Evolution and Diversity
A. Vertical and horizontal dimensions of life.
B. How many species?
1.4 million (maybe up to 100 million)
-insects highest number: ~750,000 with
290,000 Coleoptera (beetles)
C. How do we organize diversity?
-systematics
-taxonomy
D. How are species named?
Basic unit- species
binomial nomenclature
genus--specific epithet
Quercus alba L. (white oak)
authority
Canus lupus (gray
wolf)
Canus rufus
(red wolf)
Canus latrans
(coyote)
Canus familiaris (dingo)
Canus lupus familiaris (dog)
E. How many major groups of organisms are there?
"Lumpers and Splitters”
modern discoveries are revolutionizing
systematics
How many kingdoms?
Most systematic biologists say three
(animals, plants and fungi)
Prokaryotic cells compared
with eukaryotic cells
from: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/cells/procaryotes/images/procaryote.jpg
2. Eubacteria
3. Eukarya
from: http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/Sciences/Zoology/AnimalPhysiology/Anatomy/Anatomy/animalcell.jpg
-Animalia
Arthropoda Coleoptera
Chordata Mammalia
-Fungi
-Plants
-Protista
F. Phylogeny
-the history of organismal relationships as they change through time
-the "root" of the tree
-How did ancestral domains change over time?
