characteristics of animals

  • in the 1700s, a man named Carl Linnaeus (Carl Von Linne), introduced a new type of classification

    • it grouped them into:

      • kingdoms - division based on basic cellular structure and nutritional methods

      • phylum - division based on body structures (chordata - vertebrates)

      • class - division of phyla (plural of phylum) based on common traits

      • order - grouping of related families

      • family - groups related by a common ancestor

      • genus - a group of closely related species

      • species - specific epithet - organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring

    • the names are mostly in latin

    • humans are:

      • animalia - kingdoms

      • chordata - phylum

      • mammlia - class

      • primates - order

      • hominidae - family

      • homo - genus

      • sapiens - species

    • linnaeus proposed the binomial naming system (binomial nomenclature), where animals are classified by genus and species

      • it has to be written all in italics

    • as we learn more about internal structures, new models have emerged and got combined with the linnaean system

  • Carl woese proposed the three domain system

    • using evidence from techniques that analyse rna sequences

    • he realized that some species were not related as much as we thought

    • he introduced a new classification called domain that was placed above kingdom

      • an example of a domain is eukaryote, all organisms that are eukaryotic

      • another one is bacteria, which are very tiny single-celled organisms found almost everywhere (true bacteria)

      • and archaea, which are different type of prokaryotic cells found in extreme conditions (primitive bacteria)

  • evolutionary trees

    • these show the relationships between different species or groups

    • for example, birds are more closely related to t-rex’s than to bats because they share a more recent common ancestors

    • to know this dna had to compared to find these common ancestors

  • a mnemonic for the classifications is

    • Dear Kate, Please Come Over For Great Spaghetti


characteristics

  • these are the features that all living organisms

  • to remember this you can use the acronym

    • M - movement

    • R - Respiration

    • S - sensitivity

    • G - growth

    • R - reproduction

    • E - excretion

    • N - nutrition

  • only living things have all 7 features

  • movement

    • the ability to move whether it be the entire body or just part of it’s body

  • respiration

    • a set of chemical reactions in our cells that break down nutrient molecules and release energy for metabolism

      • metabolism are all the chemical reactions that are needed to keep us alive

  • sensitivity

    • ability to detect and respond to internal and external stimuli such as, changes in temperature

  • growth

    • organisms can get larger or a permanent increase in size and dry mass (the mass of an organism once you remove all the water)

  • reproduction

    • the process that makes more of the same kind of organism

  • excretion

    • the removal of the waste products of metabolism (urea, carbon dioxide etc.) and things that are in excess inside the body (water, mineral ions etc.)

  • nutrition

    • the taking in of materials for energy, growth and development

      • for an animal, eating or drinking

      • for fungi or bacteria, this means absorbing things from their environment


dichotomous key

  • there are five scientific names in the dichotomous key

    • 1a. cell(s) are prokaryotic… go to 2 (does not contain a nucleus)

    • 1b. cell(s) are eukaryotic… go to 3 (contains a nucleus)

    • 2a. cell wall(s) contains peptidoglycan… it’s escherichia coli

    • cell wall(s) does not contain peptidoglycan… it’s methanopryus kandleri

    • 3a. autotrophic… it’s chlorophytum comosum (makes it’s own food)

    • 3b. heterotrophic… go to 4 (relies on other organisms)

    • 4a. organism is multicellular… it’s agar it’s bisporus (has multiple cells)

    • 4b. organism is unicellular… it’s amoeba proteus (has one cell)

  • amoeba

    • feeds on other organisms

    • contains a nucleus

    • specimen a is 700 micrometers in length

  • plant

    • photosynthetic

    • cells that make up organism have nuclei

    • specimen b is 60cm in height

  • bacterium

    • lacks a nucleus

    • cell walls contain peptidoglycan (amino acid and sugar polymer)

    • specimen c is 2 micrometers in length

  • mushroom

    • feeds on decaying matter

    • cells that make up organism have nuclei

    • specimen d is 5 cm in height

  • archaeon

    • lacks a nucleus

    • cell walls lack peptidoglycan (amino acid and sugar polymer)

    • specimen E is 5 micrometers in length


kingdoms of life

  • plant kingdoms

    • algae

      • these don’t have roots, stems or leaves

      • they live in water

      • they are the simplest

    • moss

      • they live on solid ground

      • they require a lot of humidity

      • they don;’t have roots to absorb water because they live in humid places

    • ferns

      • their body is divided into roots stems and leaves

      • they also live in humid places

    • phanerogams

      • they are the most common because they reproduce their flowers

      • their bodies are divided into roots, stem and leaves as well

      • an example is a tree

  • dicotyledons - a plant with two embryonic leaves or cotyledons

  • monocotyledons - a plant with on embryonic leaf or cotyledons

    • types of flowering plants

      • angiosperms

        • these flowering plants produce seeds that are enclosed in a fruit or ovary

        • these rely on animals, birds, insect etc.

        • this produces flowers for reproduction

        • these have more diverse root systems, usually taproot (dicots) or fibrous roots (monocots)

        • these often produce hardwood

        • these are either seasonal (deciduous) or evergreen

      • gymnosperms

        • these flowering plants produce seeds that stay on the surface of the scales or leaves

        • these produce cones (strobili) for reproduction

        • these are wind-pollinated plants

        • they usually have a more penetrating root system like the taproot to access deep water

        • these produce softwood products

        • these are usually evergreen


vertebrates

  • the animals with backbones are called vertebrates

    • these are split into smaller groups

      • amphibians - e.g

        • they can live both on land and water

        • they are cold blooded

        • they lay eggs coated in jelly

        • they have gills to breathe under water and lungs to breathe on landfill

      • reptiles

        • they are made of dry scales

        • they lay their eggs on land

        • they spend most of their time under water and only come up sometimes

        • they are also cold-blooded

      • birds

        • they have feathers and wings but not all birds fly

        • they lay eggs with hard shells

        • they are warm blooded

      • mammals

        • they give birth to young ones instead of laying eggs

        • they have lungs to breathe

        • they have hair or fur

        • they have special glands to produce milk for the young ones


DNA base pairing

  • dna has two strands and is composed of nucleotides

  • it is a double helix (two strands coiled together)

  • the nucleotides include

    • adenine

    • thynine

    • cytosine

    • guanine

  • rna uses the less expensive but less stable nucleotide u

  • if one strand has an adenine, the other will have a thynine

  • if a strand had cytosine, then the other has guanine

  • adenine and thymine form two hydrogen bonds while guanine and cytosine form three

  • base pairings are how dna is replicated


arthropods and annelids

  • these are the most diverse group of animals, making up over 80% of all species

  • annelida - these are made of segments that look like rings

  • synapomorphy - traits that set a group of animal apart from their ancestors and other animals with common ancestry

  • chaetae - these are things annelids have that help them move through dirt

  • plesiomorphies - basic traits shared by animals with common ancestry

  • oligochaetes - these have chaetae but only have few of them

    • these eat soil and their poo is rich in things that plants need to grow

  • hirudinea

    • these are mostly parasitic

    • their synapomorphy is their suckers

  • polychaetes

    • they have lots of chaetae

  • arthropods include scorpions, butterflies and lobsters

    • they have segmented bodies

    • they all have an exoskeleton (an outer shell made out of chitin)

    • they have paired and jointed appendages

  • they are grouped into four

    • chelicoriformes

      • these have simple eyes with one lens

      • the largest class are the arachnids

        • these have a cephalothorax - a head and thorax segment fused together

    • myriapods

      • these have many feet

      • all of these are terrestrial, they all have antennae and jaw-like mandibles

      • they are vegetarian

    • hexapoda/insects

      • these have six legs

      • they have a three part body (head, thorax, abdomen), six jointed legs, a chitinous exoskeleton, one pair of antennae and usually wings

    • crustaceans

      • these have a hard chitinous exoskeleton, segmented bodies, and two pair of antennae

      • they usually breathe via gills


kingdoms of life

  • animals, plants, fungi and protoctists are all eukaryotic

    • this means their DNA is in the form of chromosomes and is found in the nucleus

  • bacteria is prokaryotic

    • their DNA is loose in the cell and they do not have a nucleus

  • animals - 5 - 10 million species

    • they are multicellular

    • they are heterotrophs/do not make their own food and get energy from other organisms

    • the mostly reproduce sexually

  • plants - 300,000 species

    • these are multicellular

    • they are autotrophs rather than heterotrophs meaning they get energy from the sun

  • fungi

    • they are either multicellular or unicellular

    • fungi cannot photosynthesise so they are heterotrophs

      • they are rather considered saprotrophs because they feed using saprotrophtyc nutrition

        • this is the process where they secrete digestive enzymes onto food, break down the food and then absorb the nutrients

    • some multicellular ones have a body called mycelium which is made up of hyphae

    • some fungi can cause disease in humans

  • protoctists

    • they are usually single-celled organisms

    • most have nothing to do with humans but some of them do cause disease

  • bacteria

    • they are prokaryotic and live everywhere

    • some of them can photosynthesise but none have chloroplasts

    • they usually feed off of other organisms whether dead or alive

    • many are helpful because they sometimes aid in digestion

  • viruses

    • these are tiny particles that don’t count as cells

    • they have a protein coat surrounding some genetic material

    • they only reproduce inside living cells

      • therefore they are considered parasites

    • they can all be thought of as pathogens