Taxonomy

• Kingdom is the second highest taxonomic rank and includes organisms that share the most fundamental characteristics of life.
• Linnaeus's classification system was based on physical characteristics, such as number of petals or leaves.
• <S>:Plants are autotrophic, capable of synthesizing their own food through photosynthesis using sunlight, water and carbon dioxide.
• The classification system used by Linnaeus is called the binomial nomenclature.
• Phylum (Division) is the third highest taxonomic rank, which contains groups of related classes with similar body plans or structures.
• The Linnaean hierarchy consists of Kingdom, Phylum (Division), Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.
• Taxonomy is the science of naming and classifying organisms according to their evolutionary relationships.
• Binomial nomenclature consists of two names separated by a space, with the first name being the genus (capitalized) and the second name being the species (lowercase).
• Classification systems have evolved over time to reflect new discoveries about organisms and our understanding of evolutionary relationships.
• Why do we classify things?

  • It gives us information about items
  • It allows us to store information easily
• Biological Organization


  Systematic grouping of organisms into biological categories based on physical and environmental characteristics and relationships
• Identifying, Naming, and Classifying Species

  • Scientists identify, define, and name species of organisms.
  • Farmers and gardeners need to separate weeds from crops.
  • Doctors must correctly identify infectious organisms before treatment.
  • Edible and medicinal plants must be correctly identified before use.
• Observed Characteristics can help Identify Organisms

  • Morphology
  • Behaviour
  • Geographical Location
  • Challenges: - many species and variety within each species - evolutionary changes
• Hierarchal Classification

  • A hierarchy arranges items above, below, or at the same level as other items in the group
  • Classifies organisms by arranging species based on categories from most general to most specific
  • a nested system
• TAXONOMIC CATEGORIES USED TO CLASSIFY ORGANISMS

  • Taxonomic categories are used to classify organisms that have been identified the categories or groupings are arranged in a hierarchy.
  • Each level or category is known as the rank. The particular classification of an organism at each rank level is called the taxon (pl. taxa).
  • There are EIGHT ranks. Domain is the most general, containing the most species. The species rank is specific to one species.
• RANKS

  • Domain
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
  • Order
  • Family
  • Genus
  • Species