When tetrapods first ventured onto the land, what new selection pressures did they face? What characteristics might have fostered the success of these animals as they made the transition from aquatic to terrestrial habitats?
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Table of Contents
1
Introduction to Biological Concepts and Research
3
Biological Molecules: The Carbon Compounds of Life
6
Energy, Enzymes, and Biological Reactions
8
Photosynthesis
18
DNA Technology: Making and Using Genetically Altered Organisms, and Other Applications
19
Genomes and Proteomes
20
Recognition of Evolutionary Change
21
Microevolution: Genetic Changes within Populations
29
Seed Plants
31
Animal Phylogeny, Acoelomates, and Protostomes
32
Deuterostomes: Vertebrates and Their Closest Relative
33
The Plant Body
41
Sensory Systems
46
The Respiratory System
52
Population Ecology
53
Population Interactions and Community Ecology
56
Animal Behavior
Textbook Solutions for Biology: The Dynamic Science
Chapter 32 Problem 11
Question
When tetrapods first ventured onto the land, what new selection pressures did they face? What characteristics might have fostered the success of these animals as they made the transition from aquatic to terrestrial habitats?
Solution
Step 1 of 2
Tetrapods originated from osteolepiforms, a group of fleshy-finned fishes in the late Devonian period. They were the first animals in evolution to show the presence of four limbs. Since the ancestors of tetrapods were first and foremost fishes in the water, they met severe pressure when they first risked the land. The difference in density of water and air, loss of body water due to evaporation in air, and diminished sensory functions in the air proved to be a struggle for the first tetrapods.
However, the land provides abundant food sources such as soft invertebrates, arthropods, and plants. The absence of predators and a high oxygen supply in the air was found to be convenient.
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full solution
full solution
Title
Biology: The Dynamic Science 5
Author
Peter J. Russell , Paul E. Hertz , Beverly McMillan , Joel Benington
ISBN
9780357134894
When tetrapods first ventured onto the land, what new selection pressures did they face? What characteristics might have fostered the success of these animals as they made the transition from aquatic to terrestrial habitats?
Chapter 32 textbook questions
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Chapter 32: Problem 11 Biology: The Dynamic Science 5
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Chapter 32: Problem 2 Biology: The Dynamic Science 5
What traits in conodonts and ostracoderms are derived relative to those in hagfishes and lampreys?
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