Systematizing Taxonomic Diversity

1. Classification of the local application

• naming of plants and recognizing uses food shelter fiber medicinal poisonous
• naming of domesticated and wild animals

LOCAL OR VERNACULAR NAMES OF COMMON NAMES

● Written descriptions of familiar organisms prepared and recorded
Greeks Romans Arabs Chinese Note: possibly also the Aztecs & Mayans

Names are found in:

H____________________
erbals — books about plants
B____________________— books about animals
estiaries
C____________________—
ompendium catalogue of plants and animals

2. Universal system of nomenclature

● Introduction of a movable type of printing press
● Latin names
● Latin (traditional language of scholars of Middle Ages; also the universal
language
● Genus — the important name as initial word in names of organisms
● Polynomial system —
Polynomial — genus plus string of Latin words and phrases consisting of up to 15 words
or even more

3. Various systems of classification

● A____________
rtificial systems- based on morphological similarities or few characters
● N____________ systems - based on theorized evolutionary relationship
atural
- based on numerous characters
- members of a group have had a common ancestor
(monophyletic)
Influenced by Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection in Origin of
Species (1859)

Artificial Systems of Classification:

1. Carl Von Linné (Carolus Linnaeus) — Swedish botanist
a. Significant publications:
- Systema Naturae (classification of plants, animals, minerals)
- _______
10 th edition (1758) — starting point of animal names
- S______________________
pecies plantarum — classification of plants based on the number and
arrangement of sexual parts
- _______
2nd th edition (1753) — starting point of plant names

b. introduced the binomial system of nomenclature

polynomial — true name
binomial — alternate name
Polynomial system:
Advantage: contrasts the characteristics of a species from those of relatives
 Disadvantages cumbersome
● no single name for organism (descriptive terms may be altered at will
by authors
Binomial System:
G___________
enus name + s___________
pecies epithet = name of species
Advantages specific and simple to remember

Principle of p_______________
riotrity (the earliest name remains for the official name)

c. introduced the consistent use of a hierarchy for classification but did not
use it
2. Andres Caesalpina (Italian) 1519-1603
● classified the plant Kingdom based on h____________
abitat
3. John Ray (English) 1627-1705
● classified the plant and animal kingdom based on f__________
orm and general
morphology

Johan Christian Fabricius – student of Linnaeus; named more than 10,000 species of
insects; he focused on the Insecta which at that time also included non-insect arthropods.

Note: Modern classification of insects exclude the spiders (Araneae) and the mites (Acari)

Natural Systems of Classification

● related plants and animals were catalogued together

1. Georges C_________
uvier (1759-1882) — classified animals including the extinct ones
2. E__________ and P__________ — classified plants
ngler rantl

Phylogenetic systems of classification

Ernst H___________
aeckel (German) — 19th century
- classified animals, especially the vertebrates, using e_________________
mbryological characters
Charles B_________ (English) — 20 century
essey th

- established the phylogeny of plants, especially the angiosperms (concept of

primitiveness)

4. Modern systems of classification

S________________
ystematics — scientific study of the diversity of living organisms and their
evolutionary relationships

3 Major Concerns of Systematics:

a. T_______________
axonomy — theory and practice of classifying organisms; also, defined as
the theory and practice of naming, describing and classifying organisms; two
major aspects of classification are grouping and ranking

b. B_______________
iosystematics — experimental aspect
- study of the variation in populations and how species are formed;
usually concerned with solving problems that focus on species
 complexes and variation within species
c. P_________________
hylogenetics – sometimes called phylogenetic systematics — study of the
evolutionary relationships of taxa; the unraveling of evolutionary history; main
concern is the study of phylogeny of taxa and of reconstructing scenarios that
led to evolutionary changes in populations of organism

d. Speciation and Diversification

Biological Species Concept

Several definitions of a species are found in literature: the widely used being the biological
species concept proposed by E_________________.
rnst Mayr

The biological species is a group of actually or p__________________________________________

otentially
which are r_______________________
elatively
elatively
eproductively isolated from other such groups. Reproductive
Isolation means that the members of the interbreeding populations will not exchange
genes with other interbreeding groups.

Three aspects of the biological species concept:

1. A species is defined by d_____________________
istinctiveness than by difference.
2. A species consists of p_________________
opulation rather than unconnected individuals.
3. A species is defined by its relation to nonspecific populations (Isolation) rather than
by the relation of conspecific individuals to each other (fertility)

Limitations of the biological species concept:

1. Applies only to sexually reproducing organisms

Ex. Bacteria – asexually reproducing

- Excluded because each individual is, in effect, reproductively isolated
from all others
- Therefore, bacteria must be identified by phenotypic and biochemical
traits rather than the potential to interbreed

2. Classifying extinct forms of life

- Fossil remains re classified based on morphology
- No idea whether those fossils interbreed in the past

3. Organisms in the wild may interbreed when in the zoo, aquarium or laboratory

To see how one species arise, one should consider the causes for reproductive isolation.
Isolating mechanism preserve the Integrity of each species' gene pool because gene flow
between them is prevented.

Reproductive Isolating mechanisms- structural, behavioral or biochemical feature that

prevents the members of a species from successfully Interbreeding with those of another.
Pre-zygotic - occurring before the formation of the zygote

1. Habitat or ecological Isolation

Species live in the same general area but occupying different habitats
Ex. dozens of amphibians may inhabit the same area, but one species may mate in
ponds, one in flowing streams, one in shallow pools.

2. Seasonal/ temporal isolation – genetic exchange between groups in prevented because

reproduction takes place at different times, day or season of the year.
Ex. Salvia mellifera (black sage) – flowers early in spring
Salvia aplana (white sage) — flowers late spring and summer

3. Behavioral isolation - courtship and mating behaviors

Ex. Frog exhibits distinctive mating calls

4. Mechanical isolation - differences in physical structure or set-up of the reproductive

organs

Post-zygotic isolating mechanisms - prevents successful reproduction after mating

1. Hybrid inviability - hybrids (offspring of two cross-breeding species) are not viable

Two sets of genes fall to cooperate harmoniously during development - weak and
malformed hybrids

2. Hybrid sterility - gametes of Interspecific hybrids are abnormal owing to problems

during development of sex organs or the sequence of meiosis
Ex: donkey (31 chromosomes) x horse (32 chromosomes) = mule (63 chromosomes)

3. Hybrid breakdown
F1 fertile, normal and vigorous
F2 many weak or sterile (hybrid breakdown)
Phylogeny

P___________________
hylogeny refers to the evolutionary descent of taxa. It refers to the relationship
between ancestors and descendants and relationships among descendant taxa. It shows
the lineage of taxa which can be summarized in a branching diagram called a phylogenetic
tree.

Characters Used in Phylogenies

1. Ancestral characters - character states that are inherited unchanged from the
ancestor. The character present in the ancestor which is also observed in the
descendant taxon is an ancestral character. Taxa with numerous ancestral
characters are described as primitive.
2. Derived characters - character states that are inherited from the ancestor but
already in modified form. A character present in the descendant taxon but has not
been observed in the ancestor is a derived character. Taxa with numerous derived
characters are described as advanced.

Determining whether a character is ancestral or derived

There are three ways of recognizing whether a trait is ancestral or derived.

1. Time element
This refers to the sequence of appearance of the character state. The presence of fossils
facilitate determination of ancestral and derived character states. The character in the
older fossil will be ancestral while that in the younger fossil or is absent in a fossil but
present in an extant or living taxon will be derived.

Example: scales in fossils dated as early as 400 million years ago and feathers in bird
fossils dated 195 million years ago

2. The complexity of the character state

Simpler structure is considered ancestral while the more complex structure is derived.
The lung of frogs is a simple saclike structure and, hence, is ancestral to the lung of birds
which consists or units called air sacs. However, simple structures may also evolve from
complex structures- a case of regression or reduction in structure.

Example:
a. eyelessness in cave fishes is derived to presence of eyes in most fishes which is the
ancestral state
b. a corolla tube in flowers is a derived state to free petals which is the ancestral state
c. fusion of bases of petals into a corolla tube is a case of reduction in number of flower
plants.

3. Outgroup method
The presence of a character state among some members of a lineage and an outgroup
(defined as a taxon not closely related to any member of the lineage) indicates that the
character is ancestral. Absence of the character state in the outgroup indicates that the
character state is derived.
Basis of Similarities Among Characters

There are different reasons why certain characters look alike homology, analogy and
homoplasy.

H______________
omology is the resemblance in characters in different taxa due to common origin. A
character is similar in two or more taxa because they inherited that same character from
a common ancestor. Similar ancestral characters present in different taxa are always
homologous. Similar derived characters present in different taxa may be homologous only
if it can be determined that the character came from a common origin, that is, a common
ancestor. There are homologous characters, however, that do not necessarily look alike
and may have significant differences.
Examples of homologous characters:
1. Arm of chimpanzee and arm of man
2. Forelimb of dog and arm of man. There is structural similarity in bone structure of these
parts (humerus, radio-ulna, carpals and digits) despite the differences in dog paw and
human palm.
3. Hand and arm of man, flipper of seal, wing of bat and wing of bird. These are
morphologically different structures, having different functions but are structurally
similar in bone structure.
4. Swim bladders of fishes and lungs of tetrapod vertebrates- structurally and functionally
different but upon tracing the development of these structures they are derived from a
common origin. Swim bladders are simple sac-like structures that are flotation aids of
fishes that gave rise to complex sac-like lungs used in respiration of air in amphibians,
reptiles, birds, and mammals. A difference in structure is due to increasing complexity
of the lung.
5. Lower jaw of amphibians and reptiles and the middle ears of mammals. Amphibians
and reptiles do not have a middle ear bone. They have numerous bones in their lower
jaw while the mammalian jaw is a single bone only. It is believed that the reduction in
the hind jaw bones of reptiles occurred and these reduced bones became the middle
ear bones of mammals.
Differences in homologous characters in two related taxa may be product of divergent
evolution, as in example 1,2,4 and 5.
Divergent evolution is a trend in evolution that results from differences in evolutionary
pathways followed by two descendant lineages from their ancestor. Adaptive radiation,
likewise, produces differences in homologous characters in several related taxa, as in
example 3.
Adaptive radiation is multiple divergent evolution that results in differences in
characters/traits in several related taxa due to exposure to different environment
conditions, i. e. land, sea, air.
Analogy is the resemblance in structure in unrelated taxa due to similarity in function.
Analogous structures are similar in appearance because they are adaptations to similar
environmental conditions. Analogous structures are products of convergent evolution, a
trend in evolution that produces resemblance in features of unrelated taxa due to
exposure to similar environmental conditions.
H_________________is
omoplasy the resemblance in structure of distantly related taxa because they are
same-forming. The similarity in the characters is due to having followed similar
developmental plans only and not due to inheritance from a common ancestor. The two
unrelated taxa with the similarity in character inherited similar developmental plans (that
resulted in the character) from a common but very distant ancestor. Homoplastic
characters are products of parallel evolution, a trend in evolution that produces
resemblance in features of unrelated or distantly related taxa that have followed the same
or similar developmental plans. Given two taxa A and B with different immediate
ancestors C and D which have a common distant ancestor, a similar character in A and B
is homoplastic.
Monophyly And Polyphyly Taxa belonging to the same genus or family (or for any higher
category) should belong to a single lineage descending from a single recent ancestor, that
is, they should be monophyletic. This will reflect the natural evolutionary or phylogenetic
relationships of the taxa. Monophyly is the condition whereby members of a group have a
single recent ancestor or immediate ancestor. The condition where member taxa of a
group have two or more different immediate ancestors is polyphyly. A polyphyletic group
that is recognized with the rank of family, class, division or kingdom will not have a single
lineage, and, hence will not be a true phylogenetic group.

Examine the hypothetical phylogenetic tree to understand these concepts

___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___

___

A is the immediate recent ancestor of B and C.

B is the common recent ancestor of D and E.
C is the common recent ancestor of F and G.
A is the distant ancestor of D, E, F and G.
D and E are monophyletic because they have a common recent ancestor, B.
F and G are monophyletic because they have a common recent ancestor, C.
If one considers E, F, and G as a group, it is polyphyletic because there are two recent
ancestors for the group B and C.
Biological Events in Geologic time

EON ERA PERIOD EPOCH MYA* MAJOR EVENTS

CENOZOIC QUATERNARY RECENT 0.01 Rise of modern humans,
civilizations; present biomes; Modern
mammals and angiosperms dominant
PLEISTOCENE 2.0 Repeated glaciations; extinction of
large mammals; rise of Homo
TERTIARY PLIOCENE 5.1 Radiation of mammals, flowering
MIOCENE 24.6 plants, birds and pollinating insects;
OLIGOCENE 38.0 Continents nearing present positions;
EOCENE 54.9 Drying trends
PALEOCENE 65.0
MESOZOIC CRETACEOUS 144 Mass extinction at end of period;
Diversification of mammals;
Origin and early diversification of
angiosperms
JURASSIC 213 First birds;
Diversification of dinosaurs;
Dominant gymnosperms;
Continents drifting
PHANEROZOIC

TRIASSIC 248 Diverse reptiles;

First mammals
PALEOZOIC PERMIAN 286 Mass extinctions of marine species;
Continents fuse to form Pangea ;
Diverse reptiles and early
gymnosperms
CARBONIFEROUS 360 First reptiles;
Abundant amphibians and
mandibulate insects; Great Coal
Forest;
Arborescent lycopods, sphenopsids,
giant ferns;
First seed plants (seed ferns)
DEVONIAN 408 Diverse fishes;
First ammonoids, amphibians,
Insects; Mass extinctions
SILURIAN 438 First land vascular plants;
First terrestrial arthropods
ORDOVICIAN 505 First vertebrate (agnathan fish);
Diverse invertebrates including
echinoderms
CAMBRIAN 565 Diverse algae; Appearance of most
animal phyla
570 Ediacara fauna (first invertebrate
800 animal phyla, softbodied)
900 Spitzbergenbiota (multicellular algae,
1400 fungi and other multicellular protists)
PROTEROZOIC

1900 Bitter Springs Formation (first green

2100 alga, sexual reproduction) First
2500 eukaryotes (acritarchs)
Gunflint Chert formation
(filamentous cyanobacteria, septate,
nonseptate, other forms) Abundant
stromatolites
Major red iron- banded formations
ARCH- AEAN 3800 Fig Tree Formation (Eobacterium
isolatum, Archaeosphaeroides
barbertonensis)
First coccoidal carbonaceous fossils

4500 Origin of Earth

Age of rocks on moon
HAD-EAN

* million years ago

Helpful Mnemonics

Press the pale button to message the center.

PREcambrian (early life), PALEozoic (ancient life), MESozoic (reptiles & gymnosperms),
CENozoic (mammals & angiosperms)

Camels often sit down carefully, perhaps their joints creak.

CAMbrian, Ordovician (invertebrates), Silurian, Devonian (fishes, abundance of tree
ferns), CARboniferous (amphibians, first seed plants), PERmian (origin of conifers),
Triassic, Jurassic (age of reptiles, dominance of gymnosperms), CREtaceous (dominance
of flowering plants)

Put eggs on my plate, please Honey.

Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, PLiocene, PLEistocene, HOlocene
BIOGEOGRAPHICAL REALMS

Regions of distinct flora (plant taxa) and fauna (animal taxa); congruent distribution of
plants and animals delimited by historical association

Biogeographical Location Boundaries Unique Flora Unique Fauna

Realms
Nearctic North American North Pacific oak, beech. birch Bears, foxes,
continent Ocean maple, Wolves, rabbits
North Atlantic tundra vegetation,
Ocean taiga vegetation
Sonoran Desert
(Arizona)
Palearctic Europe, North Atlantic taiga vegetation sparrows, jay
temperate Asia Ocean tundra vegetation cardinals, caribou
(includes China North Pacific deer
and Japan) Ocean
Sahara Desert
(Africa)
Himalayas
Neotropical South American Sonoran Desert bromeliads New World
continent (Arizona) (epiphytes) monkeys
Central America South Pacific Ocean cactuses guinea pigs
South Atlantic (succulents) edentates (sloths,
Ocean armadillos)
African- Ethiopian African continent Sahara Desert euphorbias African elephants
(Africa) (succulents) lemurs, zebra, lion,
Welwitschia, gorilla, cichlid
(gnetophyte) fishes, giraffe,
antelopes
Oriental India Himalayas Mts. dipterocarps Indian elephant,
Southeast Asia Indian Ocean orchids tigers, orangutans,
includes Malesiana South Pacific Ocean (epiphytes)
Philippines.
Malaysia –
Indonesia
Australian Australian South Pacific Ocean myrtles large marsupials
continent Sunda Islands proteads (kangaroos, koalas,
New Guinea (Wallace Line) eucalyptus wallabies)
South Pacific Isles