Systems of Systematics
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Biological Classification What’s in a name? Biological Classification “Bears” • Taxonomy: naming & classifying organisms • Systematics: studying relationships among taxonomic groups North America Australia Systems of I. Anthrocentric Systems • “human-centered” — Classified based on their Systematics relevance or usefulness to humans I. Anthrocentric – Edible / inedible / medicinal – Wild vs. domestic II. Ecological – Crops vs. weeds • Still basis for political policies – “Biological resources” III. Hierarchical – Commercially harvested vs. recreationally harvested vs. non-targeted (trash, by-catch) IV. Phylogenetic species I. Anthrocentric Systems II. Ecological Systems • Classified based on their habitat, niche or behavior Aristotle, 384–322 BCE – “Plant” (planted in place / sessile) – Scalae Naturae (“ladder of nature”) vs. “Animal” (animated / motile) – “beasts of the field” / “beasts of the air” / • “advanced” = more human-like “beasts of the sea” (fish) • “primitive” = less human-like • Useful for studying ecological relationships and effects of environment on body forms * Archaic, prejudicial expressions: – Vegetation types: herb / shrub / tree Any organism successfully surviving is not – Aquatic life: plankton / nekton / benthos “primitive”! – Assemblages of organisms in a specific * Better terms: “generalized” vs. “specialized” community or “derived” • Oak woodland biota; coral reef biota; etc. Heyer 1 Biological Classification Carolus Linnaeus (Carl von Linné), 1707–1778 III. Hierarchical Systems —“Father of modern taxonomy & systematics” • Classified based on their relative similarities • Swedish botanist, zoologist, physician, linguist, poet, & educator. Degree in of body form Medicine; professor of medicine & Carolus Linnaeus (Carl von Linné), 1707–1778 botany - Uppsala University. • Also one of the fathers of modern —“Father of modern taxonomy & systematics” ecology. One of the most influential intellectuals of the 18th century. • Students from all over Europe (esp. England) came to study under him. Then went out to join numerous exploratory expeditions around the world (e.g., with James Cook) and join faculties of major universities. • Linnaeus also corresponded with Carl von Linné, 1775 collectors and naturalists around the world who sent him exotic specimens. III. Hierarchical Systems Taxonomy & Linnaean Hierarchy • Classified based on their relative similarities • Levels called taxa (sing., taxon: “classification”) of body form – The more similar two organisms are, the more levels “ they have in common K “K ing Carolus Linnaeus (Carl von Linné), 1707–1778 ings P a) hilip —“Father of modern taxonomy & systematics” Kingdom P lay i. Recognize “patterns in creation” b) Phylum (Division)* C C ame hess • Develop a standard hierarchy of similarities c) Class O O ver ii. “…finish the work of Adam.” d) Order n F F ine or e) Family* • Identify, name, and categorize all forms of life G G ood on earth. f) Genus reen S oup • Develop a standard “universal” naming practice g) Species S and ” (“scientific name”) *not in the original Linnaean hierarchy Carl Linné,” 1737 Taxonomy & Linnaean Hierarchy Biological Kingdoms • For taxa with high diversity and large number of species, Classification of Life on Earth (esp., arthropods) additional levels may be added by using • Classical two-kingdom model prefixes super-, sub-, or infra- – Plants • E.g., – Animals d) Order Worked well for macroscopic terrestrial life. But became inadequate once microbial and oceanic ecosystems were explored e) Family • Expanded five-kingdom model (Whittaker 1960s) • may be expanded to Cells are the basic unit of life, d) Order so define types of life by the types of their cells – Monera d’) Suborder – Protista d”) Infraorder – Fungi d”’) Superfamily – Plantae – Animalia e) Family Heyer 2 Biological Classification Linnaean Taxonomy Linnaean Taxonomy Some rules: Some rules: Since all scientific and academic work in Linnaeus’ time • Names of families always end in “-idae” [animals] was conducted in Latin or Greek, or “-aceae” [plants & fungi] • all taxonomic names are written in Latin or Greek … – Hominidae – rosa: “rose” – Canidae – homo: “human” – Rosacea – canis: “dog” – porifera: “pore bearing” • Names of genera must be unique – brevispinus: “short-spined” I.e., not given to any other genus – Homo • … or in Latinized/Hellenized derivations of proper – Canis names – Rosa – ricketsia: [in honor of Ed] Rickets – californicus: [discovered in] California • A species is a group of organisms similar enough to interbreed Linnaean Taxonomy Classification of some edible shellfish The universal “scientific name” for a species: American Lobster Market Squid Blue Mussel Virginia Oyster European Oyster • Binomial nomenclature (“two-name naming”) The universal name for a species is its Kingdom Animalia Animalia Animalia Animalia Animalia generic name with a specific epithet, Phylum Arthropoda Mollusca Mollusca Mollusca Mollusca i.e., its genus + species names Class Malacostraca Cephalopoda Bivalvia Bivalvia Bivalvia – Homo sapiens – Canis familiaris Order Decapoda Decapoda Mytiloida Pterioida Pterioida • The two names must be unique to one species. Family Nephropidae Loliginidae Mytilidae Ostreidae Ostreidae • The genus name must be capitalized; the species name all Genus Homarus Loligo Mytilus Crassostrea Ostrea lower case — even if it’s in a title. Species americanus opalescens edulis virginica edulis • The scientific name is always printed (type-set; word processed) in italics. If handwritten, it must be underlined. Note: some names are duplicated for taxa other than genus! • The species name must include the genus. – Homo sapiens or H. sapiens, but never just sapiens Linnaean Taxonomy “The Linnaean Enterprise” The Law of Priority: • Identify, name, and categorize all forms • If more than one name has been assigned to organisms later decided to be all one species, the first published name of life on earth. becomes the name for the combined group. • Systema Naturae • The specimen originally used to the describe the newly – 1735 (first edition) named species is the type specimen. – The type specimen is carefully archived in a certified museum – By 1758 (tenth ed.) collection available for subsequent studies. • Included 4400 animal spp. • If a group of organisms originally classified as a single & 7700 plant spp. species becomes divided into multiple species, the original • First consistent use of scientific name belongs to the new group that includes the type species. binomial nomenclature 1760 edition Heyer 3 Biological Classification “The Linnaean Enterprise” IV. Phylogenetic Systems • Still lots to do! • Classified based on presumed common ancestry • Usually still use Linnaean hierarchy, but now more • Present — ~1.8 million species named levels in common suggests a more recent (~70% of them are insects) divergence from a common ancestor. • But since we don’t actually know the ancestry above the level of genus or maybe family, still dependent upon degrees of similarity. – Comparative morphology & anatomy Only ~ 1% studied Estimated – Comparative embryology significantly ~10 million spp. – Comparative biochemistry — proteins & DNA • Much disagreement may be debated regarding yet to be named which similarities and which differences are most phylogenetically significant! IV. Phylogenetic Systems 1. Classical phylogenetics 1. Classical (authoritative) phylogenetics • “Traditional evolutionary taxonomy” (TET) 2. Phenetics • Authoritative — Influential “experts” on each 3. Cladistics taxon pick which characters are most significant 4. Synthetic systematics – Create “trees” (dendrograms) – Try to incorporate bits of all of the above – Often arbitrary and contradictory – Certain popular trees get perpetuated when published in textbooks A phylogenetic “tree” 2. Phenetics • Morphometrics — carefully measure all • Aristotle’s dimensions of body form philosophy in • Phenogram (taxonomic cluster) — mathematic a Darwinian programs calculate degrees of similarity (cluster analysis — advent of available computers) context • TET purists argue that all body forms are not dependent upon ancestry, \ should not be included – Homology vs. analogy • Pheneticists counter that since no one actually knows ancestry, at least metric methods are less arbitrary than TET. Heyer 4 Biological Classification Problem: Divergence vs. Convergence — Homology vs. Analogy 3. Cladistics • Traditional phylogeneticists get to have computer programs too! Similarity due to • Clade (“branch”) — replace traditional taxon convergence is analogy. – Groups of organisms presumed to be derived from a common ancestor are organized by (Similar bifurcating (two-way splitting) of a branch adaptations to – Each bifurcation is based upon the acquisition similar environments; of a new, unique character (apomorphy). not shared ancestry.) • Maximum parsimony: the branch pattern that can be created with the fewest required steps is most likely the most correct. 3. Cladistics Building Cladograms Assemble a table of character states More vocabulary: Major assumptions: • A true clade must be monophyletic 1. The group of organisms is – must include an ancestor and all of the known monophyletic descendants of that ancestor. 2. The outgroup (used for – A grouping that only includes an ancestor and some of comparison) is closely related to, its descendants is paraphyletic. but separate from your group – A grouping that includes organisms from different ancestries is polyphyletic. 3. You can tell which character states are