all levels of life
Reductionism vs. Systems• Reductionism -
Reducing complex systems to simpler components that are more manageable to study
• Systems Biology – attempts to model the dynamic behavior of whole biological systems based on a study of the interactions among the system’s parts
Reductionism could allow for the discovery of a drug that lowers blood pressure – Systems biology would make sure that the drug did not have an adverse affect on the rest of the body.