1. Diversity of Life: Introduction to Biological Classification
By Deanne Erdmann, MS
BioEd Online

2. Why Do We Classify Organisms?
Biologists group organisms to represent similarities and proposed relationships.
Classification systems change with expanding knowledge about new and well-known organisms.
Tacitus bellus
BioEd Online

3. Leucaena leucocephala
Classification
Binomial Nomenclature
Two part name (Genus, species)
Hierarchical Classification
Seven Taxonomic Catagories
Systematics
Study of the evolution of biological diversity
Leucaena leucocephala
Lead tree
BioEd Online

4. Binomial Nomenclature
Carolus von Linnaeus
Two-word naming system
Genus
Noun, Capitalized, Underlined or Italicized
species
Descriptive, Lower Case, Underlined or Italicized
Carolus von Linnaeus ( ) Swedish scientist who laid the foundation for modern taxonomy
BioEd Online

5. Hierarchical Classification
Taxonomic categories
Kingdom King
Phylum Phillip
Class Came
Order Over
Family From
Genus Great
Species Spain
BioEd Online

6. Kingdoms and Domains BioEd Online The three-domain system
Bacteria
Archaea
Eukarya
The six-kingdom system
Bacteria
Archaea
Protista
Plantae
Fungi
Animalia
The traditional five-kingdom system
Monera
Protista
Plantae
Fungi
Animalia
BioEd Online

7. Systematics: Evolutionary Classification of Organisms
Systematics is the study of the evolution of biological diversity, and combines data from the following areas.
Fossil record
Comparative homologies
Cladistics
Comparative sequencing of DNA/RNA among organisms
Molecular clocks
BioEd Online

8. Taxonomic Diagrams BioEd Online Phylogenetic Tree Cladogram Mammals
Turtles
Lizards and Snakes
Crocodiles
Birds
Mammals
Turtles
Lizards and Snakes
Crocodiles
Birds
Phylogenetic Tree
Cladogram
BioEd Online

9. Dichotomous Keys Identify Organisms
Dichotomous keys versus evolutionary classification
Dichotomous keys contain pairs of contrasting descriptions.
After each description, the key directs the user to another pair of descriptions or identifies the organism.
Example: 1. a) Is the leaf simple? Go to 2 b) Is the leaf compound? Go to 3
2. a) Are margins of the leaf jagged? Go to 4 b) Are margins of the leaf smooth? Go to 5
BioEd Online

10. Thank You
This concludes a brief review of biological classification.
You may find additional information on this section of in the expanded content talks and in the notes below each slide in the slide library.
BioEd Online