Diversity
a measure of the number of organisms of life on earth
Diversity often measured in three ways:
- Ecosystem diversity describes the variety of habitats present
- Species diversity is a measure of the number of species and the number of individuals of each species present
- Genetic diversity refers to the total amount of genetic variability present
estimated total number of species on earth
- 7 million, 6.5 million terrestial, 2.2 million aquatic, 86% of species on land and 91% yet to be discovered
- high estimate 200 million
Why so much disagreement amount diversity
- species counts biased by our tendency to study certain organisms more than other
- The type of habitat or location may make counting species difficult
- Size often complicates the detection and counting of species
- Ambiguities in scientific classification impact species counts
Deep sea
Abyssal Zone > 4000 deep largest habitat on Earth
Dadal Snailfish (pseudoliparis amblystomopsis)
deepest known living fish able to survive at depths of 7.7 kilmeters
Paedophryne amauensis
specis of frog
world’s smallest known vertebrate
from papua new guinea described in january 2012
Beaked whale
announced this year, though it’s bone samples have been in museaums for over 50 years
DNA analysis has confirmed it is a unique species
systematics
Scientific study of the kinds and diversity of organisms and the relationships among them
Toxonomy
the theory and practice of classifying organisms into taxa within a hierarch
Systematics sub-disciplines
Toxonomy, nomenclature and phylogenetics
Nomenclature
process where scientific names are produced for taxa at all hierarchal levels to provide a common ground in which biologist can communicate about taxa
Phylogenetics
study of the evolutionary history or relationships of organisms
Linnaeus system of naming orgnasims rules
each organism has only one name (genus and species)
2. no two organism can bear the same name
Linnaeus rule 1
A significant part of Linnaeus’ systems was binomial nomenclature which consisted of two pars
1) GENERIC OR GENUS NAME
2) SPECIFIC EPITHET (species name)
International code of zoological nomenclature rules for naming principally regulate _________
- How names are correctly established in the frame of binominal nomenclature
- Which name must be used in case of name conflicts
3) how scientific literature must cite names
law of priority
no two organisms can have the same name
- if a species has been named twice the first name gets it
holotype
preserved specimen of a species
Allotype
specimen of opposite sex to the holotype
Paratypes
specimens of the type other than the holotype
