Biology - Biodiversity, evolution and disease - Classification and Evolution

What is the order of the taxonomic hierarchy?

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

What does Domain and Kingdom include?

Domain: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya

Kingdom: Plantae, Animalia, Fungi, Protoctista, Prokaryotae

What are the features that distinguish between kingdoms?

• Membrane-bound organelles: whether they are absent or present

• Cell wall: absent or present, and what is it made of?

• Food source: heterotrophic or autotrophic?

What are all of the kingdoms cell walls made up of?

Prokaryotes: peptidoglycan

Fungi: chitin

Plantae: cellulose

Animalia: cell wall absent

Protoctista: sometimes present with a varied composition

What are the benefits to classification?

• It organises information so we can identify it

• It makes communication about organisms easier due to the binomial naming standard

• It helps us predict common features and biochemistry between organisms

• It reflects common phylogeny and ancestry

What is phylogeny?

The study of evolutionary relationships between organisms.

What is a common ancestor?

An organism that lived in the past that two or more species have evolved from.

What is the difference between classification and phylogeny?

Phylogeny is the study of evolutionary relationships based on multiple pieces of evidence and classification is grouping these organisms based on evolutionary relationships and other factors.

What is the difference between intraspecific and interspecific variation?

Intraspecific variation is variation within one species and interspecific variation is variation between different species