Classification and Biodiversity 2.1

• Classification


  Term used to group
• Criteria used to classify living organisms

  • Appearance
  • Warm blooded
• Kingdom


  Grouping of single celled organisms
• Phylum


  • Reptiles
  • Vertebrates
  • Non-flowering
• Taxonomic levels


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


  Morphological, physiological and behavioural changes that help an organism survive in its environment
• Examples of adaptations


  • Fur
  • Camouflage
  • Migration
  • Activity
  • Food
• Resources like food, water, space are limited
• Intra-specific competition occurs between members of the same species
• Inter-specific competition occurs between members of different species
• Size of population can be affected by predation, disease and competition
• Ways to conserve and protect biodiversity

  • Conservation and increase chance of survival
  • Maintained by natural selection
  • Captive breeding programmes
  • National parks
  • Seed/sperm banks
  • Biodiversity action plans
• Biodiversity


  Number of different species and number of individuals in each species
• Conditions needed for accurate population estimation: no migration/emigration, no death, no regrouping, mark is non-toxic, enough time for even distribution
• Capture-recapture method


  1. Mark new sample

  2. Measure marked sample

  3. Calculate population size using equation