ntroduction to Life Science Phylum Arthropoda The Earth\'s largest phylum is Art
ID: 113105 • Letter: N
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ntroduction to Life Science Phylum Arthropoda The Earth's largest phylum is Arthropoda, including centipedes, millipedes, crustaceans, and insects. The insects have shown to be a particularly successful class within the phylum. What biological characteristics hav contributed to the success of insects? In many science fiction scenarios, post-apocalyptic Earth is mainly populated with giant insects. Why don't we see giant insects today? Your assignment should be 250-500 words in length. Grading Criteria Assignments Meets or exceeds established assignment criteria Maximum Points emonstrates an understanding of lesson concepts Clearly present well-reasoned ideas and concepts Mechanics, punctuation, sentence structure, spelling that affects clarity, and citation of sources as needed Total 0 20 30 10 100Explanation / Answer
Insects are the most diverse organisms on the planet Earth. They are also one of the most abundant with the total number of species estimated to be 2.5 million to 10 million. They have survived through nearly 400 million years of various climatic upheavel and planetary destructions that resulted in the extinction of the other species. And they still continue to thrive despite the efforts to eliminate them by human race.
It is then obvious that this is not coincidence and there must be certain characteristics that have made them survive through time and cataclysms. Insects belong to the phylum ‘arthropoda’ which are invertebrates characterized by jointed legs and segmented body divided into head, thorax and abdomen.
The reason why giant insects do not exist anymore is because the change in atmosphere. Prehistoric atmosphere contained more oxygen than today. Insects do not have lungs instead they have spiracles which connect to the tissues that need oxygen directly. With decreasing oxygen, the innermost cells could not be adequately supplied. Smaller insects were better equipped for hypoxic environment. Also as ancient dinosaurs evolved into modern birds, they controlled insect population by predation. Modern birds were faster than the insects. The exoskeleton that forms the musculature of insects would also have deemed their huge size impossible to carry around.
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