Anthropology 153: Levels of Organization of Life - Reality

Title: Levels of Organization of Life :


Anthropology 153

Title: Levels of Organization of Life :

(See Phylogenetic Tree of Life)

I Bacteria

II Archaea

III Eukaryota

A Common Ancestor 1) Fungi

2) Plants

3) Animals

a) Phylum: Chordata

i)Subphylum: Vertebrata

AA) Class : Mammalia

1,1) Order : Primates

(SEE HANDOUT WITH PRIMATE TREE OF LIFE DIAGRAMS) aa)Suborder:

Anthropoidea

ii) Superfamily: Hominoid

AAA) Family : Hominid

1,1,1) Subfamily: Hominin

aaa) Genus: Homo

iii)Species: sapiens

Title: Levels of a organization of LIFE-REALITY :

I All SPECIES OF LIFE

A) Separate Populations of same species

1) Individual BODIES-ORGANISMS

a) Body parts –organs

i)Cells

AA) Molecules

1,1) Atoms

aa) Electrons, Protons, Neutrons What is Human Nature ? (See handout) and Michael Jackson - Human Nature (Official Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n9HhmX36Gk What is a genealogy ? It is a PHYLOGENY of biologically related individuals; a Family Tree It is made up of individuals. A Tree of Life as discussed in previous classes is a phylogeny of SPECIES “Genealogy (from Ancient Greek γενεαλογία (genealogía) 'the making of a pedigree')[2] is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members. The results are often displayed in charts or written as narratives. The field of family history is broader than genealogy, and covers not just lineage but also family and community history and biography.[3] The record of genealogical work may be presented as a "genealogy", a "family history", or a "family tree". In the narrow sense, a "genealogy" or a "family tree" traces the descendants of one person, whereas a "family history" traces the ancestors of one person,[4][5][6] but the terms are often used interchangeably.[7] A family history may include additional biographical information, family traditions, and the like.[3] The pursuit of family history and origins tends to be shaped by several motives, including the desire to carve out a place for one's family in the larger historical picture, a sense of responsibility to preserve the past for future generations, and self-satisfaction in accurate storytelling.[8] Genealogy research is also performed for scholarly or forensic purposes, or to trace legal next of kin to inherit under intestacy laws.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genealogy What is an organism ? “An organism (from Ancient Greek ὄργανον (órganon) 'instrument, implement, tool', and Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)) is any biological living system that functions as an individual life form.[1] All organisms are composed of cells.[1] The idea of organism is based on the concept of minimal functional unit of life. Three traits have been proposed to play the main role in qualification as an organism: noncompartmentability – structure that cannot be divided without its functionality loss,[2] individuality – the entity has simultaneous holding of genetic uniqueness, genetic homogeneity and autonomy,[3] distinctness – genetic information has to maintain open-system (a cell).[4] Organisms include multicellular animals, plants, and fungi; or unicellular microorganisms such as protists, bacteria, and archaea.[5] All types of organisms are capable of reproduction, growth and development, maintenance, and some degree of response to stimuli. Most multicellular organisms differentiate into specialized tissues and organs during their development. In 2016, a set of 355 genes from the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) of all organisms from Earth was identified.[6][7]” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organism What is a species ? Species In biology, a species (pl: species) is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour, or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. The most recent rigorous estimate for the total number of species of eukaryotes is between 8 and 8.7 million.[1][2][3] About 14% of these had been described by 2011.[3] All species (except viruses) are given a two-part name, a "binomial". The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs. The second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet (in botanical nomenclature, also sometimes in zoological nomenclature). For example, Boa constrictor is one of the species of the genus Boa, with constrictor being the species' epithet. While the definitions given above may seem adequate at first glance, when looked at more closely they represent problematic species concepts. For example, the boundaries between closely related species become unclear with hybridisation, in a species complex of hundreds of similar microspecies, and in a ring species. Also, among organisms that reproduce only asexually, the concept of a reproductive species breaks down, and each clone is potentially a microspecies. Although none of these are entirely satisfactory definitions, and while the concept of species may not be a perfect model of life, it is still a useful tool to scientists and conservationists for studying life on Earth, regardless of the theoretical difficulties. If species were fixed and clearly distinct from one another, there would be no problem, but evolutionary processes cause species to change. This obliges taxonomists to decide, for example, when enough change has occurred to declare that a lineage should be divided into multiple chronospecies, or when populations have diverged to have enough distinct character states to be described as cladistic species. Species and higher taxa were seen from the time of Aristotle until the 18th century as categories that could be arranged in a hierarchy, the great chain of being. In the 19th century, biologists grasped that species could evolve given sufficient time. Charles Darwin's 1859 book On the Origin of Species explained how species could arise by natural selection. That understanding was greatly extended in the 20th century through genetics and population ecology. Genetic variability arises from mutations and recombination, while organisms themselves are mobile, leading to geographical isolation and genetic drift with varying selection pressures. Genes can sometimes be exchanged between species by horizontal gene transfer; new species can arise rapidly through hybridisation and polyploidy; and species may become extinct for a variety of reasons. Viruses are a special case, driven by a balance of mutation and selection, and can be treated as quasispecies. Definition Biologists and taxonomists have made many attempts to define species, beginning from morphology and moving towards genetics. Early taxonomists such as Linnaeus had no option but to describe what they saw: this was later formalised as the typological or morphological species concept. Ernst Mayr emphasised reproductive isolation, but this, like other species concepts, is hard or even impossible to test.[4][5] Later biologists have tried to refine Mayr's definition with the recognition and cohesion concepts, among others.[6] Many of the concepts are quite similar or overlap, so they are not easy to count: the biologist R. L. Mayden recorded about 24 concepts,[7] and the philosopher of science John Wilkins counted 26.[4] Wilkins further grouped the species concepts into seven basic kinds of concepts: (1) agamospecies for asexual organisms (2) biospecies for reproductively isolated sexual organisms (3) ecospecies based on ecological niches (4) evolutionary species based on lineage (5) genetic species based on gene pool (6) morphospecies based on form or phenotype and (7) taxonomic species, a species as determined by a taxonomist.[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( QUIZ 3 – due Tuesday October 10 What is Human Nature ? What is a genealogy ? What is an organism ? What is a species ?