REVIEW

Biotic and abiotic factors are what make up ecosystems.

Biotic factors are living things within an ecosystem; such as plants,

animals, and bacteria, while abiotic are non-living components;
such as water, soil and atmosphere.
 Anything which shows characteristics of life is called living.

The fundamental characteristics of life are:

• Are made up of one or more cells.

• Respire (breathe).
• Require energy to live.
• Respond to stimuli in their environment.
• Grow and develop.
• Reproduce.
• Excrete (get rid of wastes).
 TAXONOMY
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification.

There are many ways of classifying things. Some people will use
charts and graphs while others will use a variety of graphic organizers.
One common method used to classify objects is called the "tree
classification" system. This system is used to classify many things, not
only trees!

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A species is a specific type of organism.
THE FIVE KINGDOMS
 PROTIST
Protists are living things that are not animals, plants, fungi or bacteria. A
prominent example of a protist is algae. The difference between protists and
Monera is that the cell of a protist has a nucleus, whereas the cell of a Monera
does not.
Protists are among the most primitive forms of life and have existed for
millions of years. Originally, the protist kingdom was made up of all microscopic
organisms, but scientists created a separate kingdom to differentiate between
protists and bacteria.
 MONERA
Monerans are single-celled organisms, usually referred to as bacteria. Bacteria can
be found everywhere, and is considered one of the simplest forms of life. Bacteria are
single-celled and can feed almost anywhere, meaning they can also live almost
anywhere.
In fact, bacteria live on and inside many other living creatures, including Humans.
The Human digestive system, for example, is dependent on bacteria that live inside our
stomachs.
 FUNGI
Fungi are living creatures that are very diverse in nature. Some resemble bacteria,
whilst others look more like plants. What defines a fungus is its ability to absorb nutrients from
its environment by secreting enzymes. Unlike plants, fungi do not photosynthesize.
Examples of Fungi include mushrooms, mould and yeast.
 PLANTS

Living things in the Plant Kingdom grow in the earth and absorb nutrients
from the soil through roots. Plants also use their leaves to absorb energy from the Sun,
this is called photosynthesis. Plants need water, carbon dioxide and nutrients to survive,
though some plants have adapted to be able to absorb nutrients from insects, such as
the Venus flytrap.

Next to animals, plants are among the most diverse of the kingdoms. Not
only that, but many species of plant that still exist today are extremely old, such as
ferns, which are over 350 million years old and have survived when many species of
animals, such as the dinosaurs, have gone extinct.
 ANIMALS

Living creatures in the Animal Kingdom are multicellular and consume

other organic matter for food. In terms of diversity, the animal kingdom is the largest
of all the kingdoms, and examples of animals can be found almost anywhere on
the planet.

Animals are usually mobile and can detect things going on in their
environment using various senses such as sight, smell, hearing and taste. Due to the
process of evolution, animals have adapted to live in many environments and eat a
wide variety of foods, which has led to huge diversity within the kingdom.

Examples of animals include birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians,

molluscs, insects and many more living things. There are some living things that can
be defined as animals even though they do not look like animals, such as coral.

We can group animals into two categories: invertebrates (animals

without backbones) and vertebrates (animals with backbones).
 CLASSIFYING ANIMALS - INVERTEBRATES
There are over one million invertebrates (1.25 million to be exact) that have been
described by scientists (National Geographic 2012). There are four main groups that may be
very familiar to you: SPONGES, WORMS, MOLLUSCS, ARTHROPODS.
 CLASSIFYING ANIMALS - INVERTEBRATES

SPONGES MOLLUSC WORM ARTHROPOD

MOLLUSC ARTHROPOD ARTHROPOD SPONGES

CLASSIFYING ANIMALS - ARTHROPODS

INVERTEBRATES

ARTHROPODS

CRUSTACEAN
S MILLIPEDES SPIDERS INSECTS
 SPIDERS X INSECTS

Insects have three body segments — a head, a thorax and an abdomen —

while arachnids have just two body parts — a cephalothorax and an abdomen. And while
insects have six legs arranged in three pairs, arachnids have eight legs arranged in four pairs.
In addition, insects have two antennae, while spiders do not have antennae.
CLASSIFYING ANIMALS - VERTEBRATES

VERTEBRATES

FISH AMPHIBIANS REPTILES BIRDS MAMMALS

CLASSIFYING ANIMALS - VERTEBRATES
 CLASSIFYING ANIMALS - MAMMALS

Mammals have warm blood and usually have hair or

fur on their bodies. Mammals are born alive and the mothers
feed their babies with milk. Humans are mammals, but other
examples of mammals include lions, cats and sheep.
 CLASSIFYING ANIMALS - FISH

Fish live and lay their eggs in water. They have fins instead of legs and gills instead of lungs.

Fish are vertebrates. Their skeleton is made up of bones or cartilage. They

are also cold-blooded. Almost all fish are covered in scales. Water enters through
the mouth and goes to the gills. They collect the oxygen and distribute it to the
rest of the body through the blood vessels then the water is expelled through an
opening which can be found in the majority of the fish behind their head which
is called the gill flap.
Fish reproduce by laying eggs. Almost all fish are carnivores.
Whales and dolphins are not fish but mammals.
CLASSIFYING ANIMALS - VERTEBRATES
 CLASSIFYING ANIMALS - REPTILES

Reptiles live in water and on land. They have scales and

are cold-blooded. This means that they cannot keep warm by
themselves and need to be in a warm place. They lay their eggs
on land.
Examples of reptiles include lizards, snakes and turtles.
CLASSIFYING ANIMALS - VERTEBRATES

Birds are warm-blooded and have beaks, feathers, wings and two legs. They
lay their eggs on land.
CLASSIFYING ANIMALS - VERTEBRATES

Amphibians live on land and in water, however, they lay

their eggs in water. They are cold-blooded and have smooth
skin.
Examples of amphibians include frogs, toads and
salamanders.
Thank you!