Transcript Fundamentals of Ecology

Ecology and Evolution
Classification
Identifying Living Organisms
Classification
• Why classify organisms?
– Species identification: Provides an organized
catalogue that allows us to find and interpret
species characteristics
– Predictive value: allows is to make inferences
and to establish similarities about members of
the same taxonomic groups
– Evolutionary links: species that are in the
same group probably share characteristics
because they have evolved from a common
ancestor, so the classification of groups can
be used to predict how they evolved.
Scientific names
• Binomial Nomenclature: Species and genus
– Species is defined as a group of organisms
with similar characteristics, which can
interbreed and produce fertile offspring. Every
species is classified into a genus
– Genus is a group of similar species
• Musca domestica
• Gorilla gorilla
• Homo sapiens
• Pan troglodytes
• Drosophila melanogaster
Five Kingdoms
Classwork: List chacteristics
• Prokaryotae – Monerans; all type of bacteria
• Protoctista- simplest eukaryotic organisms, w/
unicellular and multicellular organisms; amoeba
and algae
• Fungi- eukaryotic organisms with chitin in their
cell walls
• Plantae- eukaryotic organisms with cellulose in
their cell walls; mosses, ferns, gymnosperms and
angiosperms
• Animalia-eukaryotic organisms w/out cell walls
Levels of Classification
• Kingdom
• Phylum
• Class
• Order
• Family
• Genus
• Species
Blue whale
Humans
Animalia
Animalia
Chordata
Chordata
Mammalia
Mammalia
Cetacea
Primate
Balaenopteridae
Hominidae
Balaenoptera
Homo
Baleanoptera musculus
Homo sapiens
Taxonomic Keys
• Also called dichotomous or identification
keys
• They are “two branched keys” designed to
allow the identification of organisms in the
field
• They are specific to areas and groups of
organisms
• . Researchers often need to make
inventories of organisms in the field.
Taxonomic keys are good tools