Evolution flashcards

There is species diversity which is the number of different species (among different species) and there is Genetic diversity which is the ammount of variation in inherited traits between individuals of the same species (in one species).

Taxonomy is the field of science that deals with classifying the estimated 10 million species on earth. There are two main goals: to identify organisms and provide a basis of natural groupings of organisms. Carl Linnaeus created the present system which is based on an organisms physical and structual feautures, believing that the more organisms have in common the closer related they are.

Scientific names use binomial nomenclature (first used by carl linnaeus) a two part scientific name that is assigned to an organism using latin words. The names are often based off a characteristic such as colour, habitat or behaviour. They include the genus first (more general = more info) which begins with a capital and then the lowercase species name (species specific) Ex: Canis familiaris. When the name is typed it is italisized and when it is written by hand it is underlined (Canis familiaris and Canis familiaris).  The genus can be written alone as it is general but the species is too specific and can never be written alone?

The two name system allows us to see similarities in organisms. If two organisms share the same genus name they are related (ex: cats begin with felis). The two special naming cases are 1. sometimes the names can be changed since science is always evolving and 2. some organisms can be known by multiple names.

The seven taxa are Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species

Plantae, Fungi, Animalia, Protists, Eubacteria and Archaebacteria.

Eubacteria are simple organisms lacking nuclei (prokaryotic). They can either be heterotrophs or autotrophs. All of them can reproduce asexuall, they live nearly everywhere and often have a cell wall. They include things like basic bacteria and cyano bacteria - they are the "true" bacteria (ones we think of as germs).

Archaebacteria are prokaryotic organisms adapted to live in extreme enviroments (extremophiles). They are mostly heterotrophs but some like those who perform chemosynthesis can be autotrophs, they live in hot springs, salt lakes, animal guts, deep ocean, etc. They contain cell walls and include things like methanogens and extreme thermo- and halo-philes.

Protista are mostly single celled (some multicellular) eukaryotic organisms. Some are autotrophs and some are heterotrophs, they reproduce both sexually and asexually and live in aquatic or moist enviroments. Include (algae,protozoa, etc.).

Fungi are mostly multicellular heterotrophs (some can also be autotrophs along with being heterotrophs). They reproduce sexually and asexually, most are terrestrial and they have cell walls. Examples are mushrooms, yeasts, bread moulds.

Plantae are multicellular autotrophs that reproduce asexually and sexually. They are mostly terrestrial and contain cell wall. Examples are mosses, ferns, conifers and flowering plants.

Animalia are all multicellular heterotrophs. They mostly reproduce sexually, live in terrestrial and aquatic habitats and have no cell wall. Examples include sea sponges, worms, lobsters, starfish, humans.

It is the history of the evolution of organisms and is usually organized in a diagram called a phylogenetic tree to display the ancestors of organisms.

A book that contains a key for scientists to use to figure out the organisms they are observing.