Classification of Organisms
The Necessity of Classifying People group things together for convenience For example Musical instruments are grouped together However, in any classification system there are problems For instance, a piano has strings yet it is not stroked like a violin so should it be in the same group?
The Necessity of Classifying The same problems apply to taxonomy (the science of classifying organisms into groups) There are millions of different kinds of organisms
The Modern Classification System Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species
Rules for Biological Classification 1. Each group on one level of the hierarchy may be divided into several groups on the next lower level. 2. Each group in the hierarchy has various characteristics that all of the levels under the group posses. 3. Each level of the hierarchy can be divided into smaller groups before reaching the next lower level.
Terms to Know Eukaryotic Membrane bound organelles Prokaryotic Non-Membrane bound organelles Heterotrophic Cannot produce own food Autotrophic Produces own food Unicellular A single cell organism Colonial Group of similar cells living together (but the cells are unicellular) Multicellular Consists of many cells
The Kingdoms There are Five Kingdoms: Animalia Monera } Archaebacteria and Eubacteria Protista Fungi Plantae
Kingdom Monera Prokaryotic -Lack membrane-bound organelles Microscopic Unicellular or colonial Example: Bacteria
Kingdom Monera - Archaebacteria Archaebacteria are found in extreme environments such as hot boiling water and thermal vents under conditions with no oxygen or highly acid environments. Finding Archaebacteria: The hot springs of Yellowstone National Park, USA, were among the first places Archaebacteria were discovered. The biologists pictured are immersing microscope slides in the boiling pool onto which some archaebacteria might be captured for study.
Kingdom Monera - Eubacteria Like archaebacteria, eubacteria are complex and single celled. Most bacteria are in the EUBACTERIA kingdom. They are the kinds found everywhere and are the ones people are most familiar with. This is a picture of E. coli
Kingdom Monera - Eubacteria Most eubacteria are helpful. Some produce vitamins and foods like yogurt. However, these eubacteria, Streptococci pictured, can give you strep throat!
Kingdom Fungi Eukaryotic Have membrane bound organelles Unicellular or colonial Heterotrophic Example: Mushrooms and molds
Kingdom Protista Eukaryotic Have membrane bound oragnelles Unicellular or colonial Both autotrophic and heterotrophic Example: Algae and Protozoans Protists include all microscopic organisms that are not bacteria, not animals, not plants and not fungi.
Eukaryotic Have membrane bound organelles. Multicellular Autotrophic Examples: Plants Without plants, life on Earth would not exist! Plants feed almost all the heterotrophs (organisms that eat other organisms) on Earth. Wow! Kingdom Plantae
Kingdom Animalia Eukaryotic Have membrane bound organelles Multicellular Heterotrophic Examples: Dogs and people
Scientific Names Organisms are given a scientific name This name uses a system of Binomial Nomeclature Bionomial means two-names Nomenclature means naming Scientific names use Latin, because Linnaeus (the founder of the system) spoke Latin.
Genus-Species Names Organisms scientific name uses the genus-species of the organism The name is always in italics Only the Genus name is capitalized Example: Equus caballus - common horse Equus asinus - donkey
Biblical Kind vs Species A kind of animal refers to not just species, but similar types For example: Dogs are Canine familiaris but they are the same kind of animal as the wolf or coyote. On the ark, God sent Noah two of every kind of animal Most likely, there was not dogs and wolves and coyotes, but a representative kind that has become all the variations we have today.
The End of Classification!