Study Guide for Vertebrate Animals and Ecology

First, as always, you should review all old bell quizzes and make corrections. These
are probably the best tool you have to study with.

Also review all worksheets. Be able to answer similar questions on the worksheets you
had for homework.

Specific information you should know:

ABOUT Chordates

- What makes a chordate a chordate?

- What is a backbone? What does it protect?

- Do all chordates have backbones? Explain.

- What are the two groups of animals that are in the phylum Chordata, but do not have
backbones?

- What do the terms endothermic and ectothermic mean? (NOT just cold-blooded and
warm blooded! What does that mean?!)

ABOUT Fish:

- What are the four characteristics all fish have in common?

- What do the terms oviparous, viviparous and ovoviviparous mean?

- Are fish oviparous, viviparous or ovoviviparous?

- What is meant by the terms cartilaginous and bony fish?

- What kind of fish are cartilaginous? What kind of fish are bony?

- What is a swim bladder? (covered in the dissection)

- Are fish endothermic or ectothermic?

ABOUT Amphibians:

- What is an amphibian?

- Give some examples of amphibians.

- Are amphibians oviparous, viviparous or ovoviviparous?

- Explain why the name amphibian translates to 'double life?'

- What kind of adaptations did amphibians have in order to live on land?

- Describe how amphibians reproduce. Is this considered sexual or asexual

reproduction?

- Are amphibians endothermic or ectothermic?

ABOUT Reptiles:

- What is a reptile (what are the characteristics)?

- Give some examples of reptiles.

- Are reptiles oviparous, viviparous or ovoviviparous?

- What is an amniotic egg?

- Describe what internal fertilization is. Compare that to external fertilization (what
amphibians do).

- Are reptiles oviparous, viviparous or ovoviviparous?

- Are reptiles endothermic or ectothermic?

ABOUT Birds:

- What is a bird (what are the characteristics)?

- Give some examples of birds

- Are birds oviparous, viviparous or ovoviviparous?

- Name and describe fully the three types of feather you would find on a Laughing
Dove?

- What is a preening gland? What use is it to birds?

- What is are crop and gizzard in birds?

- Are birds oviparous, viviparous or ovoviviparous?

- Are birds endothermic or ectothermic?

- Draw conclusions. Would bird's eggs need to be internally fertilized or externally

fertilized?

- Give a few examples of how you can tell a bird's diet from the shape of its beak.

- Give a few examples of how you can tell where a bird lives or how it obtains its food
from the shape of its feet.

ABOUT Mammals:

- What is a mammal (what are the characteristics)?

- Give some examples of mammals.

- Are mammals oviparous, viviparous or ovoviviparous?

- Name and describe fully the three types of teeth you would find in a mammal. What
are they? How are they used? What kind of teeth would be overdeveloped in an elephant, etc?
 - What is a mammary gland?

- What is a placenta?

- Are mammals oviparous, viviparous or ovoviviparous?

- Are mammals endothermic or ectothermic?

- What are the three major groups of mammals? What separates them from each other
(how are they different)? Give some examples from each group.

ABOUT Ecology:

- What is ecology?

- Know the terms: biosphere, species, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biotic,
abiotic, climate, symbiosis, mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.

- Be able to describe some biotic and abiotic factors in an environment

- Describe what is meant by the term tropical? Be able to give some examples of
countries that have a tropical climate

- Describe what is meant by the term temperate? Be able to give some examples of
countries that have a temperate climate.

- What are the two factors that affect climate?

- What are the 8 biomes we discussed in class? Fully describe them below. What
characterizes they biomes? Where are they found? Give a few countries that would have these
biomes for examples.

1. Tropical Rainforest

2. Tropical Savanna

3. Desert

4. Chaparral

5. Grassland

6. Temperate Deciduous Forest

7. Temperate Boreal Forest (Taiga)

8. Tundra

- What is meant by the term deciduous?

- What is meant by the term permafrost?