BIOLOGY
by Miller & Levine
[complete Table of Contents]

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Chapter 33
Comparing Chordates

In this chapter, students will read about broad trends in the evolution of the chordates and compare the adaptations of the major living groups of chordates.The links below lead to additional resources to help you with this chapter. These include Hot Links to Web sites related to the topics in this chapter, the Take It to the Net activities referred to in your textbook, a Self-Test you can use to test your knowledge of this chapter, and Teaching Links that instructors may find useful for their students.

What are Web Codes?

Web Codes for Chapter 33: • Active Art: Vertebrate Circulatory Systems • Miller & Levine: Should Marine Mammals be Kept in Captivity? • SciLinks: Chordates • SciLinks: Homeostasis • Self-Test

Section 33-1: Chordate Evolution
The chordate family tree has its roots in ancestors that vertebrates share with tunicates and lancelets.
Over the course of evolution, the appearance of new adaptations—such as jaws and paired appendages—has launched adaptive radiation in chordate groups.

Section 33-2: Controlling Body Temperature
The control of body temperature is important for maintaining homeostasis in many vertebrates, particularly in habitats where temperature varies widely with time of day and with season.
Most fishes, amphibians, and reptiles are ectotherms—organisms that obtain heat from outside their bodies. Birds and mammals are endotherms, which means they can generate heat inside their bodies.

Section 33-3: Form and Function in Chordates
The digestive systems of vertebrates have organs that are well adapted for different feeding habits.
Aquatic chordates—such as tunicates, fishes, and amphibian larvae—use gills for respiration. Land vertebrates, including adult amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, use lungs.
During the course of chordate evolution, the heart developed chambers and partitions that help separate the blood traveling in the circulatory system.
Nonvertebrate chordates have a relatively simple nervous system with a mass of nerve cells that form a brain. Vertebrates have a more complex brain with distinct regions, each with a different function.
Muscular and skeletal systems support a vertebrate's body and make it possible to control movement.

Click Here for Science News articles on Chordates and Vertebrates

(Complete Index of Articles)