This document provides an overview of biological classification and taxonomy. It begins by defining key terms like biosphere, ecosystem, and biodiversity. It then outlines the major kingdoms of life - Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia. For each kingdom, it describes the cell type, number of cells, nutrition, examples of organisms, and their roles in ecosystems. It also discusses the hierarchical levels of classification from domain to species. The document provides a comprehensive introduction to classifying and organizing life on Earth.

1. Biodiversity of Life:
Introduction to Biological
Classification
S106
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2. Biosphere
• While the earth is huge, life is found in a
very narrow layer, called the biosphere. If
the earth could be shrunk to the size of an
apple, the biosphere would be no thicker
than the apple's skin.
Mader: Biology 8th Ed.

3. Biosphere
• The biosphere, like the human body, is
made up of systems that interact and are
dependent on each other.

4. • Biosphere is part of the atmosphere,
hydrosphere, and lithosphere that contains living
organisms.
Mader: Biology 8th Ed.

5. • The biosphere’s systems are called
ECOSYSTEMS.
• All ecosystems must have a constant source of
energy (usually the sun) and cycles or systems to
reuse raw materials.
• Examples:
water, nitrogen and carbon cycles etc.
Mader: Biology 8th Ed.

6. Ecological Levels

7. Biodiversity
What does “Diversity” mean?
Diversity = Variety

8. Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variety of life
on Earth and the essential
interdependence of all
living things.
Diversity = Variety

9. Biodiversity
• Biodiversity:
 The total number of species (est. 15 million)
 The variability of their genes, and
 The ecosystems in which they live
• Extinction:
 The death of the last member of a species
9
 Estimates of 400 species/day lost worldwide

10. 3 components of biodiversity
1. Diversity of genes
Chihuahuas, beagles, and rottweilers are all dogs—but
they're not the same because their genes are different.
Chihuahua Beagle
Rottweilers

11. 3 components of biodiversity
2. Diversity of species
For example, monkeys, dragonflies, and meadow beauties
are all different species.
Saki Monkey Golden Skimmer Meadow Beauty

12. 3 components of biodiversity
3. Variety of Ecosystems
Prairies, Ponds, and tropical rain forests are all
ecosystems. Each one is different, with its own
set of species living in it.
Paines Prairie Florida Sand Pond
Hoh Rain Forest

13. The Challenge
• Biologists have identified and
named over 15 million species so
far.
• They estimate that about 100
million species have yet to be
identified.

14. Why Do We Classify Organisms?
• ____________
• is the branch of biology concerned with
identifying, naming, and classifying organisms.
• Systematics
– Broader science of classifying organisms based on
similarity, biogeography, etc.
– Systematic zoologists have three goals
• To discover all species of animals
• To reconstruct their evolutionary relationships
• To classify animals according to their
evolutionary relationships

15. Finding Order in Diversity
• 1. Why Classify?
– To study the diversity of life
– To organize and name organisms
• 2. Why give scientific names?
– Common names are misleading
jellyfish silverfish star fish
Go to None of these animals are fish!
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16. Why Scientists Assign Scientific Names to Organisms
Some organisms have several common
This cat is names
commonly known
as:
•Florida panther
•Mountain lion Scientific name: Felis concolor
•Puma Scientific name means “coat of
•Cougar one color”
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17. Origin of Scientific Names
• By the 18th century, scientists realized that
naming organisms with common names was
confusing.
• Scientists during this time agreed to use a
single name for each species.
• They used Latin and Greek languages for
scientific names.

18. Linnaeus: The Father of Modern Taxonomy
Carolus Linnaeus developed system of
classification –
binomial nomenclature
a. Two name naming system
b. Gave organisms 2 names
Carolus von Linnaeus
Genus (noun) and species (1707-1778)
(adjective) Swedish scientist who laid
the foundation for modern
taxonomy
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19. Linnaeus: The Father of Modern Taxonomy
Carolus Linnaeus
Rules for naming organisms
1. Written is Latin (unchanging)
2. Genus capitalized, species
lowercase
3. Both names are italicized or Carolus
Linnaeus
underlined
EX: Homo sapiens: wise /
thinking man
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20. Hierarchical Classification
• Taxonomic categories
– Kingdom King
– Phylum Philip
– Class Came
– Order Over
– Family For
– Genus Green
– Species Soup

21. Kingdoms and Domains
• In the 18th century, Linnaeus originally
proposed two kingdoms: Animalia and
Plantae.
• By the 1950s, scientists expanded the
kingdom system to include five
kingdoms.

22. The Five Kingdom System
Monera bacteria
Protista Amoeba, slime mold
mushrooms, yeasts, molds
Fungi
flowering plants, mosses, ferns,
Plantae cone-bearing plants
mammals, birds, insects, fishes,
Animalia
worms, sponges

23. The Six Kingdom System
• In recent years, biologists have
recognized that the Monera are
composed of two distinct groups.
• As a result, the kingdom Monera has
now been separated into two
kingdoms: Eubacteria and
Archaebacteria, resulting in a six-
kingdom system of classification.

24. Classification of Living Things
The three-domain system
Bacteria Archaea Eukarya
The six-kingdom system
Archae-
Eubacteria Protista Plantae Fungi Animalia
bacteria

25. The Three-Domain System
• Scientists can group modern organisms
by comparing ribosomal RNA to
determine how long they have been
evolving independently.
• This type of molecular analysis has
resulted in a new taxonomic category
—the domain.

26. The Three Domains
• The three domains, which are larger than
the kingdoms, are the following:
• Eukarya – protists, fungi, plants and
animals
• Bacteria – which corresponds to the
kingdom Eubacteria.
• Archaea – which corresponds to the
kingdom Archaebacteria.

27. Modern Classification
• Modern biologists group organisms into categories
representing lines of evolutionary descent.
• Species within a genus are more closely related to
each other than to species in another genus.
Genus: Felis Genus: Canis

28. Similarities in DNA and RNA
• Scientists use similarities and differences in
DNA to determine classification and
evolutionary relationships.
• They can sequence or “read” the
information coded in DNA to compare
organisms.

29. Hierarchical Ordering of Classification
Grizzly bear Black bear Giant Red fox Abert Coral Sea star
panda squirrel snake
KINGDOM Animalia
PHYLUM Chordata
CLASS Mammalia
As we move from
the kingdom level ORDER Carnivora
to the species level,
more and more FAMILY Ursidae
members are
removed. GENUS Ursus
Each level is more
specific. SPECIES Ursus arctos
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30. Kingdom Archaebacteria
Cell Type Prokaryote
Number of Cells Unicellular
Nutrition Autotroph or Heterotroph
Location Extreme Environments Volcanoes,
Deep Sea Vents, Yellowstone Hot
Springs
Examples Methanogens
Thermophiles
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31. Kingdom Eubacteria
Cell Type Prokaryote
Number of Cells Unicellular
Nutrition Autotroph or
Heterotroph E. coli
Examples Streptococcus,
Escherichia coli
(E. coli)
Streptococcus
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32. Bacteria and Archaea
Roles in Ecosystem
• Can cause disease
– Lyme disease, strep throat, syphilis
• Photosynthesis and oxygen production
• Food source
• Nutrient transfer
• Decomposition Spirulina
• Some oil deposits attributed to
cyanobacteria

33. Kingdom Protista
Cell Type Eukaryote
Number of Cells Most Unicellular,
some multicellular
Paramecium
Nutrition Autotroph or
Heterotroph
Examples Amoeba,
Paramecium,
Euglena, Green algae
The “Junk-Drawer”
Kingdom
Amoeba
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34. Protista – Roles in Ecosystem
• Photosynthesis and oxygen
production
• Food source (brown, red, green
algae)
– Animal feed, fertilizers
– Algae sheets used in some Japanese
dishes
– Additive to puddings, ice cream, salad
dressing, candy (carrageenan and
alginate)
• Can cause disease
– Avian malaria, human malaria,
amoebic dysentery

35. Protista and Red Tides
• Population explosion
of dinoflagellates
• Neurotoxin released
• Shellfish concentrate
toxin
• Humans can be
killed by eating
shellfish
contaminated by
toxin
http://www.redtide.whoi.edu/hab/rtphotos/noctiluca.jpg

36. Kingdom Fungi
Cell Type Eukaryote
Number of Cells Most multicelluar,
some unicelluar
Nutrition Heterotroph Mildew on Leaf
Example Mushroom, yeast,
mildew, mold
Most Fungi are
DECOMPOSERS
Mushroom
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37. Fungi – Roles in Ecosystem
• Food source
– Mushrooms, truffles, morels
– Fungal colonies in cheeses give them
American chestnut, late 1800s
their flavor
– Beer and wine produced with yeasts
• Antibiotics
• Crop parasites
– Cause loss of food plants, spoilage, infectious
disease
• Claviceps purpurea causes a crop disease
called wild ergot (natural source for LSD)
• Dutch elm disease and Chestnut blight
Claviceps purpurea

38. • Benefit wildlife
– Food, nest sites, hiding cover
Caribou feeding
on lichens

39. Fungi – Roles in Ecosystem
• Symbiosis - mutualism
– Lichens (fungus+alga)
– Mycorrhizae
Lichen
Mycorrhizal fungi

40. Kingdom Plantae
Ferns :
Cell Type Eukaryote seedless
vascular
Number of Cells Multicellular
Nutrition Autotroph
Examples Mosses, ferns,
Douglas fir:
conifers, seeds in cones
flowering plants
Sunflowers:
Mosses growing
seeds in
on trees
flowers
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41. Plants – Roles in Ecosystem
American chestnut, late 1800s
• Food source
• Generate oxygen
• Provide habitat for
humans and wildlife
List 3 functional
roles that plants
play in your life.

42. Kingdom Animalia
Cell Type Eukaryote Bumble bee
Jellyfish
Number of Cells Multicellular
Nutrition Heterotroph
Examples Sponges,
worms, insects, Sage grouse
Hydra
fish, mammals
Poison dart frog
Sponge
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43. Animals – 2 main groups
Invertebrates & Vertebrates

44. Animals - Invertebrates
• Phylum Porifera
• Phylum Cnidaria
• Phylum Mollusca
• Phylum Echinodermata
• Phylum Arthropoda

45. Animals - Invertebrates
• Phylum Proifera
– Sponges, primitive filter feeders
• Phylum Cnidaria
– Jellyfish, corals, sea anemones
• Phylum Mollusca
– Bivalves - scallops, oysters, mussels, clams
– Gastropods – snails, slugs
– Cephalopods – squids, octopi
• Phylum Echinodermata
– Sea urchins and sea stars
• Phylum Arthropoda
– Spiders, scorpions, crabs, shrimp, insects, millipedes, and
more

47. Animals - Vertebrates
• 50,000 vertebrates
• 2 groups
– Jawless forms (Class Agnatha)
• Hagfishes, lampreys
– Jawed forms – most of the animals we know
• Condrichthyes – cartilaginous fishes, sharks, rays
• Osteichthyes – bony fishes
• Amphibia – salamanders, frogs, toads
• Reptilia – snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodiles
• Aves – birds
• Mammalia - mammals

48. Animals – Vertebrate Classes
Condrichthyes
www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Education/bioprofile.htm

49. Animals – Vertebrate Classes
Osteichthyes
www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Education/bioprofile.htm

50. Animals – Vertebrate Classes
Amphibia
www.natureserve.org

51. Animals – Vertebrate Classes
Reptilia
www.natureserve.org

52. Animals – Vertebrate Classes
Aves

53. Animals – Vertebrate Classes
Mammalia

54. God’s Creation
Day Creation Branch of Science
1 Light Physics, Mathematics
2 Sky Meteorology
3 Oceanography, Geography,
Land, water, plants
Marine biology, Botany
4 Sun, moon, stars Astronomy, Cosmology
5 Birds and Fishes Ornithology, Ichthyology
6 Land animals; man Zoology, Cytology,
7 Genetics,
Ecology
God Rested
54

55. • God saw all that he had made, and it was very
good. And there was evening, and there was
morning—the sixth day.
• Thus the heavens and the earth were completed
in all their vast array.
• By the seventh day God had finished the work
he had been doing; so on the seventh day he
rested from all his work. Then God blessed the
seventh day and made it holy, because on it he
rested from all the work of creating that he had
done.
• Genesis 1:31-Genesis 2:1-2

56. God’s Creation
Day Creation Branch of Science
1 Light Physics, Mathematics
2 Sky Meteorology
3 Land, water, plants Oceanography, Geography,
Marine biology, Botany
4 Sun, moon, stars Astronomy, Cosmology
5 Birds and Fishes Ornithology, Ichthyology
6 Land animals; man Zoology, Cytology,
7 Genetics,
Ecology
God Rested
56
Very good, Completed,