,1.1 - Identifying, Naming and Classifying Species
Importance of Identification
1. Farmers need to be able to identify weeds grow around their crops
2. Doctors need to know which species of bacteria a patient may be infected w/, in
order to prescribe the correct medication
3. Others collect plants for medicinal use
4. Invasive species must be identified to avoid spread
5. To facilitate communication about species worldwide
Identifying New Species
- Species: A group of organisms that can interbreed in nature and produce fertile
offspring
3 Commonly Used Species Concepts:
1) Morphological Species Concept:
- Based on structural features such as
shape and body size
- Pros: Simple concept widely used,
especially for plants
- Cons: Very general; hard to decide how
much difference between individuals is
allowed
2) Biological Species Concept:
- Based on whether or not 2 organisms can
produce fertile offspring
- Pros: Widely used
- Cons: Cannot be applied to all cases (ex.
Species that reproduce asexually, fossil
species, extinct species)
3) Phylogenetic Species Concept:
- Based on evolutionary relationships
- Different species form their own distinct
clusters
- The populations of each species represent
an irreducible group that have a common
ancestor
- Pros: Can be applied to extinct species,
considers information and relationships
learned from DNA
- Cons: Evolutionary histories are not known
for all species
, Naming Species
Taxonomy:
- The identification and classification of species based on natural features
- Father of Taxonomy: Carl von Linnée or Carolus Linnaeus
- Developed the binomial nomenclature method
Binomial Nomenclature Method:
- Refers to a 2 part name: scientific name (called genus) and a species name
- Different formatting based on whether it is typed or written:
- When typing: the name is italicized w/ the genus name capitalized and
the species name in lower case
- Ex. H omo sapiens
- When writing: both parts are underlined
- Ex. Homo sapiens
Classifying Species
Hierarchical Classification:
- A classification system where species
are arranged in categories from most
general to most specific
Taxonomic Categories
- Groupings, arranged in a hierarchy,
that are used to classify organisms
that have been named and identified
- 8 Taxonomic Categories: Domain,
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order,
Family, Genus and Species (from most
general to most specific)
- Each taxonomic category is
called a rank
- Each rank is called a
taxon
Importance of Identification
1. Farmers need to be able to identify weeds grow around their crops
2. Doctors need to know which species of bacteria a patient may be infected w/, in
order to prescribe the correct medication
3. Others collect plants for medicinal use
4. Invasive species must be identified to avoid spread
5. To facilitate communication about species worldwide
Identifying New Species
- Species: A group of organisms that can interbreed in nature and produce fertile
offspring
3 Commonly Used Species Concepts:
1) Morphological Species Concept:
- Based on structural features such as
shape and body size
- Pros: Simple concept widely used,
especially for plants
- Cons: Very general; hard to decide how
much difference between individuals is
allowed
2) Biological Species Concept:
- Based on whether or not 2 organisms can
produce fertile offspring
- Pros: Widely used
- Cons: Cannot be applied to all cases (ex.
Species that reproduce asexually, fossil
species, extinct species)
3) Phylogenetic Species Concept:
- Based on evolutionary relationships
- Different species form their own distinct
clusters
- The populations of each species represent
an irreducible group that have a common
ancestor
- Pros: Can be applied to extinct species,
considers information and relationships
learned from DNA
- Cons: Evolutionary histories are not known
for all species
, Naming Species
Taxonomy:
- The identification and classification of species based on natural features
- Father of Taxonomy: Carl von Linnée or Carolus Linnaeus
- Developed the binomial nomenclature method
Binomial Nomenclature Method:
- Refers to a 2 part name: scientific name (called genus) and a species name
- Different formatting based on whether it is typed or written:
- When typing: the name is italicized w/ the genus name capitalized and
the species name in lower case
- Ex. H omo sapiens
- When writing: both parts are underlined
- Ex. Homo sapiens
Classifying Species
Hierarchical Classification:
- A classification system where species
are arranged in categories from most
general to most specific
Taxonomic Categories
- Groupings, arranged in a hierarchy,
that are used to classify organisms
that have been named and identified
- 8 Taxonomic Categories: Domain,
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order,
Family, Genus and Species (from most
general to most specific)
- Each taxonomic category is
called a rank
- Each rank is called a
taxon
