5.3 Classification of biodiversity Flashcards
What is the binomial system of nomenclature?
It is the formal system by which all living species are classified
How often is the binomial system updated?
Every four years
Why is the binomial system of nomenclature valuable?
- Allows identification and comparison of organisms based on recognised characteristics
- It allows all organisms to be named accordingly to a globally recognised scheme
- It can show how closely related organisms are
- It makes it easier to collect, sort and group information about organisms
Where is the binomial system of nomenclature assessed and updated?
At a series of international congresses
When hand writing the scientific name how should you do it?
Underline it
When typing the scientific name how should you do it?
In italics
According to the binomial system of nomenclature what are the two parts of a scientific name?
Genus and Species
What is the order of writing the scientific name?
Genus first
Species second
What should you do when writing the genus?
Capitalise it
What should you do when writing the species?
Write it in lower case
How many domains are organisms classified into?
Three
What are the three domains living organisms are classified into?
Eukarya
Archaea
Eubacteria
What is the Eukarya domain?
Eukaryotic organisms that contain a membrane-bound nucleus
What does the eukarya domain include?
Protist
Plants
Fungi
Animals
What is the Archaea domain?
Prokaryotic cells lacking a nucleus and consist of the extremophiles
What is the Eubacteria domain?
Prokaryotic cells lacking a nucleus and consist of the common pathogenic forms
What is taxonomy?
Taxonomy is the science involved with classifying groups of organisms on the basis of shared characteristics
What are organisms grouped in accordance to?
A hierarchy of taxa
The more taxa organisms share…
The more similar they are
What are the taxas uesd?
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
What is a mnemonic to remember the hierarchy of taxa?
Katy
Perry
Comes
Over
For
Some
Grape
Soda
Why are animal and plants in the same domain?
Because they are composed of eukaryotic cells
Why do animals and plant differ in their classifications?
Because they belong to different kingdoms
What are the two main types of classification schemes?
Artificial classification and natural classification
What is artificial classfifcation?
Artificial classification involves arbitrarily selecting unifying characteristics first and then grouping organisms accordingly
What is the advantage of artificial classification?
Such schemes are easy to develop and relatively stable
What is the disadvantage of artificial classification?
They generally do not show evolutionary relationships and as a result are not commonly used
What is natural classification?
Natural classification involves grouping organisms based on similarities first and then identifying shared characteristics
According to natural classification what do members of a particular group have?
A common ancestor
What are natural classification schemes used for?
To predict characteristics shared by a species within a group
What is a disadvantage of natural classification?
They are highly mutable and tend to change as new information is discovered
What is phylogenetic classification?
It differentiates organisms based on genetics
What is an advantage of natural classification and why is it important?
It determines traits based on groupings rather than assigning groups based on traits.
Its important as it shows evolutionary relationships and predicts characteristics shared by species within a group.
According to natural classifications what does each taxonomic level include?
All species that would have evolved from a common ancestor
When would taxonomists reclassify groups of species?
When new evidence shows that a previous taxon contains species that have evolved from different ancestral species
How many phyla does the kingdom plantae have?
12 phyla
What are the four plant phyla you need to know?
Bryophyta
Filicinophyta
Coniferophyta
Angiospermophyta
What plant phyla does not have true leaves, roots or stems?
Bryophyta
What plant phylas have leaves, roots and stems?
Filicinophyta
Coniferophyta
Angiospermophyta
What plant phylas have vascularisation present?
Filicinophyta
Coniferophyta
Angiospermophyta
What plant phylas don’t have vascularisation present?
Bryophyta
What plant phylas have spores?
Bryophyta
Filicinophyta
