Tunica (biology)
In biology, a tunica (/ˈtuːnᵻkə/) (plural tunicae) is a layer, coat, sheath, or similar covering. The word came to English from the New Latin of science and medicine. Its literal sense is about the same as that of the word tunic, with which it is cognate. In biology one of its senses used to be the taxonomic name of a genus of plants, but the nomenclature has been revised and those plants are now included in the genus Petrorhagia.
In modern biology in general, tunica occurs as a technical or anatomical term mainly in botany and zoology. It usually refers to membranous structures that line or cover particular organs. In many such contexts tunica is used interchangeably with tunic according to preference. An organ or organism that has a tunic(a) may be said to be tunicate, as in a tunicate bulb. This adjective tunicate is not to be confused with the noun tunicate, which refers to a member of the subphylum Tunicata.
Botanical and related usages
In botany there are several contexts for the term.
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Modern biology is a vast and eclectic field, composed of many branches and subdisciplines. However, despite the broad scope of biology, there are certain general and unifying concepts within it that govern all study and research, consolidating it into single, coherent fields. In general, biology recognizes the cell as the basic unit of life, genes as the basic unit of heredity, and evolution as the engine that propels the synthesis and creation of new species. It is also understood today that all organisms survive by consuming and transforming energy and by regulating their internal environment to maintain a stable and vital condition.
Subdisciplines of biology are defined by the scale at which organisms are studied, the kinds of organisms studied, and the methods used to study them: biochemistry examines the rudimentary chemistry of life; molecular biology studies the complex interactions among biological molecules; botany studies the biology of plants; cellular biology examines the basic building-block of all life, the cell; physiology examines the physical and chemical functions of tissues, organs, and organ systems of an organism; evolutionary biology examines the processes that produced the diversity of life; and ecology examines how organisms interact in their environment.
Biology (journal)
Biology is a quarterly, peer-reviewed, open access, scientific journal covering research on all aspects of biology. It was established in 2012 and is published by MDPI. The editor-in-chief is Chris O'Callaghan (University of Oxford). The journal publishes reviews, research papers, and communications.
Subject Areas
This journal covers all topics related to biology. More detail about the journal and its scope is available in the first editorial. Research fields of interest include, but are not limited to:
Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life
Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life is a college-level introductory biology textbook that covers basic biochemistry, anatomy, taxonomy, evolution, biotechnology and ecology. The book is designed to create in students a broad foundation of knowledge in biology and is frequently used in AP Biology classes in American high schools. Each book includes an interactive CD-ROM with links to additional instructional material. Like many textbooks new versions are printed every few years and reflect new gains in scientific knowledge. The book is published by Brooks/Cole and is currently in its twelfth edition. It was primarily compiled by Cecie Starr and Ralph Taggart with pictures and illustrations by Lisa Starr.
The book was translated into few languages, among others into Hebrew, published by the Open University of Israel.
External links
Tunica
Tunica may refer to:
References
Tunica people
The Tunica people were a group of linguistically and culturally related Native American tribes in the Mississippi River Valley, which include the Tunica (also spelled Tonica, Tonnica, and Thonnica); the Yazoo; the Koroa (Akoroa, Courouais); and possibly the Tioux. They first encountered Europeans in 1541 - members of the Hernando de Soto expedition.
The Tunica language is an isolate.
Over the next centuries, under pressure from hostile neighbors, the Tunica migrated south from the Central Mississippi Valley to the Lower Mississippi Valley. Eventually they moved westward and settled around present-day Marksville, Louisiana.
Since the early 19th century, they have intermarried with the Biloxi tribe, an unrelated Siouan-speaking people from the vicinity of Biloxi, Mississippi and shared land. Remnant peoples from other small tribes also merged with them. In 1981 they were federally recognized and now call themselves the Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe; they have a reservation in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana.
Tunica language
The Tunica (or Tonica, or less common form Yuron) language was a language isolate spoken in the Central and Lower Mississippi Valley in the United States by Native American Tunica peoples. There are no known speakers of the Tunica language remaining.
When the last known fluent speaker Sesostrie Youchigant died in the mid-20th century, the language became extinct. Linguist Mary Haas worked with Youchigant to describe what he remembered of the language, and the description was published in A Grammar of the Tunica Language in 1941. This was followed by Tunica Texts in 1950 and Tunica Dictionary in 1953.
By the 17th century, the people had suffered a high rate of fatalities due to Eurasian infectious diseases, warfare and social disruption. The reduced Tunica tribe lived close to the Ofo and Avoyelles tribes in present-day Louisiana. They communicated by the Mobilian Jargon or French. Due to this circumstance of small population and use of a jargon, the linguist Haas noted that the eventual deterioration of the Tunica language was inevitable.
