Classification

 Classification is putting organisms into

groups based on similarities and differences
 How do you decide who goes into what
group?
 Look at characteristics
 Try to figure out which are the most
“important”
 Why Classify???
 Human nature- we love to put things in
their place!
 Organization
 Identification
 Less Confusion
 Show Relationships
 Easier – Less to remember
 How are organisms classified?
 First into three broad categories called
domains
 A domain is the highest possible
classification of organisms
 Can also be thought of as a super
kingdom – above a kingdom!
 Three Domains
 Bacteria
– Eubacteria

 Archaea
– Archaeabacteria

 Eukarya
 Archaebacteria
 All organisms in this domain live without
oxygen
 They also live in very hot or acidic
environments

 Great Salt Lake or The Dead Sea

 Sulfur Spring - hot, acidic waters
 Sewage Treatment Plant
 Geysers in Yellowstone
 Eubacteria
 Some of the bacteria in this domain can
cause health problems like strep throat
and food poisoning
 Other bacteria are good to eat, such as
those in yogurt
 Some change milk into cheese!
 Eukarya
 Includes all of the organisms with
eukaryotic cells – they have a nucleus!
 This domain contains most of the
organisms we know best
 This domain is divided into four kingdoms!
The Six Kingdoms
The three domains are divided
into six kingdoms
 Introduction
Six Kingdoms
-organized according to type of cells, how
they obtain food, number of cells in body
1. Archaebacteria
2. Eubacteria
3. Protists
4. Fungi
5. Plants
6. Animals
 Terminology
Getting food
autotrophs – make own food
hetertrophs – get food from other sources

Type of cells
prokaryotic – no nucleus
eukaryotic – with a nucleus
 Autotrophic vs. Heterotrophic
 Captures energy from  Depends on other
the sun or other organisms to get
chemicals energy
 Producer  Consumers

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 Prokaryote vs. Eukaryote
 does not have a • does have a membrane-
membrane-bound bound nucleus
nucleus
• Many organelles
 Few organelles

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 Terminology continued
Body type
unicellular – made of only one cell
multicellular – made of more than one cell;
-have cells with special functions

Reproduction
sexual – need male and female parents
asexual – need only one parent
 Unicellular vs. Multicellular
 Uni- one  Multi- many
 Organism is made of  Organism is made of
only one cell many cells
 Asexual Reproduction
 One Parent
 The primary form of reproduction for
single-celled organisms such as archaea,
bacteria, protists,
 Many plants and fungi reproduce asexually
as well
 Offspring look exactly like parents
 Sexual reproduction
 Way of producing offspring – otherwise a
species dies off!
 Offspring look different from parents
 Two parents
 Occurs in plants and animals
 3 Domains 6 Kingdoms
 Archaebacteria  Archaebacteria

 Bacteria  Eubacteria

 Eukarya  Protista
 Fungi
 Plantae
 Animalia

IS THIS THE CLASSIFICATION FOR THE

FUTURE???

Through discoveries in DNA and other scientific characteristics the six

kingdoms could become 7, 8, 9, 10….. and beyond!!!!! 17
9
 DOMAIN:
Animals
E
U
K
Plants
A
R
A
Fungi
Y
A

Protists

DOMAIN:
Archaeobacteria
Archaeobacteria &
& Bacteria
Eubacteria
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 Archaebacteria
- Same as the domain
-”ancient bacteria”
-existed before dinosaurs
-live in extreme environments
-hot springs
-acidic environment
-methane
-unicellular
-prokaryotes
-some autotrophs, some heterotrophs
 Eubacteria
Same as the domain
Chemical makeup is different from that of
archaebacteria
Made up of common bacteria
-unicellular prokaryote
-some autotrophs, some heterotrophs
 Protists
-“odds and ends” kingdom because its
organisms are pretty different from one
another. Misfits like paramecium;
euglena; volvox; amoeba
-protists include all microscopic organisms
that are not bacteria, not animals, not
plants and not fungi.
-most unicellular, some multicellular
-eukaryotes
-some autotrophs, some heterotrophs
 Fungi
-Unlike plants, fungi cannot make their own
food. Most obtain their food from parts of plants
that are decaying in the soil.
-mushrooms, mold, and mildew
-most are multicellular, some (like yeast) are unicellular
-eukaryotes
-all are heterotrophs – these are NOT plants!
-eat dead or decaying organisms
Examples include yeast; morel; puffball;
Rhizopus stolonifer (bread mold)
 Plants
-you are probably quite familiar with the
members of this kingdom as it
contains all the plants that you have
come to know
-all plants are multicellular
-all are eukaryotes
-plants are autotrophs
Examples: corn; ferns; roses; pine tree,
with over 250,000 species, the plant
kingdom is the second largest
kingdom. Plant species range from
the tiny green mosses to giant trees
 Animals
The animal kingdom is
the largest kingdom
with over 1 million
known species.
-all are multicellular
-all are eukaryotes
-all are heterotrophs
Examples: manatee;
shark; snakes; worms,
coral, mockingbird….
 Summary

Three Domains of Life

Bacteria prokaryotes; cell has no nucleus

Archaea prokaryotes; cell has no nucleus

Eukaryotes; cell has a nucleus

Eukarya Protists, Fungus, Plants, and
Animals