Classification Identifying Organisms Based on Patterns

Classification Objectives

Explain why it is important to classify organisms and describe the contributions of Carl Linnaeus.
List the three Domains of life and four Kingdoms in Domain Eukaryota.
If provided a plant, classify it using these terms: non-vascular or vascular, spore-bearing or seed-bearing, a gymnosperm or an angiosperm, a monocot or a dicot.

New species are still being discovered; identification is key in discerning between organisms.

Both of the species below are in the “wild carrot” family, but one is poisonous. Identification would have been critical to early humans to avoid potentially toxic or otherwise dangerous species.

Queen Anne's Lace

Poison Hemlock

Once trade routes were established, it was important that organisms be properly named. The problem was that many organisms were getting the same names, even though they actually had significant differences.

A “herring” fish could mean a species that was tasty or something that was inedible.

Since there are 10+ million species on Earth, simply identifying is not enough. There needs to be some way of discussing relationships between species and that is where classification comes in.

The “Father of Taxonomy,” the science of classification, is Carl Linnaeus.

Linnaeus, among many other things, developed a “flower clock” that could be used to indicate the time of day by which flower was open.

Carl Linnaeus also developed a scientific naming (nomenclature) system that could be used to identify an individual species and indicate how it related to other identified species. This system is still used with some modifications.

This video provides an overview of Linnaeus’ life and contributions.

One of the groups Linnaeus classified was the Corvidae.

The Corvids include the crows, ravens, jays, and magpies.

All organisms were classified as either plants or animals. Then these two groups were broken into smaller and smaller groups until you were left with a single species.

So a bird similar to the American Crow, the Western scrub jay, is classified in the same Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, and Family. It has a different Genus and species (Aphelocoma californica).

Microscope technology and genetic analysis revealed that we needed to add microscopic organisms to Linnaeus’ classification system. It turns out not everything was simply a plant or an animal.

This video introduces how new technologies led to “Domains,” a classification level that is even more inclusive than Kingdoms.

There are now three Domains: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryota (also called Eukarya) that are ranked higer than Kingdom.

There are four Kingdoms in Domain Eukaryota: Protists, Fungi, Plants, and Animals.

Three Domains of Life

Bacteria

Microscopic single-celled organisms that were the earliest forms of life on earth and gave rise to archaeans and eukaryotes.

Archaea

Microscopic single-celled organisms that arose from the bacteria and can be found in extreme environments like salt lakes and hot springs.

Eukaryota

Single-celled to multi-cellular organisms that have more complex cellular structures than bacteria or archaea.

Four Kingdoms of Domain Eukaryota

Protists

Primarily microscopic single-celled organisms that have complex internal structures. Most are found in water and include amoeba and algae.

Fungi

Decomposers that primarily obtain energy and nutrients from the remains of other organisms. Includes mushroom-producing species and yeast.

Plants

Multi-cellular organisms that can convert sunlight energy to sugar energy. Includes moss, grasses, and trees.

Animals

Multi-cellular organisms that need to consume other organisms to survive and typically move to obtain that food. Includes sponges, beetles, and humans.

Most of Linnaeus’ original hierarchy of classification is still intact, with modifications made as new complexity is revealed.

Plant Classification

Now we will put pattern recognition to work by classifying plants.

It can help to learn plant classification with real specimens.

Plants Illustrated

This poster illustrates some of the plants you may not have encountered in the field.

Check your progress

Answer the questions in this video to see if the classification is making senses to you.

Angiosperms are split into two groups: monocots and dicots. This video compares the structures of plants in these two different groups.

There are so many angiosperm species, the other seed-bearing vascular plants, the gymnosperms, can be overlooked.

The next section introduces flowers, the reproductive structures of angiosperms.

Check your knowledge. Can you:

explain why it is important to classify organisms and describe the contributions of Carl Linnaeus?
list the three Domains of life and four Kingdoms in Domain Eukaryota?
if provided a plant, classify it using these terms: non-vascular or vascular, spore-bearing or seed-bearing, a gymnosperm or an angiosperm, a monocot or a dicot?

Classification Identifying Organisms Based on Patterns

Classification Objectives

Explain why it is important to classify organisms and describe the contributions of Carl Linnaeus.

List the three Domains of life and four Kingdoms in Domain Eukaryota.

If provided a plant, classify it using these terms: non-vascular or vascular, spore-bearing or seed-bearing, a gymnosperm or an angiosperm, a monocot or a dicot.

New species are still being discovered; identification is key in discerning between organisms.

Both of the species below are in the “wild carrot” family, but one is poisonous. Identification would have been critical to early humans to avoid potentially toxic or otherwise dangerous species.

Queen Anne's Lace

Poison Hemlock

Since there are 10+ million species on Earth, simply identifying is not enough. There needs to be some way of discussing relationships between species and that is where classification comes in.

One of the groups Linnaeus classified was the Corvidae.

The Corvids include the crows, ravens, jays, and magpies.

All organisms were classified as either plants or animals. Then these two groups were broken into smaller and smaller groups until you were left with a single species.

So a bird similar to the American Crow, the Western scrub jay, is classified in the same Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, and Family. It has a different Genus and species (Aphelocoma californica).

Microscope technology and genetic analysis revealed that we needed to add microscopic organisms to Linnaeus’ classification system. It turns out not everything was simply a plant or an animal.

Three Domains of Life

Bacteria

Archaea

Eukaryota

Four Kingdoms of Domain Eukaryota

Protists

Fungi

Plants

Animals

Plant Classification

Plants Illustrated

Check your progress

Angiosperms are split into two groups: monocots and dicots. This video compares the structures of plants in these two different groups.

There are so many angiosperm species, the other seed-bearing vascular plants, the gymnosperms, can be overlooked.

The next section introduces flowers, the reproductive structures of angiosperms.

Check your knowledge. Can you:

explain why it is important to classify organisms and describe the contributions of Carl Linnaeus?

list the three Domains of life and four Kingdoms in Domain Eukaryota?

if provided a plant, classify it using these terms: non-vascular or vascular, spore-bearing or seed-bearing, a gymnosperm or an angiosperm, a monocot or a dicot?

Go back to the Patterns of Nature Page

Go forward to the Flowers Page

Biodiversity Guide Contents

Complete all four of these sections before taking the quiz and submitting your two journal pages.

Patterns of Nature

Classification - YOU ARE HERE

Flowers

Fruits & Seeds

Back to Module Index

Links to Modules & Guides

This Guide’s Home Page

1A: Biodiversity

This Guide’s Assignments

1A: Biodiversity Products

Direct Link to Canvas

Submit Products