Biodiversity and Classification

What is Biodiversity? Biodiversity can be defined as the

range of life in an area. It includes not only the diversity among

species but the diversity within a species.

Recall: A species, as defined by Ernst Mayer, is a reproductive community of populations (reproductively isolated from others) that occupies a specific niche in nature. i.e. they share DNA with each other and not other species.

OScientists believe there may be as many as 30 million species of plants, animals and micro-organisms living on the Earth today. Every one of them plays a part in the global ecosystem. Taxonomists have only identified and named approximately 1.7 million of them so far.

OBut classifying organisms is an attempt to make the relatedness between species understood.

OWe classify many things around us to organize and simplify our lives.

Types of Classification • religion• gender• colour• size or shape • social status• year of manufacture• monetary worth, etc

Systemics

• Systemics is the branch of biology that deals with classifying living things, both current and prehistoric.

Taxonomy:

• Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species and organizing them into systems of classification.

O Prior to the time of the Swedish botanist, Carolus Linnaeus, in the early 18th century, there was no consistent way of naming and classifying species.

• Linnaeus invented a standardized system of classifying and naming organisms.

• His system used binomial nomenclature (two words) for naming organisms.

• He assigned a two-word Latin name to each organism

OOur taxonomic system places similar species into groups and then breaks these into subgroups, sub-subgroups etc.

KINGS PLAY CHESS ON FINE GRAINED SAND.

This memory device is to help you remember the taxonomic levels. The first letter of each word represents a group in descending order.

ORKing Phillip Came Over From Greece

Secretly!

KINGS PLAY CHESS ON FINE GRAINED SAND

Phylum Class

Order Family

Genus Species

Kingdom

KINGS PLAY CHESS ON FINE GRAINED SAND

Phylum Class

Order Family

Genus Species

Kingdom ANIMALIA CHORDATA

MAMMALIAPRIMATES

HOMONIDAE HOMO

SAPIENS

• An organisms scientific name comes it’s last two groupings, genus and species.• Ex. Humans = Homo sapiens• dogs = Canis familiaris•notice that a scientific name is italicized or underlined •genus is capitalized, species name is not

• most times the species name is descriptive•if 2 species are in the same genus they must be very similar•ex - Ursus americanus

black bearU. horribilisgrizzly bear

Scientific names are universal

Phylogenic Trees O

A phylogenetic tree or evolutionary tree is a branching diagram or "tree" showing the imbedded evolutionary relationships among various species based upon similarities and differences in their physical and/or genetic characteristics. The species joined together in the tree are implied to have descended from a common ancestor.

Cladogram O Similar in look to a pedigree, a

cladogram illustrates ancestral relationships between species but are more modern in the fact that they use DNA similarities to classify and divide.

Classification – Then and Now

THE 5 KINGDOM WAY

Classification

OHistorically, all living things have been classified into 5 kindoms

O1) Kingdom Monera:OBacteriaOProkaryotic cells (have no

nucleus)OEg. Streptococcus bacteria

StreptococcusO Most common form is Streptococcal

pharyngitis (strep throat).O Some species of Streptococcus are

responsible for meningitis, bacteria pneumonia and flesh eating disease.

O Some are non-pathogenic – necessary ingredient in Swiss cheese, also part of the normal flora of bacteria in mouth, skin, intestine and upper respiratory tract of humans.

O2) Kingdom ProtistaOComplex single celled

organisms, some multicellularOEukaryotic cells (have nucleus)OProtozoa, algae OEg. Plasmodium

PlasmodiumO Causes parasitic malaria O 200 known species, with 11 infecting

humans. Others infect monkeys, rodents, birds and reptiles.

O Needs 2 hosts in a life cycle, 1 mosquito vector (does not actually get the infection) and 1 vertebrate host (gets the infection)

O3) Kingdom FungiOMulticellular, filmentous form

OEukaryotic cellOEg. Molds, yeasts, mushrooms

Omphalotus oleariusO The Jack-o-Lantern mushroom is an

orange to yellow coloured mushroom that looks similar to the chanterelle mushroom.

O Has bioluminescence properties.O Not poisonous but will cause severe

cramps, vomiting and diarrhea.

O4) Kingdom PlantaeOMulticellular with specialized

complex cells.OEukaryoticOCan be divided into vascular

(flowering plants, trees) and non-vascular (mosses, lichen)

O Although technically a member of the plant kingdom, Rafflesia challenges traditional definitions of what a plant is because they lack chlorophyll and are therefore incapable of photosynthesis.

O And according to all accounts of those who have gotten close enough to tell they have an odor similar to a carcass in advanced decomposition.!

Rafflesia arnoldii

O5) Kingdom AnimaliaOMulticellular with specialized

complex cells.OEukaryoticORange from invertebrates, to

fish, to reptiles, to amphibians, to birds to mammals

Reptile AmphibianO Completely terrestrial

vertebrates.O Scaly skin that can

withstand desiccation.O Expanded lung systemO Turtles, crocodiles, lizards,

snakes and tuatara.O Hard shelled eggs that do

not need to be laid in water.

O 3 groups of vertebrates: frogs, salamanders and caecilians.

O Smooth, scale less skin, permeable to water.

O Active at night and when it rains.

O Can get moisture from surrounding soil.

O Eggs laid in water.

Tuatara Caecilians

The DomainsO Livings things are not only divided

into the 5 kingdoms, we also further divide them into what is called a DOMAIN.

O These domains account for organisms that are called extremophiles (organisms living in extreme environments – too hot, salty, acidic, etc).

The 3 DomainsO 1) Domain Archaea:O Prokaryotic organisms living in

extreme environments. The resemble bacteria in many ways but can survive in environments that contain methane, sulphur, extreme temperatures, extreme acidity, etc.

Heat Loving Bacteria

Thermophiles prefer temperatures from 50 to 70 °C (122 to 158 °F), whilst hyperthermophiles grow better at temperatures as high as 80 to 110 °C (176 to 230 °F).

The 3 DomainsO 2) Domain Eubacteria:O Prokaryotic organism living almost

anywhere (water, soil, atmosphere, skin, etc.) Includes the Kingdom Monera.

Bacillus anthracisO Also know as ANTHRAXO Spore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium, with a width

of 1-1.2µm and a length of 3-5µm.O Anthrax can be found in 3 forms:O 1) Cutaneous: the most common form (95%),

causes a localized inflammatory black necrotic lesion

O 2) Pulmonary: highly fatal and characterized by sudden massive chest edema followed by cardiovascular shock

O 3) Gastrointestinal: rare but also fatal (causes death to 25%) type results from ingestion of spores

The 3 DomainsO 3) Domain Eukarya: O Eukaryotic CellsO Including Kingdoms Protista,

Animalia, Fungi and Plantae.

HomeworkO Read pages 560-561.O Read pages 566 to 571, excluding ‘The Bacteria’

on page 571O Be prepared to answer specifics from those pages.O Research the full taxonomy (KPCOFGS) names of

the following Manitoba organisms – for hand in:O Arctic FoxO CaribouO Canada Goose O Blueberry plant

O Complete PART 1 of the cladogram assignment – for hand in