Chapter 19 - Taxonomy, Systematics, and Phylogeny

Question 1

Systematics

Answer 1

The study of biodiversity, which helps us understand the evolutionary relationships between species. Systematics is a quantitative science that uses traits of living and fossil organisms to infer the relationships among organisms over time.

Question 2

Traits

Answer 2

A characteristic of an organism; may be based on the physiology, morphology, or the genetics of the organism.

Question 3

Taxonomy

Answer 3

Branch of science associated with the identification and classification of organisms.

Question 4

Taxon

Answer 4

Group of organisms that fills a particular classification category.

Question 5

Classification

Answer 5

Process of naming organisms and assigning them to taxonomic groups (taxa).

Question 6

Taxonomists

Answer 6

Scientist that investigates the identification and naming of new organisms.

Question 7

Natural Group

Answer 7

In systematics, a group of organisms that possess a shared evolutionary history.

Question 8

Phylogeny

Answer 8

Evolutionary history of a group of organisms. “Family tree”

Question 9

Linnaean Taxonomy - Binomial nomenclature

Answer 9

Scientific name of an organism, the first part of which designates the genus and the second part of which designates the specific epithet.

Question 10

Specific epithet

Answer 10

In the binomial system of taxonomy, the second part of an organism’s name; it may be descriptive.

Question 11

Species

Answer 11

Group of similarly constructed organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring; organisms that share a common gene pool; the taxon at the lowest level of classification.

Question 12

Genus

Answer 12

One of the categories, or taxa, used by taxonomists to group species; contains those species that are most closely related through evolution.

Question 13

Family

Answer 13

One of the categories, or taxa, used by taxonomists to group species; the taxon located above the genus level.

Question 14

Order

Answer 14

One of the categories, or taxa, used by taxonomists to group species; the taxon located above the family level.

Question 15

Class

Answer 15

One of the categories, or taxa, used by taxonomists to group species; the taxon above the order level.

Question 16

Phylum

Answer 16

One of the categories, or taxa, used by taxonomists to group species; the taxon located above the class level.

Question 17

Kingdom

Answer 17

One of the categories, or taxa, used by taxonomists to group species; the taxon above phylum.

Question 18

Domain

Answer 18

Largest of the categories, or taxa, used by taxonomists to group species; the three domains are Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya.

Question 19

Nomenclature

Answer 19

In systematics, the process of assigning names to taxonomic groups; usually determined by governing organizations.

Question 20

Five-Kingdom system

Answer 20

System of classification that contains the kingdoms Monera, Protista, Plantae, Animalia, and Fungi.

Question 21

Domain Bacteria

Answer 21

One of the three domains of life; contains prokaryotic cells that differ from archaea because they have their own unique genetic, biochemical, and physiological characteristics.

Question 22

Domain Archaea

Answer 22

One of the three domains of life; contains prokaryotic cells that often live in extreme habitats and have unique genetic, biochemical, and physiological characteristics; its members are sometimes referred to as archaea.

Question 23

Domain Eukarya

Answer 23

One of the three domains of life, consisting of organisms with eukaryotic cells; includes protists, fungi, plants, and animals.

Question 24

Supergroup

Answer 24

Systematic term that refers to the major groups of eukaryotes.

Question 25

Common ancestor

Answer 25

Ancestor common to at least two lines of descent.

Question 26

Lineage

Answer 26

Line of descent represented by a branch in a phylogenetic tree.

Question 27

Diverge

Answer 27

Process by which a new evolutionary path begins; on a phylogenetic tree, this is indicated by branching lines.

Question 28

Ancestral traits

Answer 28

Traits that are found in a common ancestor and its descendants.

Question 29

Derived traits

Answer 29

Structural, physiological, or behavioral trait that is present in a specific lineage and is not present in the common ancestor for several related lineages.

Question 30

Cladistics

Answer 30

Method of systematics that uses derived characters to determine monophyletic groups and construct cladograms.

Question 31

Cladogram

Answer 31

In cladistics, a branching diagram that shows the relationship among species in regard to their shared derived characters.

Question 32

Clade

Answer 32

Evolutionary lineage consisting of an ancestral species and all of its descendants, forming a distinct branch on a cladogram.

Question 33

Parsimony

Answer 33

In systematics, the simplest solution in the analysis of evolutionary relationships.

Question 34

Outgroup

Answer 34

In a cladistic study of evolutionary relationships among organisms, a group that has a known relationship to, but is not a member of, the taxa being analyzed.

Question 35

Ingroup

Answer 35

In a cladistic study of evolutionary relationships among organisms, the group that is being analyzed.

Question 36

Chordates

Answer 36

Animal that has a dorsal tubular nerve cord, a notochord, pharyngeal gill pouches, and a postanal tail at some point in its life cycle; includes a few types of invertebrates (e.g., sea squirts and lancelets) and the vertebrates.

Question 37

Homology

Answer 37

Similarity of parts or organs of different organisms caused by evolutionary derivation from a corresponding part or organ in a remote ancestor, usually having a similar embryonic origin.

Question 38

Homologous Structures

Answer 38

A structure that is similar in different types of organisms because these organisms descended from a common ancestor.

Question 39

Convergent evolution

Answer 39

Similarity in structure in distantly related groups generally due to similiar selective pressures in like environments.

Question 40

Analogy

Answer 40

Similarity of function but not of origin.

Question 41

Analogous structures

Answer 41

Structure that has a similar function in separate lineages but differs in anatomy and ancestry.

Question 42

Molecular Clock

Answer 42

Idea that the rate at which mutational changes accumulate in certain genes is constant over time and is not involved in adaptation to the environment.