Classification and Marine Biodiversity Essay Example for Free

Classification and ocean Biodiversity EssayImportant Background Information that you need to know and derive (Understand the Key Concepts) Key words binominal system of naming science of classification is taxonomy species levels of classification (know them) dichotomous assignment key 5 res publicas etcCLASSIFICATIONOur oceans mystify a great variety of life story forms. Thousands of new species atomic numerate 18 discovered each year. We need to recognize, conjure up, and know the biology of each(prenominal) the marine species. To understand this huge rove of species, a simple classification system is used to produce some order pop out of chaos. ideal this class has persons of all sorts of shapes, sizes, colour, eye colour, finger shape size, etc.what criteria would you use to separate us all out?HISTORYHistorically, we group things according to their likeness or use. There were grouping such as edible, poisonous, or medicinal. In your own dialect, you retain lo cal name calling for the edible things on the reef but on that point is no name for sponges, ascidians, and nudibranchs which you have no use for. There argon only general names for corals, sharks, etc. In Fiji, we have no names for the deepsea snappers because we never caught and eat them but in howdy and Kiribati, you have different names for different deepsea snappers because you have caught them for generations. Fiji have large lagoonal areas and never needed to angle off-shore..25 years ago, Fijian students knew the local names of fish. Today, many another(prenominal) students have lost that knowledge because they seldom go endure to the village.Aristotle is the first scientist to classify all bide things. John Ray developed keys to identify animals. Linnaeus (1707-1778), a Swede invented a simple naming system which we still use today (binominal nomenclature) make up of 2 Latinized words (genus species). e.g. Homo sapiens (in italics or underlined with the first letter in the genus is in capital). The genus or species may be descriptive or named after a person or place. utilise scientific names shows scientific exactness as compared to common names which john be real general. Example Siganus uspi Woodland and Gawel, 1974. Genus, species, describers, year they described it in.METHODSMembers of a group share many characters. We use characters which do not change e.g. structure and method of reproduction. Characters idler be countable (number of fins) or expressed as a % of total length (head length etc) Characters can be absent or present. Colour can be used as a secondary character as it can change with the surround (and fade after preservation). Fossil records are used to find out about the evolution of groups of organisms. deoxyribonucleic acid is now used to separate species too.TAXONOMYThe science of classification is taxonomy. A person who classifies things is a taxonomist.5 kingdoms kingdom kingdom Animalia plantae fungi protista mone ra. Protista have distinct nucleus, monera has indistinct nucleus. See kingdom of living things on page 207. You may wish to break your classification into vertebrates and invertebrates.The categories are (classifying you)Kingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataSub Phylum VertebrataClass MammaliaOrder PrimatesFamily HominidaeGenus HomoSpecies sapiensWhat is a species A species is a group of organisms (basically alike) and can interbreed under natural conditions to produce generative off spring.Con caser a mule (horse x donkey) a liger (lion x tiger). Infertile off springs. grind fishes can hybridize.Marine BiodiversityBiodiversity refers to the number and variety of earths life forms (remember the 5 kingdoms).KNOW THE splendour of biodiversity1. If you care about the environment, you must feel strongly that other living things have a the right way to survive alongside each other. Other organisms do not need to benefit humans promptly to have a right to exist.2. By protecting the earths biodiversity, we are ensuring my own survival. As we learn about the amazing complexity of earths biodiversity, we will discover more than and more direct benefits.3 types of diversities1. genetic biodiversity (refer to genetic variety and variability within each species genes vary mingled with individuals within a species). Use your class as an example and see the differences not only in colour but body shape and sizes, eye color, hair colour, skin color, shapes of hands etc. Marine species also show variability in shape and colour. 2. species biodiversity (refer to the number of different species living on earth) 1.8 one thousand thousand species has been discovered and described by scientists. We think there may be between 5 and atomic number 6 million species. Disappearing species- serious loss of biodiversity due to overfishing for food/use as well as increased nutrient levels caused by from pollution from the land. Old timers tell you about the amount of marine life off S uva 30 years ago-if we dont start conserving biodiversity, we may only see them in marine parks or preserved as a specimen in museums. Endemic species-only ready in a certain country e.g. Siganus uspi (USP rabbitfish) only found in Fiji. 3. ecosystem biodiversity- refer to variety in the combination of species that form ecosystems such as ponds, coral reefs, forests, or grassland. It is the variety of ecosystem types that is ecosystem diversity.An ecosystem can be as large as the Great Barrier Reef or as small as the back of a spider crab (that allows sponges, algae and worms to grow on the shell).Biodiversity in the ecosystems is not just the number of different species it is the variation within them and the different roles they have in forming the ecosystems.Ecosystems are complex because they are create by a variety of interactions between species. One interaction is food web provide an alliance base for others alter current and light patterns provide camouflage, shelter or c ompete for space.Ecosystems are functional units of the marine world. Small worms are just as important as large whales because each have a vital role to play in the ecosystem. Humans interfere and the naturally-balanced ecosystem becomes unbalanced (if we take all the herbivorous fish, the algae would grow vigorously and push out the corals on the coral reef).Ecosystems are kineticchanged by physical and biological processes (tides, storms, succession, humans).An ecosystem applies interactions over large and over small scale. Fish from the lagoon ecosystem number on the mangrove ecosystem (as juvenile nursery ground) and on coral reef ecosystem (as a feeding ground).Ecosystems can be classified at different scales using parameters such as geology, coastal landforms, water temperature salinity, currents, upwellings, brandish exposure, depth, and patterns of study life forms (e.g. seagrass).Proper functioning of the marine environment is dependent on its ecological lawfulness (all components are present, operational and ecological viable).Marine ecosystems are continually changing to meet the changing conditions.BiogeographyBiogeography is the name given to the study of the distribution of life on earth. We may look at the windward side and leeward side of the Fiji group. The marine environment on the windward side is affected by the tradewinds which shoot down strong currents which in turn wash away the sediments. It is more rainy too. The leeward side has little wind and less wave action so sediments stay around. Nutrients from the land do not attract disperse quickly.We can also look at the northern areas of Fiji and Rotuma (hotter) and the southern areas including Kadavu and Minerva Reef (cooler). Because the conditions are different, the organisms living there may differ too.Biodiversity and Marine LifePlanktonThe text book does not cover this topic.Plankton (all animals and plants that live in the water but drift about at the mercy of wind and c urrents). (Nekton can go against the current e.g. fish). Those organisms that spend all their lives in the plankton are called holoplankton. Those that spend only part of their lives in the plankton are called meroplankton. Plankton are usually small but they can be up to 1.5m across e.g. large jellyfish.Phytoplankton are plant plankton and zooplankton are animal plankton. Plankton is collected by plankton nets (either by a horizontal tow or a vertical tow).Plankton are important because many are the larval stages of marine animals we see. Plankton provides food for many of the filter feeders in the marine environment (from whales to invertebrates to other plankton). Phytoplankton also produces oxygen to release into the atmosphere. Plankton support major fisheries. They recycle nutrients in the microbial loop.Examples of Phytoplankton diatoms and dinoflagellates (causes fish poisoning). Examples of Zooplankton copepods, jellyfish. Sunfish, arrow worms.To keep afloat (stay in the e pipelagic zone) plankton swim weakly, have body fluids which are less dense than seawater, actively exude heavy ions, have gas alter sacs, use oils and fats (diatoms and fish eggs have oil), have parachute like forms (slow their sinking rate) or growth spiny appendages (also makes them harder to eat), or have watery tissue (jelly-like).Moffatt, B Ryan, T and Zann, L 2003. Marine intuition for Australian Students. pp608. Wet Papers Publications.