Chapter-7Diversity in Living Organisms Biodiversity or Biological Diversity is the sum of all the different species of animals, plants, fungi,

andmicrobial organisms living on Earth and the variety of habitats in which they live.Plants and animals have different body plans and internal structures which help them survive.External and internal features are used to classify things.Some organisms can't be classified as plants or animals Importance of Classification By making a comparative study and assorting the similarities and differences amongst the various varieties of species, organisms can be classified into groups or sets. Taxonomy is a regular branch of science that is involved with the purpose of arranging or groupingorganisms.Importance of classificationIt makes the study of such a wide variety of organisms easy.It projects before us a good picture of all life forms at a glance.It helps us understand the interrelationship among different groups of organisms.It serves as a base for the development of other biological sciences such as biogeography etc.Various fields of applied biology such as agriculture, public health and environmental biology dependon classification of pests, disease vectors, pathogens and components of an ecosystem. Variations in the Living World: Life occurs in different forms on earth. Variations in Size: There are microorganisms that are a few micrometers in size and there afew plants and animals that are huge like the red wood trees (100 meters) and blue whale (30meters). Variations in Age: There are some species of pine trees that live for thousands of years whilethere are some mosquitoes that live for a few days. Variations in Colour: There are some worms which are colourless while there are manyvarieties of birds and flowers which are brightly coloured. Basis of Classification: Organisms are classified based on characteristics. Characters are details of appearance of behaviour,ie. Form and function of a living organism.The broadest divisions are made based on the most basic characters, for eg: when we divide all livingorganisms as prokaryotes and eukaryotes, it is the broadest division and the characters based on

typeof nuclear region in the cell is most basic.Some basic characters used in classification are: Prokaryotes & Eukaryotes Unicellular and multicellular organisms Autotrophs and heterotrophs Level of organisation of organisms that perform photosynthesis Type of body development and nature of specialised organs for different functions Classification and Evolution: Classification of life forms depends on evolution too. Evolution is a complex process by which thecharacteristics of living organisms change over many generations as traits are passed from onegeneration to the next.Characteristics that came into existence earlier are more basic than characteristics that have come intoexistence later. Based on evolution we can divide the organisms into two groups: Primitive or lower organisms and advanced or higher organisms. Primitive organismsAdvanced organisms These are organisms with ancient body designs thathave not changed much hence they are termed aslower organisms.This group of organisms have acquired their bodydesigns relatively recently hence they are known ashigher organisms.These organisms are considered older on theevolutionary scale and have simpler body designs.These organisms are considered younger and complexon the evolutionary scale as their complexity in designhas increased over time. Hierarchy of Classification- Groups Ernst Haeckel (1894), Robert Whittaker (1959) and Carl Woese (1977) tried to classify all livingorganisms into broad categories. Classification proposed by Whittaker includes Five Kingdoms and iswidely followed.Five Kingdoms proposed by Whittaker are : MONERA, PROTISTA, FUNGI,

PLANTAE and ANIMALIA.The kingdoms are classified further using the following subgroups:KingdomPhylum (for animals) / Division (for plants)ClassOrder FamilyGenusSpecies Important Characters of the Five Kingdom System of Classification: KingdomsCharacters MONERAPROTISTAFUNGIPLANTAEANIMALIACell Type ProkaryoteEukaryoteEukaryoteEukaryoteEukaryote CellNumber UnicellularUnicellularUnicellular/Multicellular MulticellularMulticellular Mode of Nutrition Autotrophic /HeterotrophicAutotrophic /HeterotrophicHeterotrophic(Saprophytic)UsuallyAutotrophicHeterotrophic Presenceof Cellwall? May / May notbe presentMay / May not bepresentPresent(Made of chitin)PresentAbsent Any other specialfeature Some membersare veryprimitiveSome membershave appendages(cilia, flagella,Lichens aresymbiotic lifeforms- anPhotoautotrophs- Usesolar energy _ Let us take an example by classifying Human beings Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataSubphylum: VertebrataClass: MammaliaSubclass: TheriaInfraclass: EutheriaOrder: Primates Suborder: Anthropoidea Superfamily: HominoideaFamily: HominidaeGenus: Homo Species: sapiens A species is one of the basic units of biological classificationand ataxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organismscapable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. (Archaebacteria)pseudopodia) for locomotionassociation of cyanobacteriaand fungus.to make foodbyPhotosynthesis Examples

Bacteria(Lactobacillus),Blue greenalgae(Anabena),MycoplasmaUnicellular Algae(Chlamydomonas),Diatoms,Protozoans(Amoeba)Yeast,Mushrooms,Bread Molds(Mucor),Penicilium.Spirogyra,Riccia, Moss,Fern, Pinus,Apple treeRoundworm, Tapeworm ,Hydra,House- fly,fish, man. Kingdom Plantae Basis of classification of Plant Kingdom into groups: Differentiation of the plant body Presence of specialised tissues for various functions (Transport of water etc.) Ability to bear seeds Are the seeds enclosed within fruits or not. CryptogamsPhanerogams GroupsCharacters ThallophytaBryophytaPteridophytaGymnospermsAngiosperms Differentiationof plant body Plant body isnot welldifferentiatedPlant bodypoorlydifferentiatedinto root-like,stem-like andleaflikestructures.Plant bodydifferentiatedinto root, stemand leaves.Plant bodydifferentiatedinto root, stemand leaves.Seed bearingstructures arealso presentPlant bodydifferentiatedinto root, stemand leaves.Floweringplants withseedsenclosed infruits. Presence of specialisedtissues Not PresentNot Present Present-Specialisedtissues for conduction of water and other substances.Present-Specialisedtissues for conduction of water and other substances.PresentSpecialisedtissues for conduction of water andother substances. Ability to bear NoNoNoYesYes The Plant kingdom is broadly divided into two groups on the basis of reproductive organs and embryostructure. These are Cryptogams and phanerogams. Cryptogams

(Those with hidden reproductive organs) Phanerogams (Seed bearing plants) Reproductive organs areinconspicuous They have naked embryos calledspores. Plants with well differentiatedreproductive tissues that make seeds Seed consists of with stored food. seedsFloweringplants (Seedsenclosedwithin fruits) No No No NoSeeds arenaked (Gymnomeans nakedand spermameans seed.Yes- seedsdevelop insidean organ thatis modified tobecome a fruit. Any other special feature Commonlycalled algae,arepredominantlyaquaticCalledamphibians of the plantkingdomLife cycle showsalternation of generationUsuallyperennial,evergreen andwoody plants.Plant embryosin seeds havestructurescalledcotyledons. Examples Spirogyra,Ulothrix,Cladophora,CharaRiccia,Marchantia,Funaria (Moss)Marilea, Ferns,Horsetails.Pinus, Cycas,Deodar,AraucariaMango tree,Banana Plant,grasses etc.Angiosperms are divided into two groups on the basis of number of cotyledons present in the seed.These groups are: Monocotyledonous plants and Dicotyledonous plants. Monocotyledonous plantsDicotyledonous plants Single cotyledon present in the seed Fibrous root system Leaves with parallel venation

 Petals of flowers are usually in multiples of three Two cotyledons present in the seed Tap root system Leaves with reticulate venation Petals of flowers are usually in fours or fives. Nomenclature Carl Linnaeus, father of modern botany, was a Swedish naturalist who laid the foundation of modernclassification and nomenclature in 1758. He devised a binomial system of nomenclature (namingsystem) in which an organism is given two names: A generic name (name of genus) which it shares with other closely related organisms which hasfeatures similar enough to place them in the same group. A specific name ( name of species) which distinguishes the organism from all other species. No other organism can have the same combination of genus and species. The scientific name derived by using the system of nomenclature is followed all over the world as theyare guided by a set of rules stated in the International Code of Nomenclature.Certain conventions are followed while writing the scientific names:1.The name of the genus begins with a capital letter.2.The name of the species begins with a small letter.3.When printed, the scientific name is written in italics.4.When written by hand, the genus name and the species name have to be underlined separately.Assignment:1.On what basis did Aristotle classify living organisms? What were the drawbacks of this method?2.What was the modification introduced by Woese in Whittakers five kingdom system of classification?

3.Why are blue green algae termed as cyanobacteria? 4. Differentiate between: Bryophytes and pteridophytes 5. Why is Spirogyra known as a thallophyte?6.Why are advanced organisms also called complex organisms.7.Place the following organisms in groups. The first one is done for youa)Chara- Plant Kingdom Group: Thallophytab)Cyanobacteriac)Pinusd)Mustard plante)Fernf)Funaria