6.1 Classifying Biodiversity Flashcards
What are the 5 things classifying and naming organisms enables us to do?
- Communicate biological knowledge efficiently
- Recognise an organism that is poisonous and dangerous
- Recognise beneficial organisms,
- Develop ways of controlling pest species and diseases
- Identify endangered species so that we can protect and conserve them
What does taxonomy refer to?
The scientific discipline concerned with the naming and classification of organisms into groups called taxa.
What is biological classification?
The system placing groups into taxa, which enables us to understand the evolution and diversity of living things.
What is a phylogeny?
A branching diagram showing the relationships between organisms like a family tree.
What is the classification hierarchy?
- Kingdom
- Phylum
- Class
- Order
- Family
- Genus
- Species
What forms a genus? Give an example:
A group of closely related species.
Eg. Lions and tigers are members of the same genus
What forms a family? Give an example:
A group of closely related genera.
Eg. Cats, lions, and tigers are all members of the same family.
What forms an order? Give an example:
A group of related families
Eg. Chimps are members of the order Primates
What forms a class? Give an example:
A group of related orders. Eg. Cats, dogs, koalas, and monkeys are all members of the class Mammalia
What forms a phylum? Give an example:
A group of related classes.
Eg. Mammals, birds, and sharks are some of the classes grouped into phylum Chordata
What is a species? Give an example:
Members of a group of similar organisms that are capable of interbreeding under natural conditions to produce viable and fertile offspring.
Eg. Lions and tigers are not the same species as they can only mate in captivity and their offspring are infertile.
What is a sub-species?
Classification name given to different geographic forms or races within species.
What are hybrids? Give an example:
Offspring from the cross-breeding of two species.
Eg. Liger, mule, zonkey
What is Linnaeus’ system of classification? Give an example:
When a species is given two Latinized words, where the name of the genus is put first (with a capital letter), and then the name of the species.
-Written in italics or is underlined
Eg. Apis Melllifera
What are the 4 advantages of scientific names?
- Common names vary from language to language, but scientific names are universal
- The sam common name is sometimes given to different species
- Scientific names give an indication of how closely related differeent organisms are
- Common names may be misleading, suggesting relationships that are not valid
Eg. Starfish are not actually fish
What are protists?
Mostly unicellular organisms which inhabit fresh and salty water or moist environments.
-Some are plant-like, some are fungi-like, and some are animal-like (but lack the specialised features of these groups)
What are fungi?
Common organisms, such as bread mould, yeast, mushrooms and toadstools, which secrete enzymes over the surface of their food and absorb the broken down products directly.
-Do not photosynthesize
What are plants?
Multicellular autotrophs (photosynthesize using chlorophyll), such as liverworts and mosses and large more complex forms, such as ferns and seed plants.
What does ‘molecular criteria’ refer to and who introduced it?
It refers to the classification system introduced by Carl Woese in 1990 which organises living things into different domains.
Name the 3 domains:
- Bacteria
- Archea
- Eukarya
What is bacteria?
Microscopic unicellular organisms, which lack a nucleus and other cell organelles.
What are archaea?
Bacteria that are mostly extremophiles which means that they thrive in extreme environments, such as salt lakes, oxygen-free mud of marshes and swamps, and hot springs and lakes.
What are eukarya?
Composed of all animals, plants, fungi and the various lineages of protists.
What are viruses?
Are microscopic and contain nucleic acid which is used to take over its host’s genes, forcing the host cell to create new viruses.
-Don’t fit into the 5 kingdoms of life as they are classed as nonliving since they can’t reproduce by themselves.
