Hierarchical System

of Classification
MODULE 5
 Biodiversity

• Biodiversity is the variation among living organisms from

different sources including terrestrial, marine, and desert
ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of which they are a
part.
• It describes the richness and variety of life on earth.
• It is the most complex and important feature of our planet.
• Without biodiversity, life would not sustain.
 Biological Species Concept
• Biological species is all of the populations of individuals that actually or
can potentially breed with each other in nature to produce fertile offspring.
• The result of this interbreeding is movement of genes, called gene flow,
throughout the species.
• Members of the same species share a common group of genes—a gene pool
—and a common evolutionary history.
• Should members of different populations mate but produce no or no fertile
offspring or very rarely breed with each other even when present in the
same location, they are considered different biological species.
 Biological Species Concept
• Nevertheless, the biological species concept gives
scientists a snapshot of the evolution of new species in
many groups of plants and animals.
• This is likely to be the case if individuals in the two
populations meet the following two conditions:
♦ They usually breed together if they meet in the wild.
♦ Their breeding produces offspring able to produce
their own offspring.
 Levels of Biodiversity
• Biodiversity is coined from the words, biological diversity.
• Usually, scientists would refer to three levels of
biodiversity namely: different kinds of organisms (species
diversity), genetic information that organisms contain
(genetic diversity) and different kinds of places where
organisms live and the interconnections that bind these
organisms together (ecosystem diversity)
 SPECIES DIVERSITY
• Species diversity refers to the variety of different types of
species found in a particular area.
• It is the biodiversity at the most basic level.
• It includes all the species ranging from plants to different
microorganisms.
• No two individuals of the same species are exactly similar.
• For example, humans show a lot of diversity among themselves .
 GENETIC
• It refers to DIVERSITY
the variations among the genetic
resources of the organisms.
• Every individual of a particular species differs from
each other in their genetic constitution.
• That is why every human looks different from each
other.
• Similarly, there are different varieties in the same
species of rice, wheat, maize, barley, etc.
 ECOLOGICAL
•
DIVERSITY
An ecosystem is a collection of living and non-living organisms
and their interaction with each other.
• Ecological biodiversity refers to the variations in the plant and
animal species living together and connected by food chains and
food webs.
• It is the diversity observed among the different ecosystems in a
region.
• Diversity in different ecosystems like deserts, rainforests,
mangroves, etc., include ecological diversity.
If there are a lot more organisms in the
world than you can count, how will
you be able to know and identify them?
Is it necessary to classify them?
CLASSIFICATION BASED ON THE
TYPOLOGICAL SPECIES CONCEPT

• The taxonomic classification

system (also called the Linnaean
system after its inventor, Carl
Linnaeus, a Swedish botanist,
zoologist, and physician) uses a
hierarchical model.
CLASSIFICATION BASED ON THE
TYPOLOGICAL SPECIES CONCEPT

• Moving from the point of

origin, the groups become
more specific, until one
branch ends as a single
species.
CLASSIFICATION BASED ON THE
TYPOLOGICAL SPECIES CONCEPT

• For example, after the common

beginning of all life, scientists
divide organisms into three large
categories called a domain:
Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.
CLASSIFICATION BASED ON THE
TYPOLOGICAL SPECIES CONCEPT

• Within each domain is a second

category called a kingdom.
• After kingdoms, the subsequent
categories of increasing specificity
are phylum, class, order, family,
genus, and species.
 THE SIX-KINGDOM SYSTEM OF
CLASSIFICATION
• In line with the three domains of life,
the six-kingdom system has been
adapted to reflect the difference
between bacteria and archaea.
 THE SIX-KINGDOM SYSTEM OF
CLASSIFICATION
• In this system of classification, Kingdom Monera
in the five-kingdom system was replaced and
divided into two distinct groups, Kingdom
Eubacteria and Kingdom Archaea, in addition to
the four eukaryotic kingdoms characterized
above (Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia).
 THE SIX-KINGDOM SYSTEM OF
CLASSIFICATION
• Kingdom Eubacteria includes the true bacteria
and cyanobacteria, while Kingdom Archaea
includes bacteria-like organisms that live in
extremely harsh environments, such as hot
springs, volcanic vents, sewage treatment
plants, ocean floors, and swamp sediments.
• In addition, it is important to note that there
are organisms that are on the borderline
between living and nonliving worlds.
• These organisms include viruses, prions
(proteinaceous infectious particle), and other
noncellular entities.
• These are, therefore not included either in
the five-kingdom system or in six-kingdom
system of classification.
• This Linnaean system of classification was
widely accepted during the nineteenth
century and still the basic framework for
all taxonomy in the biological sciences
today.
• (Keep Plates Clean Or Family
Gets Sick.)
• Remember this statement, so
you can easily rank them
without sweat.
Using the Linnaean Classification

KINGDOM ANIMALIA

PHYLUM CHORDATA

CLASS MAMMALIA

ORDER PRIMATE

FAMILY HOMINIDAE

GENUS HOMO

SPECIES SAPIENS
• Another feature of Linnaean concept is
the binomial nomenclature.
• The binomial nomenclature is the system
of giving living things a two-part name,
which is Latinized.
• The binomial nomenclature comprises the
scientific name of the organism.
• During international conferences, the scientific
names erase the confusions brought about by
using common names.
• This idea of Linnaeus was very well accepted
by the scientists of his time.
• His system of classification is still used up to
this present time, and this gave him the title
Father of Modern Taxonomy.
THANK YOU!