systematics seeking order amidst diversity. 1.4 million that is about how many species there are...
TRANSCRIPT
Systematics
Seeking Order Amidst Diversity
1.4 million
• That is about how many species there are known on Earth
• systematics, sometimes known as taxonomy, is science’s attempt to classify and organize 1.4 million different things
• Keeping these things organized helps with things such as museum management, field work, identifying new discoveries, genetics, etc.
Common Names
• Used on an everyday basis, common names can be confusing due to their inaccuracy
• Example, if I say to you, “Irish Moss.” What would you think of?
Maybe something like this?
Sorry, its this.
Yeah, its seaweed.
How about a tufted titmouse?
Maybe this guy?
NOPE!!!
Here he is. He’s in your backyard all the time. He likes sunflower seeds.
One more.
• Dolphin
• got that image in your head?
Okay, that works…but
This is a dolphin too. Mahi mahi anyone?
How Organisms are Classified
• Systematics is the science of reconstructing phylogeny (evolutionary history)
• A key part is taxonomy this is naming organisms and placing them into categories
• there are seven major categories, which I think you know: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species
• and the newer one, domain. This is really just whether an organism is a prokaryote or a eukaryote
Taxonomy
• Originated with ….
• wait for it…..
ARISTOTLE
what up
Carl von Linné
• He called himself…
• He called himself Carolus Linnaeus
• Jerkishnessity aside he did lay the groundwork for the modern classification system
Somehow you knew that this is exactly what he would look like.
The Linnaean System
• Is the one you’re familiar with
• A hierarchical arrangement based on resemblance to other organisms
• He also introduced the scientific name, composed of genus and species
Modern systematics
• Uses many features to categorize organisms
• anatomy, developmental stages, biochemical similarities, and the fossil record
• The relationships are drawn as cladograms or evolutionary trees