Important concepts: Taxonomy

Taxonomy Discipline of classifying organisms and assigning each organism a

universally accepted name.
Carolus Linnaeus Developed Binomial Nomenclature, a two-word naming system for
naming all species on earth.

Genus First part of the scientific name.

Always written first and capitalized
It appears in italics or is underlined.
Specie Second part of the scientific name
Always written second and not capitalized
It appears in italics or is underlined.
Taxa Linnaeus’ hierarchical system of classification includes seven levels
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species. (From largest to
smallest)
Venn diagrams Show hierarchy and grouping relationships of organisms.
Regions that overlap, share common members.
Regions that do not overlap do not have common members.
Each region represents different taxonomic levels.
Important concepts: Flow of energy
Energy All energy in ecosystem comes from the sun.
In ecosystem, when energy is transformed, some energy is lost as HEAT
First law of Energy cannot be created or destroyed (but it can be transformed into
Thermodynamics stored energy & heat)

Second law of Energy is lost as energy is transformed

thermodynamics

Food chain Shows the path of energy from one organism to the next
Energy flows from producers to consumers
Arrows point to who is eating (plant is eaten by herbivore)
Usually decomposers are left out
Food web shows all feeding relationships in an ecosystem (made of many food
chains)
Energy Pyramid Shows energy flow in an ecosystem:
A level of the energy pyramid is called a TROPHIC LEVEL
Each trophic level represents the energy for those organisms
Energy is lost with each trophic (90% is released to the environment as
heat and 10% of the energy is used)
 Important concepts: Classifying
organisms and cycles in nature
Specie Often defined as a group of individuals that actually or potentially
interbreed in nature.
Various species Helpful in purification of water, purification of air, enhance fertility of
soils, maintain climatic stability and various other environmental factors.
It contributes to a healthy ecosystem.
Each species has a specific link with a wealthy ecosystem.

Current taxonomic Now has eight levels in its hierarchy, from lowest to highest, they are:
system Species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom, domain.
Biogeochemical cycle Any of the natural pathways by which essential elements of living
matter are circulated.

Microorganisms Help return minerals and nutrients back to the environment so that the
materials can then be used by other organisms.
More Knowledge
The Kingdom is the largest and most inclusive (includes) of the taxonomic categories.

Species is the smallest and least inclusive of the taxonomic categories.

The more taxonomic levels that two organisms share, the more closely related they are considered to be.

Biologists group organisms into categories that represent lines of evolutionary descent, or phylogeny, not just
physical similarities.
In cladogram, when the derived character is above an organism, the organism lacks that derived character.

In cladogram, when the derived character is below the organism, the organism possesses that derived character.

Decomposers receive energy from all other organisms in an ecosystem.

Food chains/webs can be written as a pyramid; Producers form the base of the pyramid, Consumers form the
upper layers
As the bacteria and fungi decompose dead matter, they also respire and so release carbon dioxide to the
environment, contributing to the carbon cycle.
The term biogeochemical is a contraction that refers to the consideration of the biological, geological, and
chemical aspects of each cycle.
 Key words

Phylogeny - The study of evolutionary relationships among organisms.

Cladograms - diagrams that show the evolutionary relationships among a group of organisms.

Phylogenic tree - a specific type of cladogram.

 Summary
All organisms in an ecosystem need energy
from food to live. An energy pyramid shows
how much food energy is passed from one
organism to another through food chains.
Producers have the largest spot at the base of
the pyramid. Altogether, only about 10% of - Bill Bryson
the food energy at each level gets passed up
to the next level.

Taxonomy is the scientific study of naming,

defining and classifying groups of biological
organisms based on shared characteristics.

Specie is a group of living organisms

consisting of similar individuals capable of
exchanging genes or interbreeding. The
species is the principal natural taxonomic unit,
ranking below a genus and denoted by a Latin
binomial
- T. Harv Eker