[OLD] Taxonomy - Classification Flashcards
what is phylogeny?
the study of the evolutionary history of groups of organisms
what does phylogeny tell us?
who’s related to whom and how closely related they are
what have all organisms evolved from?
a common ancestor
what is taxonomy?
the science of classification
What does taxonomy involve
naming organisms and organising them into groups
why classify organisms?
it makes it easier to identify and study organisms
what is a taxon?
a group used to classify organisms
plural of taxon
taxa
what are the three domains?
eukarya, bacteria, archaea
name the eight taxa
domain kingdom phylum class order family genus species
what happens as you move down the hierarchy?
there are more groups but fewer organisms in each group.
the organisms in each groups also become more closely related.
what is a species?
a group of similar organisms able to reproduce to give fertile offspring
why are classifications systems constantly updated?
scientists constantly discover new species and new evidence about known organisms
what is the nomenclature used for classification?
binomial system
what is the binomial system?
all organisms are given one internationally accepted scientific name in Latin that has two parts
what is the part of the binomial?
the genus name with a capital letter
what is t he second part of the binomial
the species name beginning with a lower case letter
how are binomials always written?
in italics
underlined if handwritten
why use binomials?
it helps to avoid the confusion of using common names. e.g over 100 different plant species are called raspberries and one species of buttercup has over 90 different common names
can courtship behaviour be used to help classify species?
yes
what is courtship behaviour for?
it is carried out by organisms to attract a mate of the right species
how does courtship behaviour help prevent interbreeding?
courtship behaviour is species specific so only members of the same species will do and respond to that courtship behaviour, allowing species of the same species to recognise each other and therefore prevent interbreeding and make reproduction more successful.
more similar courtship behaviour is seen from what?
more closely related species
four example of courtship behaviour
fireflies give off pulses of light. the pattern of flashes is specific to each species.
crickets make sounds that are similar to morse code, the code being different for different species.
male peacocks show off their colourful tails. this tail pattern is only found in peacocks.
male butterflies use chemicals to attract females. only those of the correct species respond.
