Fetus Development in Mammals Questions
you may use the PPTs, notes, and reliable online resources to answer the questions. However, your answers should be in your own words (do not copy and paste directly from the class notes provided).
Read each question carefully and include as much detail as possible.
Write your answers in full sentences.
Q1. Mammalian fetuses develop in conditions dubbed ‘Everest in utero’. Explain what ‘Everest in utero’ refers to and why it is important for normal development. (10pts)
Q2. Use the diagram below, which shows human embryonic and fetal development (top of diagram), and major congenital anomalies and function defects in certain organs (blue/green bars). Describe how the normal developmental trajectory is linked to when these anomalies and defects occur and how this is related to the concept of critical windows of development and our ability to understand the effects of teratogens. (12pts)
Q3. Describe the following steps in the morphological development of the human heart: (10pts)
Formation of heart tube
Heart looping
Septation
Q4. The Fick equation is used to describe embryonic gas exchange. Provide the equation and describe each of its components. Describe how oxygen consumption rate (V̇o2) and oxygen conductance (GO2) increase throughout amphibian development. How do these changes influence PO2 inside the egg? (10pts)
Q5. The figure on the left (from Holloway & Geiser 2000 Development of thermoregulation in the sugar glider Petaurus breviceps) shows the difference between body temperature and ambient temperature (Tb-Ta) in sugar gliders of different ages (x axis) at four ambient temperatures (30, 25, 20 and 15°C – each panel). Describe how this figure helps us determine when a sugar glider develops its endothermic ability (maintains a body temperature of ~37°C). (12pts)
Q6. What is one tactic used by a bird/reptile embryo in response to thermal variability? Describe an experiment you might perform to investigate this. (12pts)
Q7. What are the three main ways by which two environmental stressors may interact with each other? In the figure to the right (from Padilla-Gamino et al 2013 Temperature and CO2 additively regulate physiology, morphology and genomic responses of larval sea urchins, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) depicting larval sea urchin respiration, describe what two stressors are being examined and the way in which they are interacting to influence larval function. (12pts)
Q8. Provide a detailed description of the detrimental effects and mechanism of action of a known endocrine disruptor. (10pts)
Q9. Choose one bold option and one underlined option in the sentence below and provide an answer:
Provide a summary of why you think phenotypic plasticity/epigenetics/critical windows is/are important for understanding climate change/ocean acidification/human diseases. (12pts)
