18.
1 Finding Order in Diversity
The first step in understanding and studying diversity is to describe and name each species
Carolus Linnaeus, a Swedish botanist, developed a two-word naming system called binomial nomenclature. In
binomial nomenclature, each species is assigned a two-part scientific name. The first word refers to the genus of
the species, while the second is a special name designated for the species. Scientific names are written in italic. The
first word (genus) begins with a capital letter, and the second word (species) a lowercase letter.
Examples of scientific names: Ursus maritimus, Ursus arctos, Camelus bactrianus.
• Notice that the first letters of the first and second words in each name are capitalized and uncapitalized
respectively.
• Also notice that since Ursus maritimus and Ursus arctos have the same genus, they must be more related to
each other than to Camelus bactrianus.
binomial nomenclature aimed to standardize names of species because of the disadvantages of common names and
other scientific naming systems:
• Common names vary among languages
• One species may have more than one common name
• Previously, European scientists agreed to use Latin and Greek names for each species; However, these
names were absurdly long because they sought to describe the species in great detail, and scientists focused
on different characteristics for the same species which made the standardization even more difficult.
A dichotomous key is used to identify organisms. It consists of a series of paired statements or questions that
describe alternative possible characteristics of an organism.
Systematics is the science of naming and grouping organisms. The goal of systematics is to organize living things
into groups that have biological meaning. Taxa (singular: taxon) is a name often used to refer to the groups of
biological meaning in the science of systematics.
In addition to developing binomial nomenclature, Linnaeus developed a classification system that organized species
into taxa. His system was based on grouping or classifying organisms according to visible similarities and differences,
which caused ambiguity because different systematists may use different characteristics of species to group them
differently. So, modern systematists and scientists use Darwin’s ideas to classify organisms based on evolutionary
relationships.
Linnaeus's original system had four taxa. Over time, Linnaeus’s original classification system expanded to include
seven hierarchical taxa: species, genus, family, order class, phylum, and kingdom.
• Species: The only “natural” taxon in Linnaeus’ system, defined to be a group of organisms who choose to
mate together and produce fertile offspring.
• Genus: (plural: genera): a group of similar species
• Family: a group of similar genera
• Order: a group of similar families
• Class: a group of similar orders
• Phylum (plural: phyla): a group of similar classes
• Kingdom: a group of similar phyla
18.2 Modern Evolutionary Classification
The concept of descent with modification (based on Darwin’s evolutionary theory) led to the study of phylogeny—
the evolutionary history of lineages. Advances in phylogeny, in turn, led to phylogenetic systematics. The goal of
phylogenetic systematics, or evolutionary classification, is to group species into larger categories that reflect lines
of evolutionary descent, rather than overall similarities and differences (like Linnaean classification).
Phylogenetic systematics places organisms into higher taxa the more closely related they are. The larger a taxon is,
the farther back in time all its members shared a common ancestor.
A clade is a group of species that includes a single common ancestor and all descendants of that ancestor—living and
extinct. A monophyletic group includes a single common ancestor and all of its descendants and only its
descendants. Thus, a clade is a monophyletic group. Some Linnaean groups are considered invalid under
evolutionary classification (phylogenetic systematics) because they are paraphyletic. Paraphyletic groups include a
common ancestor but exclude one or more groups of its descendants and include groups that aren’t descendants of
that common ancestor. Paraphyletic groups include Class Reptilia because it excluded birds even though they share
the same common ancestor with the rest of reptiles.
Modern evolutionary classification uses a method called cladistic analysis. Cladistic analysis compares carefully
selected traits to determine the order in which groups of organisms branched off from their common ancestors. This
information is used to link clades together into a diagram called a cladogram. A cladogram links groups of organisms
by showing how evolutionary lines, or lineages, branched off from common ancestors.
In a cladogram, nodes (the branch points) represent the last point at which two new lineages, formed after a
speciation event, where an ancestral species splits into two new ones, shared a common ancestor. The root of the
cladogram (often the bottom-most point) represents the most common ancestor of the species in the cladogram.
In this diagram, the root ancestor speciated into lineage C and the lineage of the ancestor of the later lineages A
and B. Notice that lineage A and lineage B share a more common ancestor and thus are more related to each
other than to lineage C.
A derived character is a trait that arose in the most recent common ancestor of a particular lineage and was passed
along to its descendants. A character can be derived or not derived depending on which clade we’re dealing with.
For example, Hair is not a derived character for Clade Felidae (cats) because we have other clades that have hair;
similarly, it also is not a derived character of Clade Tetrapoda (four-limbed) because some tetrapods don’t have hair.
Hair is a derived character of Clade Mammalia because all mammals have hair and no other organisms or species
outside of this clade have hair. There are exceptions to this rule because species sometimes lose traits: snakes don’t
have four limbs, but their ancestors did, so they are considered part of Clade Tetrapoda.
If we notice that all haired species have four limbs, but that not all four-limbed species have hair, this suggests that
the trait of hairiness arose from a four-limbed species. This means that the trait of being four-limbed existed before
the trait of being hairy (Clade Mammalia is part of Clade Tetrapoda, therefore Clade Tetrapoda is older than Clade
Mammalia).
Genetic and DNA analysis can be used to better study evolutionary relationships between organisms. Because all
genes mutate over time, shared genes contain differences that can be treated as derived characters in cladistic
analysis. For that reason, similarities and differences in DNA can be used to develop hypotheses about evolutionary
relationships. In general, the more derived genetic characters two species share, the more recently they shared a
common ancestor and the more closely they are related in evolutionary terms.
Two examples of the use of DNA analysis in cladistic analysis include:
• DNA analysis of hooded vultures, American vultures, and storks showed that American vultures are more
closely related to storks and so share with them a more common ancestor, even though they look more
similar to hooded vultures.
• DNA analysis showed that giant pandas share a more recent common ancestor with bears than with
raccoons, while red pandas were more related to raccoons than to bears. So giant pandas were placed in a
clade containing bears and red pandas were placed in a clade containing raccoons.
18.3 Building the Tree of Life
During Linnaeus's time, the only differences among living things were the fundamental characteristics that separated
animals from plants. As biologists learned more about the natural world, they realized that Linnaeus’s two
kingdoms—Animalia and Plantae—did not reflect the full diversity of life, so the classification system had to go
through a series of changes.
• Scientists classify organisms into either plants or animals.
• As researchers studied microorganisms, they discovered that they were very different from plants and
animals, so they placed them in their own kingdom, named Protista.
• Then yeasts, molds, and mushrooms were placed in their own kingdom, Fungi.
• Later, scientists realized that bacteria lack the nuclei, mitochondria, and chloroplasts found in other life
forms. All prokaryotes (bacteria) were placed in yet another new kingdom, Monera (Eukaryotic single-celled
organisms remained in kingdom Protista).
• Scientists discovered that kingdom Monera were actually two genetically and biochemically different groups.
As a result, the monerans were separated into two kingdoms, Eubacteria, and archaebacteria.
Kingdoms of Life, 1700s-1900s
First Introduced Names of Kingdoms
1700s Plantae Animalia
Late 1880s Protista Plantae Animalia
1950s Monera Protista Fungi Plantae Animalia
1990s Eubacteria Archaebacteria Protista Fungi Plantae Animalia
The six-kingdom system of classification includes the kingdoms Eubacteria, Archaebacteria, Protista, Fungi,
Plantae, and Animalia.
Genomic analysis has revealed that the two main prokaryotic groups are even more different from each other
than previously thought. So, biologists established a new taxonomic category—the domain. A domain is a larger,
more inclusive category than a kingdom. Under this system there are three domains:
• Domain Bacteria: corresponds to kingdom Eubacteria
• Domain Archaea: corresponds to kingdom Archaebacteria
• Domain Eukarya: corresponds to kingdoms Fungi, Plantae, Animalia, and Protista
Kingdom Protista is a paraphyletic group, not a clade. It is used to group eukaryotic organisms who don’t fit into
other kingdoms in domain Eukarya.
Evolutionary classification aims to present all life on a single evolutionary tree. The tree of life shows current
hypotheses regarding evolutionary relationships among the taxa within the three domains of life.
Classification of Living Things
DOMAIN Bacteria Archaea Eukarya
KINGDOM Eubacteria Archaebacteria "Protista" Fungi Plantae Animalia
CELL TYPE Prokaryote Prokaryote Eukaryote Eukaryote Eukaryote Eukaryote
Cell walls with Cell walls Cell walls of Cell walls of Cell walls of No cell walls or
peptidoglycan without cellulose in chitin cellulose; chloroplasts
CELL STRUCTURES peptidoglycan some; some chloroplasts
have
chloroplasts
Unicellular Unicellular Most Most Most Multicellular
unicellular; multicellular; multicellular:
NUMBER OF CELLS some colonial; some unicellular some green
some algae unicellular
multicellular
Autotroph or Autotroph or Autotroph or Heterotroph Autotroph Heterotroph
MODE OF NUTRITION
heterotroph heterotroph heterotroph
Streptococcus, Methanogens, Amoeba, Mushrooms, Mosses, ferns, Sponges,
Escherichia coli halophiles Paramecium, yeasts flowering plants worms, insects,
EXAMPLES slime molds, fishes, mammals
giant kelp
Range from Live in some of Not a true clade. Most are Plants are Most animals
free-living soil the most Can be divided decomposers. nonmotile (can't can move about,
organisms to extreme into at least five move from at least for
deadly environments. clades. A protist place to place). some part of
parasites. Some Some are killed may be more their life.
EXTRA INFORMATION are killed by by oxygen. related to
oxygen organisms in
other kingdoms
than to other
protists.