Functional ecology studies the functions of species in nature, examining their roles and interactions within ecosystems. It involves interdisciplinary approaches and sustainability studies, with employment opportunities in education, government, and conservation organizations. In the field of ecology, functional ecology looks specifically at the functions performed by various species in the natural world. A fair amount […]
Transgenic organisms are created by inserting DNA from one species into the genome of another using a virus, plasmid, or gene gun. This can be done for a variety of reasons, such as making crops more nutritious or creating transgenic mice for medical research. However, there is controversy surrounding the practice due to concerns about […]
Model organisms are organisms used for study due to their representative physiology, convenience, and rapid reproduction. They have taught scientists about biology and psychology, but some are abused in violent experiments. The complexity of the organism determines the type of study, with simpler organisms used for basic physiology and more complex ones for advanced studies. […]
The Miocene epoch, spanning from 23.03 to 5.33 million years ago, was dominated by grasses and had similar flora and fauna to today. The separation of South America from Antarctica caused extreme cooling, leading to continental-wide glaciation. South America and Australia developed unique fauna, but many became extinct when North America merged with South America. […]
The Neogene period, which began 23 million years ago, had more species than today due to human-caused extinctions. South America had unique fauna, but many became extinct as animals from North America traveled south. The ongoing ice age of the Neogene is characterized by glacials and interglacials, increasing aridity, and the replacement of forests by […]
The Paleogene Period was a warm geological period from 65.5 to 23 million years ago, characterized by the diversification of mammals and the filling of niches left by the extinction of dinosaurs. Birds, sharks, and whales evolved, while the configuration of continents was similar to today. The Paleogene Period is a geological period that spans […]
The Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction was caused by a massive asteroid impact on the Yucatan Peninsula, killing off all non-avian dinosaurs and devastating life on land and sea. Birds and mammals thrived in the aftermath. The Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event was the second largest mass extinction of all time, but substantially closer in magnitude to the third, the […]
The Ediacaran Period (635-542 million years ago) saw the first known occurrence of multicellular organisms, including the Ediacaran fauna and other early examples of animals. Over 100 genera of Ediacaran organisms have been described, with some possibly being the origin of phyla such as molluscs and annelids. Iconic Ediacaran organisms include Dickinsonia, Yorgia, and Charnia. […]
