Classification,

biodiversity
and
conservation
Classification
Learning objectives:
- Discuss the meaning of the term species.
- Describe the classification of organisms into three domains: Archaea, Bacteria and
Eukarya.
- State that Archaea and Bacteria are prokaryotes and that there are differences between
them, limited to differences in membrane lipids, ribosomal RNA and composition of cell
walls.
- Describe the classification of organisms in the Eukarya domain into the taxonomic
hierarchy of kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species.
- Outline the characteristic features of the kingdoms Protoctista, Fungi, Plantae and
Animalia.
- Outline how viruses are classified, limited to the type of nucleic acid (RNA or DNA) and
whether this is single stranded or double stranded.
What is a species?

1. Biological species: a group of organisms that appear similar

to each other, and that can breed together successfully to
produce fertile offspring.
2. Morphological species: a group of organisms that share
many physical features that distinguishes them from other
species.
3. Ecological species: a population of organisms that share the
same features and all live in the same habitat at the same
time.
 Scientific naming with binomial system

Species: Tigris
Genus: Panthera

Scientific name: Panthera tigris

Generic name Specific epithet (or trivial name)

Hierarchical classification
Taxonomy is the study and practice of classification, which
involves placing organisms in a series of taxonomic units, or
taxa (singular: taxon).
Example ….
Three Domains
4 Kingdoms of Eukarya
Viruses
- Microorganisms than can only be seen using an electron microscope.
- No cell structure, no metabolism.
- Made of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) surrounded by protein coat (capsid)
Classification of Viruses
Biodiversity
Learning objectives:
- Define the terms ecosystem and niche.
- Explain that biodiversity can be assessed at different levels, including:

• the number and range of different ecosystems and habitats

• the number of species and their relative abundance

• the genetic variation within each species.

- Describe and use suitable methods to assess the distribution and abundance of
organisms in an area, limited to frame quadrats, line transects, belt transects and
mark-release-recapture using the Lincoln index.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms in an ecosystem.
There are 3 levels of biodiversity:
– Ecosystem diversity
– Species diversity
– Genetic diversity
Ecosystem Diversity
- Define as the number and
range of different ecosystems
and habitats.
- Ecosystem: is a relatively
self-contained, interacting
community of organisms, and
the environment in which they
live and with which interact
• Habitat A group of organisms of the same
species living in the same habitat.

• Population The place where an organism lives.

• Community A group of organisms of different

species living in the same habitat
What is the niche of an organism?
A niche is the role of an organism in an ecosystem.
Spesies Diversity
- The number of species and their relative abundance.
- Takes into account both species richness and evenness.
- Which ecosystem has greater species biodiversity?
Ecosystems with high species diversity tend to be more stable
than ones with limited diversity.
Genetic Diversity
- the genetic variation within each species
- all the alleles of all the genes in the genome of a species.
- exists between members of the same species (or population).
- provides populations with the ability to adapt changes in biotic and abiotic
factors.
Assessing species diversity
1. Identify and catalogue the types of organisms and build a species list.
2. Determine abundance and distribution of the species.

How many How are the different

individuals of species spread
each species through the
are there? ecosystem?
Sampling
- When assessing species diversity, taking samples is usually necessary since
the area may be very large and the species may be small.
- Later, the samples are used to make an estimate of the total numbers in the
area.
- Sampling can be random sampling or systematic sampling.
Random Sampling Using Quadrats

throwing a quadrat
Species frequency and species density
Number of quadrats with a particular species
Species frequency=
Number of total quadrants
A survey gave the following results for a species of the red sea anemone,
Isactinia tenebrosa, on a rocky shore in New Zealand, using a quadrat with
an area of 0.25 m2

Species density= Number of individuals per unit area

Percentage cover

How do you decide how many grass plants there are in a quadrat that you have placed on a lawn?

By estimating the percentage cover of

the species within your quadrat:
• Use a 1m2 quadrat with 100 small
squares in it.
• Decide how many % of the quadrat is
occupied by each species.
Estimating abundance of mobile
animals

How can abundance of ant species be estimated in this area?

 Estimating abundance of mobile
animals
Mark-release- recapture method can be used to estimate the population size
of mobile animals;
• As many as possible animals are caught.
• Animals are marked in a way that will not affect their survival.
• Marked animals are released to mix with their natural population.
• After enough time, another sample is captured in order to count the
Mark-release- recapture method
 Simpson’s Index of Diversity
Simpson’s index of diversity (D) is a measure of biodiversity of a habitat
calculated using the information about abundance of species.

D: ranges from 0 (very low species diversity) to 1 (very high species diversity)
n: total number of organisms of a particular species
N: Total number of organisms of all species
Table shows the counts of mushroom species X in 10 random quadrats thrown
in a field.

a. Calculate the species frequency for mushroom species X in this field.

b. Calculate the species density for mushroom species X in this field.

A fisherman caught 50 fish of species Z in 2 hours, marked all with a nontoxic
paint and returned all safely into their lake.
After a week, he caught 40 fish of the same species at the same spot in 2
hours. 8 of the fish were marked from the last week.
Calculate the population size of the fish Z population in the lake.
 Systematic Sampling
In systematic sampling, samples are taken at intervals along a line (transect)
drawn across areas .
The aim is to investigate distribution of species in an area where physical
conditions (like altitude, soil pH or light intensity) change.
There are two types of systematic sampling methods as line transect method
and belt transect method.
 Line transect method is to record the identity of the organisms that touch
the line at set distances.

Results can be presented as a drawing.

 In belt transect method quadrats are places at regular intervals along the
line to record the abundance of species within the quadrat.

Data can be presented as bar charts or a kite diagram.

At what distances were the most grasses and the most dandelions seen?

The results from belt transects can be drawn into kite diagrams. The width of the bar from
the middle at any distance shows how many individuals were observed at that point.
Conservation
Learning objectives:
- Explain why populations and species can become extinct
- Outline reasons for the need to maintain biodiversity.
- Outline the roles of zoos, botanic gardens, conserved areas (including national parks
and marine parks), ‘frozen zoos’ and seed banks, in the conservation of endangered
species.
- Describe methods of assisted reproduction used in the conservation of endangered
mammals, limited to IVF, embryo transfer and surrogacy.
- Explain reasons for controlling invasive alien species.
Extinction
Extinction: disappearance of a species from the Earth.

Has extinction of any species occurred in the past?

What is the main cause of extinction thread today?
Human activities endanger existence of many species.
Which human activities?
Habitat destruction
Hunting, fishing, excessive harvesting
Climate change, global warming, pollution
Introduction of alien species
Competition
Reasons for maintaining biodiversity
• Moral and ethical reasons
• Ecological reasons
• Economic reasons
• Aesthetic reasons
• Agricultural reasons
• Environmental reasons
Protecting endangered species
What is the best way to conserve an endangered species?
1. National Park
- National parks are areas of land that are controlled by the government of a
country and protected by legislation.
- Agriculture, building, mining and other industrial activities are strictly
controlled in these areas.
2. Zoos
- Zoos have a variety of functions in
addition to providing enjoyment
and interest for visitors who can
see and study animals
- Provide protection for endangered
and vulnerable species
- Captive breeding programmes
- Reintroducing animals to their
natural habitat
3. Assisted reproduction
- Any technique that is involved in treating infertility or protecting a female
mammal of an endangered species from the health risk of pregnancy
- Assisted reproduction:
● Artificial insemination (AI)
● Embryo transfer
● IVF
● Frozen zoo
Artificial insemination
- Injection of semen collected from a male into the uterus
Embryo transfer
- In embryo transfer method,
embryos are removed from
the uterus shortly after
fertilisation and transferred
to surrogate mother for full
term pregnancy.
- Surrogate mother is a female
becomes pregnant with an
embryo from another female
and carries it to full term
IVF
- In in vitro fertilisation (IVF) eggs are fertilised outside the body of a female,
in the lab.
Frozen zoo
- A facility where genetic materials taken from animals are stored at very
low temperatures; spem, eggs, embryos and tissue samples are examples
of these genetic materials.
- https://science.sandiegozoo.org/resources/frozen-zoo%C2%AE
4. Blotanic gardens and seed banks
- In botanic gardens, seeds, cuttings or even
small samples of cells of endangered plants
used to build up a population
of plants.
- The roles of botanic gardens are:
• Protection of endangered plant species.
• Research on reproduction and growth of plants.
• Research on conservation methods
• Reintroduction of species to habitats where
they have become very rare or extinct.
• Education of the public in importance of plants.
Seed banks
- Facility where seeds are dried and kept in cold storage to conserve plant
biodiversity
- The recalcitrant seeds (rubber, coconut palm,
coffee and cocoa) cannot be dried and frozen
to be kept in seed banks.
- The only ways to keep the genetic diversity of
these species are to collect seeds and grow
successive generations of plants or to keep
them as tissue culture.
Controlling Alien Species
Alien species
- Alien species (invasive species) are those that have moved into
a new ecosystem where it was previously unknown.
Effects of invasive species on their new environments:
• They act as successful predators.
• They may bring fierce competition.
• They may introduce new diseases.