Biology

• Taxonomy


  The branch of science that deals with the classification, identification, and naming of organisms
• Taxonomy


  • Involves grouping organisms based on their similarities and differences
  • Assigning them names based on a standardized system of nomenclature
• Taxonomists


  Biologists who classify organisms
• Taxonomy


  1. Identify

  2. Name

  3. Classify
• Morphology


  Physical attributes like size, shape, color and body structure
• Carl Linnaeus


  A famous Swedish scientist whose work totally changed taxonomy
• Linnaeus published Systema Naturae


  1735
• Linnaeus published Species Plantarum


  1753
• Aristotle


  A Greek philosopher and zoologist who lived about 2,400 years ago
• Genera


  Broad groups of animals with similar attributes (Aristotle)
• Species


  Defined within each genus (Aristotle)
• Vertebrates and invertebrates


  Aristotle's broad categories based on whether animals had red blood
• Oviparity


  The property of animals where the young ones are always hatched out of the body
• Oviparous animals


  • Most fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and some invertebrates like insects
• Ovoviviparous


  Animals where the eggs hatch inside the body and the young ones come out
• Viviparous


  Animals that give birth to live young ones, instead of laying eggs
• Binomial nomenclature


  The modern system of taxonomy based on the work of Carl Linnaeus
• Genus


  The first part of the scientific name, written in capital letters
• Species


  The second part of the scientific name, written in lowercase
• Sub-species


  An occasional additional designation in the scientific name
• When typing the scientific name, it should be presented in italics
• When handwriting the scientific name, it is customary to underline
• International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN)


  Deals with the biological nomenclature for plants
• International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN)


  Deals with the biological nomenclature of animals
• There are millions of species of organisms distributed throughout the world
• The same organisms are known by different names around the world, causing confusion</b>
• Binomial nomenclature


  A viable solution to the problem of multiple local names for the same organism
• Cryptic species


  Organisms that look very similar but are actually different species
• DNA barcoding


  A technique introduced by Paul Hebert in 2003 that uses DNA sequencing to create unique tags for each species
• DNA


  A molecule with a double helix structure, composed of Adenine, Cytosine, Thymine, and Guanine
• International Barcode of Life (iBOL) consortium

  A research alliance between groups in 25 different countries, established in 2008
• Barcode of Life Database (BOLD)


  A public collection of DNA barcodes managed by the Biodiversity Research Institute of Ontario
• Distinctive characteristics used to differentiate between taxa

  • Physical characteristics
  • Behavioral characteristics
  • Molecular characteristics
  • Ecological characteristics
  • Evolutionary characteristics
• Physical characteristics


  Differences in size, shape, coloration, patterns, and other features of an organism's body
• Behavioral characteristics


  Differences in an organism's behavior, such as mating rituals, feeding habits, and movement patterns
• Molecular characteristics


  Differences in an organism's DNA or other molecular markers, such as proteins, that can be used to determine its genetic relationships
• Ecological characteristics


  Differences in an organism's habitat, niche, or geographic distribution
• Evolutionary characteristics


  Differences in an organism's evolutionary history, such as the time period in which it first appeared or its relationship to other groups of organisms
• The life of a bee is very different from the life of a flower, but the two organisms are related. Both are members the domain Eukarya and have cells containing many similar organelles, genes, and proteins.
• Phylogeny


  The evolutionary history and relationship of an organism or group of organisms