1. Taxonomy and Binomial Nomenclature
Biology
Post Falls High School

2. Why Classify? To name organisms This is binomial nomenclature
To place them in logical relationships
Separate by differences
Group by similarities
This is taxonomy

3. Why give scientific names?
Many different organisms may share a common name
Buzzard = hawk (England) or vulture (U.S.)
Gopher = rodent in West, turtle in S.E.

4. Why give scientific names?
Many organisms have more than one common name
Mt. lion, puma, cougar
Moose, hirvi

5. Beginnings of Classification
Aristotle ( BC) classified all living things he knew
Plant or Animal
Organized Plants into herb, shrub, or tree according to size and structure
Organized Animals by habitat and physical differences
Birds, bats, and some insects grouped together because they all have wings and fly!

6. Binomial Nomenclature
To avoid confusion each has 2 part scientific name
Genus name + specific epithet (species name); genus capitalized/species not
Species name is often descriptive
Written in italics (or underlined)
In Latin
Dead language
Never changes in meaning

7. Red legged grasshopper Melanoplus femur-rubrum

8. Father of Modern Taxonomy

9. Carolus Linnaeus (Carl von Linne)
born on May 23, 1707, in the province of Småland in southern Sweden
University of Uppsala, finished his medical degree at the University of Harderwijk
training in botany was part of the medical curriculum, for every doctor had to prepare and prescribe drugs derived from medicinal plants

10. Carolus Linnaeus (Carl von Linne)
published the first edition of his classification of living things, the Systema Naturae
professorship at Uppsala in 1741, he restored the University's botanical garden (arranging the plants according to his system of classification)
died in 1778

11. Linnaean Classification
Hierarchical with 7 levels, or taxa (taxon-singular)
Kingdom, phylum (division in plants), class, order, family, genus, species

12. American Lobster
Market Squid
Blue Mussel
Virginia Oyster
European Oyster
Phylum
Arthropoda
Mollusca
Class
Malacostraca
Cephalopoda
Bivalvia
Order
Decapoda
Mytiloida
Pterioida
Family
Nephropidae
Loliginidae
Mytilidae
Ostreidae
Genus
Homarus
Loligo
Mytilus
Crassostrea
Ostrea
Species
americanus
opalescens
edulis
virginica

13. Value of Taxonomy
1. Taxonomy works out for us a vivid picture of the existing organic diversity of the earth. 2. Taxonomy provides much of the information permitting a reconstruction of the phylogeny of life. 3. Taxonomy reveals numerous interesting evolutionary phenomena. 4. Taxonomy supplies classifications which are of great explanatory value in most branches of biology and paleontology.
5. Taxonomy organizes known lifeforms.

14. Alterations to Taxonomy
Biologists now group organisms into categories that represent lines of evolutionary descent, or phylogeny, not just physical/chemical similarities
This means similar genes and DNA is a strong contributor in modern taxonomic decisions
Ex. American vulture, African vulture, and stork

15. Cladogram
Identifies and considers only those characteristics that are evolutionary innovations (new traits that arise as species change over time)
New traits in later members of lineage called derived characteristics
Used to construct cladogram, a diagram that shows evolutionary relationships

16. Cladogram

17. Cladogram

19. Molecular Clock
Accumulation of neutral mutations after separation of relatives
Dissimilarity in DNA sequences can be used to calculate time since separation

20. Kingdoms 2 (Plantae/Animalia) for Aristotle/Linnaeus
Then came Protista for microscopic
Then came Fungi for odd plants
Then prokaryotes became Monera
5 kingdoms !

21. Kingdoms Now Monera has been subdivided Now there are 6!
Archaebacteria for the older, primitive bacteria
Eubacteria for the “true” modern bacteria

22. Determination of Evolutionary Relationships
Structural similarities
Breeding behavior
Geographical distribution
Chromosome comparison
Biochemistry

23. Domains
Now scientists have devised supergroups to place these related kingdoms
Eukarya – protists, fungi, plants, animals
Bacteria – the true bacteria
Archaea – primitive forms of bacteria

24. Bacteria Unicellular prokaryotes
Thick, rigid cell walls surrounding a membrane
Peptidoglycan in walls

26. Archaea Unicellular prokaryotes
Live in extreme environments and are all anaerobic
Walls lack peptidoglycan and membranes consist of unusual lipid structure

28. Eukarya All eukaryotes (with nuclei)
All the rest of organisms known to man

31. Without a set of international rules to follow, the results of taxonomy would be confusing at best. The rules of zoological nomenclature are contained in a document known as the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN). The object of the code is to promote stability and universality in the scientific names of animals. All names must be unique, universal, and show stability. Uniqueness Every name has to be unique. If several names have been given to the same taxon, priority decides which name will be the valid name. Universality Zoologists have adopted, by international agreement, a single language to be used on a worldwide basis. All animals are given a generic and specific name in Latin. These names are in italics or are underlined (i.e. Homo sapiens). Stability The ICZN attempts to prevent the frequent changing of names to provide stability.