A TE

: E B R Y
11 1 RT L O G
E
BIO INV ZOO
Academic year
2021/22 – Semester 1

MARIAN UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE
(A Constituent College of St
Augustine University of
Tanzania)
By Mdoe, FP; M.Sc. Ed. (BL), B.Sc. Ed.
(Hons) (BL/CH) Mob: +255 658 625 636
E-mail: mdoefp@gmail.com
 LECTURE 1:
Introduction to Invertebrate Zoology

By Mdoe, FP; M.Sc. Ed. (BL), B.Sc. Ed. (Hons) (BL/CH) Mob: +255 658 625 636
E-mail: mdoefp@gmail.com
 INTRODUCTION
Zoology
• study of members of the animal kingdom and
animal life in general.
• It includes the inquiry for:
i. individual animals and
their constituent parts, even to the
molecular level.
ii. animal populations and entire faunas
iii. the relationships of animals to each other,
to plants, and to the nonliving environment.

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 INTRODUCTION cont …
Invertebrates
• Animals lacking the vertebral column or backbone
• Examples: insects (like flies, beetles, butterflies),
snails, lobsters, mollusks, sponges, sea stars,
and octopuses.

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INTRODUCTION cont …
Examples of Invertebrates

https://www.animalspot.net/category/invertebrates
 Animal classification
• Division of animal kingdom into vertebrates and
invertebrates is artificial and reflects a historic human
bias in favour of humankind’s historic relatives.

† One characteristic (i.e. Backbone) of a single

subphylum (i.e. vertebrata) of animals is used as
the basis for separating the entire animal
Kingdom.
† It separates a relatively small taxonomic group of
animals with limited diversity (vertebrates) from a
huge group with great diversity ( invertebrates)
† About 95 percent of all living animal species are
invertebrates.
.
The major phyla of animals:
Phylum Porifera, e.g. sponges
Phylum Cnidaria, e.g. sea anemones
Phylum Mollusks, e.g. snails
Phylum Platyhelminthes, e.g. tape worms
Phylum Nematoda, e.g. ascaris
Phylum Annelida, e.g. earth worms Invertebrates
(95%)
Phylum Arthropoda, e.g. mosquito
Phylum Echinodermata, e.g. star fish
Phylum Hemichordata, e.g. acorn worms
Phylum Chordata - Subphylum Urochordata, e.g. tunicates
- Subphylum Cephalochordata, e.g. amphioxus
- -Vertebrates (5%)
- Subphylum Vertebrata, e.g. frog 7
Definition … cont …

Biological diversity, or biodiversity

 refers to all of the variety of life that exists on Earth.
 Can be described and measured at three different
levels: species, genetic, and ecosystem diversity.
 Species diversity refers to the number of different
species in an ecosystem or on Earth as a whole.
It is the measure of success through adaptation
and variation.
 DNA is the molecule responsible for diversity
Specific regions of DNA (genes) code for specific
types of proteins
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 Diversity of Invertebrates
Diversity of Invertebrates
Invertebrates are incredibly diverse, most small but…
 Giant squid - 60 ft long
 Ribbon worms (nemerteans) can grow up to 180 ft long
 At the other end, rotifers mostly <0.001 mm smaller
than some bacteria
Invertebrates are found in all habitats including the depths
of the oceans and on glacial ice
The diversity presented by the invertebrates is helpful for the
functional approach, since the adaptation in structure and
process is often made most clear by comparing species with
widely differing life styles and ecology.
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Intro … Cont …

Giant squid 10
Diversity … Cont …
Major Invertebrate Environments
—Marine
—Estuaries
—Freshwater
—Terrestrial
—Host organisms

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Diversity … Cont …
The marine environment
The animal kingdom is generally believed to have
originated from Archeozoic oceans first before the first
fossil record.
Every major phylum of animal has at least some
marine representatives.
Some groups such as cnidarians and echinoderms, are
largely or entirely marine.
From ancestral marine environment, different groups
of animals have invaded fresh water, some have moved
onto land.
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Diversity … Cont …
 The oceans covers approximately 71% of the earth’s surface
 Most of invertebrate diversity is in the oceans, Why might
this be?
—Because life on land is challenging and Water in the
oceans:
• allows simple gas exchange across body surface
• prevents dehydration
• provides movement of sperm and egg and allows for
external fertilization
• flushes away waste
• is a versatile solvent – makes nutrients available
• is less dense than air – no need for rigid support and
allows easy movement
• has high specific heat so temps are more stable 13
Intro. to Animal Classification … Cont …
Biosystematics
is the science through which life forms are discovered,
identified, described, named, classified and catalogued,
with their diversity, life histories, living habits, roles in an
ecosystem, and spatial and geographical distributions
recorded.
It can also be defined as the study of the kinds and
diversity of organisms and the relationship between them
Organisms were first classified more than 2000yrs ago by
Aristotle (Greek) into plants or animals. Later on, this
simple classification was expanded by the Romans who
grouped animals into units/groups called genera (sing:
genus)
E.g. the cats were assigned the genus Felis, horses to
genus Equus etc
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 .
Nomenclature:
Polynomial system:
—Until 250 years ago, biologists used to add a series of
descriptive terms to the name of the genus when
they wanted to refer to a particular kind of organisms
(species).
—There were so many phrases used and the system
was known as Polynomial system
Binomial nomenclature system:
—Swedish biologist; Carolus Linnaeus (1707-78)
simplified the system into a Binomial nomenclature
system.
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 .
Nomenclature: cont …
—Binomial nomenclature system; a species is given a
name consisting of two words; first word, refers to the
name of the genus in which that species belongs and
the second word, refers to a designation for that
particular species.
—The combination of the two words constituted scientific
name for the species, E.g. Honey bee is scientifically
named Apis melifera.
—Scientific names serve the purpose of avoiding
confusion; no more than one organism can have the
same scientific name
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 .
Nomenclature: cont …
Sets of international rules/codes on naming living things;
† International Code of Zoological Nomenclature
(ICZN) which deals with animals and heterotrophic
protozoans.
† International Code of Botanical Nomenclature
(ICBN) for plants, fungi, algae, and photosynthetic
protozoans.
† International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria
(ICNB) for bacteria and archaea. Scientists try to
adhere to these codes closely.

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 .
Nomenclature: cont …
Normally, scientific names are italicized or underlined, with
the generic name capitalized and the specific name all in
small case letters.
Upon first mention of a species in any write up, full name
must be given, but the name can be abbreviated to the first
letter of the genus and the species name in subsequent
mention.
However, in some cases, particularly in the mosquito
literature, the genus name abbreviation consists of two
letters, Ae. for Aedes, An. for Anopheles, Cx. for Culex, Cs. for
Culiseta, and so on.
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 .
Nomenclature: cont …
Sp. and Spp.:
—When dealing with organisms for which, for various
reasons, we know the genus, but not the species, the
organism is identified by the generic name followed by
the abbreviation “sp“.
—The plural abbreviation "spp." is usually used to refer to
all the individual species within a genus. i.e. sp.= single
species, spp.= plural, several species.
—These abbreviations can also be used when the names
of the specific species is not important to the subject
under discussion.
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 Linnaeus Classification
Linnaeus Classification:
Linnaeus reorganized 7 categories of classification: species,
genus, family, order, class, phylum and kingdom in a
hierarchical order
Each category in the hierarchy is a collective unit containing
one or more groups from the next lower level
A genus is a group of closely related species; a family is a
group of related genera; an order is a group of closely related
families etc
From evolutionary point of view, species in any one genus
are believed to be more closely related than to species in any
other genus
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 Linnaeus Classification
Linnaeus Classification: Cont …
The more similar two taxa are, the more closely related
they are likely to be.
The more similar two organisms are in their morphology
(physical characteristics) the more recently did they last
share a common ancestor.
Phenetic (Linnaean) system of classification
—assigns every organism a kingdom, phylum, class, order,
family, genus, and species.
—This is an approach to taxonomy based on measurable
similarities and differences in phenotypic characters, but
without consideration of homology, analogy, or
phylogeny 21
 Linnaeus Classification
Linnaeus (phenetic) Classification: Cont …
—group organisms that are not necessarily closely related,
just similar in their overall grade of evolution.
—exclude some organisms that have inherited a
conspicuous evolutionary novelty and lumping together
other organisms based on more primitive traits.
For example, birds are now known to be the direct
evolutionary descendants of small, predatory dinosaurs.
The skeletal similarities between Mesozoic birds and
coelurosaurian dinosaurs are remarkable, yet birds are
not classified as reptiles because they have feathers.

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 Definition of Terms
Definition of some Terms:
Homologous characters are shared characters that result
from common ancestry.
 Homoplasies (sing. Homoplasy) are shared characters
that are not a result of common ancestry, but of
independent evolution of similar characters (they are not
homologous). Can also result from convergent evolution.
Convergent evolution occurs when natural selection work
under similar environmental pressures, produces similar
(analogous) adaptations in organisms from different
evolutionary lineages.

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 Cladistics system of Classification
Cladistics system of Classification:
Because the Linnaean system is not based on evolution,
most biologists are switching to a classification system that
reflects the organism’s evolutionary history.
Evolutionary relatedness among species is referred to as
phylogeny.
Cladistics is an approach to taxonomy that uses
evolutionary descent as the sole criterion for classification.
It was developed by Willi Hennig, an entomologist, in 1950.
Under this taxonomy approach, it is phylogeny rather than
evolutionary grade or overall similarity that counts.

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 Cladistics system of Classification
Cladistics system of Classification: Cont …
Not all traits are of equal importance in determining
evolutionary relationships
Only traits that are evolutionary novelties, evolved after
evolution of the last common ancestor of the animals in the
group, are considered in determining evolutionary
relationships.
The basis of a cladistic analysis is data on the characters or
traits, of the organisms in which we are interested. These
characters could be anatomical and physiological
characteristics, behaviors, or genetic sequences
The result of a cladistic analysis is a tree, which represents a
supported hypothesis about the relationships among the
organisms 25
 Terms used in Cladistics
Terms used in Cladistics:
Cladogram: A branching diagram that depicts species
divergence from common ancestors. They show the
distribution and origins of shared characteristics.
Apomorphy: is a derived or specialised character, unique to
a particular species and all its descendants and which can be
used as a defining character for a species or group in
phylogenetic terms.
Autapomorphy: is an apomorphy that is restricted to a
single species. An example is speech, which is found solely in
humans (Homo sapiens) and not in other primates

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 Terms used in Cladistics
Terms used in Cladistics: cont …
Synapomorphy: is an apomorphy that is shared by two or
more species or groups. Such traits define the strictly clades,
which are the basis of cladistic classification systems.
Synapomorphy is evidence that the taxa in question are
related
Plesiomorphy: is an ancestral or primitive character. These
are primitive for the group in question and cannot provide
evidence for the group. For example, vertebrae are found in
zebras, cheetahs, and orangutans, but the common ancestor
in which this trait first evolved is so distant that the trait is
shared by many other animals. Therefore, possession of
vertebrae sheds no light on the phylogenetic relations of
these three species
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Terms … Cont …
Terms used in Cladistics: cont …

 We often think of primitive things as being simpler and

inferior — but in many cases the original (or
plesiomorphic) state of a character is more complex
than the changed (or apomorphic state). For example,
as they have evolved, many animals have lost complex
traits (like vision and limbs). In the case of snakes, the
plesiomorphic characteristic is "has legs" and the
apomorphic characteristic is "doesn't have legs."
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Terms … Cont …
Terms used in Cladistics: cont …
Symplesiomorphy: refers to the plesiomorphy that is
shared between two or more taxa. Shared possession of a
symplesiomorph character state is not evidence that the
taxa in question are related
Monophyletic taxon: A group composed of a collection of
organisms, including the most recent common ancestor of
all those organisms and all the descendants of that most
recent common ancestor. A monophyletic taxon is also
called a clade.

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Terms … Cont …
Terms used in Cladistics: cont …
Paraphyletic taxon: A group composed of a collection of
organisms, including the most recent common ancestor of
all those organisms but does not include all the
descendants of the most recent common ancestor
These are incomplete groups based primarily on
physical characteristics rather than directly on
evolutionary relationships

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Terms … Cont …
Terms used in Cladistics: cont …
Polyphyletic taxon: A group composed of a collection of
organisms in which the most recent common ancestor of all
the included organisms is not included, usually because the
common ancestor lacks the characteristics of the group
This is an artificial group which is based primarily on
physical characteristics rather than on evolutionary
relationships
When trying to determine evolutionary relationships
(inferring a phylogeny), we only want to consider
homologous characters.
• Homoplasies can create errors.
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Constructing phylogenetic trees (phylogenies)
Constructing phylogenetic trees (phylogenies)
An evolutionary (Phylogenetic) tree represents the
evolutionary relationships among a set of organisms or
groups of organisms, called taxa (singular: taxon)

 The tips of the tree represent groups of descended taxa

(often species) and the nodes on the tree represent the
common ancestors of those descendants

Two descendants that split from the same node are called
sister groups
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Constructing phylogenetic trees … Cont …
Phylogenetic tree

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Constructing phylogenetic trees … Cont …
 An outgroup — a taxon outside the group of interest. All
the members of the group of interest (ingroup) are more
closely related to each other than they are to the outgroup

 A clade is a group of organisms that includes an ancestor

and all descendant of that ancestor

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 Constructing phylogenetic trees con
Clades:

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 Parsimony Principle in constructing phylogenies
Parsimony Principle in constructing phylogenies

• The principle is based on choosing the simplest

scientific explanation that fits the evidence
• Theory should provide the simplest possible (viable)
explanation for a phenomenon.

36
Parsimony Principle in constructing phylogenies … Cont …

 Consider the two hypotheses about vertebrate

relationships using the parsimony principle:

37
Parsimony Principle in constructing phylogenies … Cont …

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Parsimony Principle in constructing phylogenies … Cont …

 Hypothesis 1 requires six evolutionary changes and

Hypothesis 2 requires seven evolutionary changes, with
a bony skeleton evolving independently, twice. Although
both fit the available data, the parsimony principle says
that Hypothesis 1 is better — since it does not
hypothesize unnecessarily complicated changes.

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 Basic assumptions in cladistics

Basic assumptions in cladistics

—There are three basic assumptions in cladistics:

1)Change in characteristics occurs in lineages over time

2)Any group of organisms is related by descent from a
common ancestor
3)There is a bifurcating, or branching pattern of lineage-
splitting

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Advantages of phylogenetic classification
Advantages of phylogenetic classification
1.Phylogenetic classification tells us about the organism’s
evolutionary history
2. Phylogenetic classification does not attempt to "rank"
organisms. Linnaean classification "ranks" groups of
organisms artificially into kingdoms, phyla, orders, etc.
This can be misleading as it seems to suggest that
different groupings with the same rank are equivalent

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Ecological roles of Invertebrates?
Ecological roles of Invertebrates
•Form part of the foundation of most food webs
•Pollinate flowers & crops
•Cycle nutrients & waste materials
•Important food sources
•Basically form the ‘backbone’ of most ecosystems
•Many diseases that effect humans and the animals we
depend on are caused by invertebrates
•Invertebrates are the base of many medical studies
•Consumption and reduction of organic matter
•Decomposition of organic matter
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“If human beings were not so impressed by size alone,
they would consider an ant more wonderful than a
rhinoceros."
"If invertebrates become extinct, the world as we know
it would cease to exist."
“…. the little things run the world.”

-- E.O. Wilson
Professor Emeritus
Harvard University

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 References
References:
1.Wallace, R.L., Taylor, W.K., Beck, D.E. and Braithwaite, L.F.
(2003). Invertebrate zoology: A laboratory manual (6th.ed.).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
2.Barnes, D.B. and Ruppert, E.E. (1994). Invertebrate
zoology (6th .ed.). Fort Worth, Tex.: Saunders College
Publishing.

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