Biodiversity and Classification Lecture Notes

Flashcards covering definitions of biodiversity, types of species, historical classification systems by Aristotle, Linedaeus, Wittaker, and Woese, and the hierarchical taxonomic levels.

Biodiversity

The variety of life found on earth and the interactions between them.

Ecosystem

A community of living organisms interacting with each other and their non-living environment in a specific area.

Species (Biological Definition)

A group of organisms that can reproduce with each other at random to produce viable offspring.

High Genetic Diversity

A state that leads to enhanced adaptation, ecosystem resilience, improved functional capacity, and reduced disease risk.

Low Genetic Diversity

A state that leads to higher extinction risk, inbreeding depression, vulnerability to environmental changes, and reduced ecosystem functionality.

Invasive Species

Species brought to an area that are hard to control, have no natural predators, and out-compete indigenous species for resources.

Indigenous Species

Species that occur naturally "everywhere" or across multiple areas.

Endemic Species

Species that occur naturally in one specific area and cannot be found anywhere else.

Indicator Species

Species used as an early warning system to assess ecosystem health, guide conservation efforts, and provide cost-effective monitoring.

Examples of Indicator Species

Lichens, Amphibians, Macroinvertebrates, and plants.

Classification

The process of grouping things based on their similarities to facilitate the study of millions of organisms.

Taxonomy

The study of naming and classifying organisms using a system with the purposes of identifying organisms and representing relationships.

Systemics

A field of study that researches the diversity of organisms and their relationship to each other to place them into groups.

Nomenclature

A field of study that names organisms according to their taxonomy.

Aristotle

A natural scientist in $384\,\text{B.C.}$ who introduced the first classification method, grouping plants and animals according to appearance.

Carolus Linedaeus

The modern scientist ($1707-1776$) known as the father of taxonomy who created a reliable classification system and Binomial Nomenclature.

Binomial Nomenclature

A $2$-naming system using Latin that consists of the Genus and the Species names.

Robert Wittaker

The scientist who proposed a $5$ kingdom class system in $1969$, including Monera, Protista, Mycota, Plantae, and Anamalia.

Carl Woese

The scientist who introduced $3$ domains in $1990$: Domain Eukaria/Eubacteria, Domain Arched bacteria (Ancient), and Domain Eukarya.

Kingdom (Taxonomic Level)

The largest and broadest taxonomic group where organisms have fewer traits in common.

Species (Taxonomic Level)

The smallest taxonomic group where organisms are most similar and have the most traits in common.

Scientific Naming Rules

Names must be in Latin, Genus first (capitalized), Species second (lowercase), and either typed in italics or written underlined.

Taxonomic Levels Hierarchy

Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species (Mnemonic: Dear King Philip Came Over For Good Spaghetti).

Infertility Example

An offspring (such as a mule) produced from two animals of different genus or species will be infertile.