Taxonomy & The Diversity Of Life

Question 1

The branch of biology that studies the evolutionary history of organisms.

Answer 1

Phylogeny

Question 2

The field of biology that names and organisms species based on their similarities.

Answer 2

Taxonomy

Question 3

A field that incorporates taxonomy, variation among populations, and relationships among organisms over time to provide insight into the evolutionary history of life.

Answer 3

Biological Systematics

Question 4

Studied the differences and similarities in the biological structure of organisms to group species using a nested hierarchical system of classification.

Answer 4

Carl Linnaeus

Question 5

8 hierarchical groupings (taxa) used to classify species:
(largest to smallest)

Answer 5

Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species

Question 6

Largest of 8 hierarchical groupings used to name and organize species.

Answer 6

Domain

Question 7

The branch of biology that studies the form of organisms and relationships between their structures.

Answer 7

Morphology

Question 8

Name species using a combination of the genus and species of the organism.

Answer 8

Binomial Nomenclature

Question 9

The 2nd word in the scientific name generated by binomial nomenclature.
ex. Homo sapiens (sapiens)

Answer 9

Species Epithet

Question 10

A reproductive community of populations (reproductively isolated from others) that occupies a specific niche in nature.

Answer 10

Species

Question 11

A species is a single lineage of ancestor-decent populations that maintains its identity from other such lineages and that has its own evolutionary tendencies. —> Therefore, a species is a specific lineage evolving separately from others.

Answer 11

Evolutionary Species Concept

Question 12

Considers 2 genetically similar populations as different species when they are geographically isolated from one another and each population carries unique morphological differences.

Answer 12

Phylogenetic Species Concept

Question 13

The evolutionary relationship among organisms. —> Sheds light on the divergence of species through history.
Depicted using a phylogenetic tree with branches to represent lineages and nodes to depict common ancestors.
Uses synapomorphies to group similar species into clades.

Answer 13

Phylogeny

Question 14

Derived from a common ancestor.
(ex. the tail of a monkey and the tail of a cat)

Answer 14

Homologous Characters

Question 15

Are analogues that evolve independently (usually through convergent evolution because of similar selective pressures) so they don’t represent a shared ancestors between 2 species.
(ex. the wings of a bird and the wings of a bat)

Answer 15

Homoplastic Characters

Question 16

Related species are ground into a branch if they share a derived character (which is a trait that differs from the ancestral state).

Answer 16

Clade

Question 17

A trait that differs from the ancestral state.

Answer 17

Derived Character

Question 18

Shared, derived characters.

Answer 18

Synapomorphies

Question 19

Used to depict the evolutionary relationships among different species/groups.

Answer 19

Cladogram

Question 20

A single species/group that’s related to all the others in the tree but is still distinct.

Answer 20

Outgroup

Question 21

Conceptually and visually similar to a cladogram but the lengths of its branches correspond to time. —> Incorporates numerical data to detail the changes that occurred in a lineage over time.

Answer 21

Phylogram
(Phylogenetic Tree)

Question 22

Shows the relationship between different groups of animals along with their derived characters.

Answer 22

Cladogram

Question 23

Includes all the members of a group as well as their most recent common ancestor.
A clade is a _______ ______.

Answer 23

Monophyletic Taxon

Question 24

Contains a common ancestor but leaves out some of its descendants.

Answer 24

Paraphyletic Taxon

Question 25

Doesn’t include the common ancestor to all of its members.

Answer 25

Polyphyletic Taxon

Question 26

The use of DNA and proteins in the identification and classification of species.

Answer 26

Molecular Systematics

Question 27

*Molecular Systematics* A method of identifying species based on the sequence of a standard section of DNA.

Answer 27

DNA Barcoding

Question 28

The study of form and structure of organisms or parts of organisms.

Answer 28

Morphology

Question 29

Species that appear identical to each other but are different at a genetic level and are unable to breed with each other. (ex. African elephants that live in forests and African elephants that live in the Savana)

Answer 29

Cryptic Species

Question 30

5 Kingdoms:

Answer 30

Animalia Plantae Fungi Protista Monera

Question 31

3 Domains:

Answer 31

Bacteria Archaea Eukarya

Question 32

Vast group of prokaryotic organisms that play critical roles in cycling carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur and have an important symbiotic relationship with other organisms.

Answer 32

Bacteria *Eubacteria (“true bacteria”)*

Question 33

Produce their own food from their surroundings using either light energy (in photosynthesis) or chemical energy (in chemosynthesis).

Answer 33

Autotrophs

Question 34

Can’t produce their own food, so they ingest other organisms for their nutrition.

Answer 34

Heterotrophs

Question 35

Rod-shaped bacteria.

Answer 35

Bacillus

Question 36

Ball-shaped bacteria.

Answer 36

Coccus

Question 37

Spiral-shaped bacteria.

Answer 37

Spirillum

Question 38

Have a thick, complex outer cell wall (mostly made of peptidoglycan) that stains a characteristic **purple** color after Gram staining.

Answer 38

Gram-Positive Bacteria

Question 39

Have a thinner layer of peptidoglycan in their cell wall and stain **pink** in gram staining.

Answer 39

Gram-Negative Bacteria

Question 40

Diverse group of prokaryotic microorganisms. Lack membrane-bound organelles and a nuclear envelope (like bacteria). Cell walls don’t contain peptidoglycan. Well known for living in extreme/inhospitable environments.

Answer 40

Archaea

Question 41

Make their own food from solar or chemical energy.

Answer 41

Autotrophic

Question 42

Consuming other organisms for food.

Answer 42

Heterotrophic

Question 43

Acquiring dissolved nutrients from decaying organisms.

Answer 43

Saprotropic

Question 44

Change between autotrophic and heterotrophic methods of acquiring nutrients depending on what’s available.

Answer 44

Mixotrophic

Question 45

Eukaryotes. Divided into 4 kingdoms: animals, plants, fungi, and protists.

Answer 45

Eukarya

Question 46

**Eukarya** Mostly unicellular and relatively less complex than most other eukaryotes. Paraphyletic so invalid taxon… Catch-all for organisms that are eukaryotes but are not animals, plants, or fungi. Live in marine, freshwater, or other wet environments. Have a huge impact on the earth’s ecosystem: serving as the base of several food chains decomposing dead organic material, symbiotically supporting other organisms, and creating a significant portion of the earth’s oxygen.

Answer 46

“Protista”

Question 47

Protists roughly divided into 3 groups based on their mode of locomotion:

Answer 47

-Ciliates -Flagellates -Amoebas

Question 48

*Protist locomotion* Move by waving large numbers of small, hair-like cilia to propel themselves through water.

Answer 48

Ciliates

Question 49

*Protist locomotion* Move by rotating 1+ long flagella.

Answer 49

Flagellates

Question 50

*Protist locomotion* Move using pseudopods (fingerlike projections of cytoplasm).

Answer 50

Amoebas *(ameboid protists)*

Question 51

**Eukarya** Plants. Multicellular and photosynthetic. Autotrophs (carry out photosynthesis using chloroplasts). Critical to human life on earth. —> Humans depend on the oxygen generated and the carbon-containing compounds produced by plants carrying out photosynthesis.

Answer 51

Plantae

Question 52

**Eukarya** Include both unicellular and multicellular organisms. Can reproduce sexually or asexually. Non-vascular, non-moving, heterotrophic. Essential in the breakdown/decomposition of dead matter. Some cause diseases, others produce antibiotics.

Answer 52

Fungi

Question 53

**Eukarya** Animals. Multi-cellular heterotrophs. Cells organized into tissues. Most reproduce sexually. High degree of diversity in form and ecosystems they inhabit. Characterized by their mode of embryonic development.

Answer 53

Animalia

Question 54

Can use inorganic substances to produce organic compounds. —> Either through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis. *Don’t need to eat food.*

Answer 54

Autotrophic

Question 55

Need to ingest food to produce energy.

Answer 55

Heterotrophic

Question 56

Can switch between autotrophic and heterotrophic metabolisms depending on whether nutrients are available.

Answer 56

Mixotrophic

Question 57

Feed on decaying organic matter.

Answer 57

Saprotrophic