in biology, refers to the scientific systematic method of naming organisms
Origin: Latin (bi = two; nomial = having to do with names; nomenclature = method of naming)
tax•on•omy
the study of biological groupings. Also referred to as Phylogenetics (the genetics of phyla)
Origin: Greek (taxus = order/arrangement, nomos = law/science)
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Binomial Nomenclature is the systematic method used today for naming different organisms. It involves the grouping of individual animals, populations, and species into different groups. The study of biological groups is called Taxonomy, from the roots "taxa," which is the word used for any biological group, and "onomy" meaning "the study of." Because Taxonomy and Binomial Nomenclature deal with biological groupings, they are inherently tied to evolution and genetics: taxonomists attempt to divide organisms into taxa where the members of each taxa are more closely related to each other/their DNA match better than any others.
In taxonomy, there is a hierarchy of groupings. Currently, there is much debate over the larger grouping and finer details between species, but generally, seven levels of taxa are currently accepted (from highest/most general to lowest/most specific):
Kingdom [e.g. Kingdom Animalia (animals), Kingdom Viridiplantae (true plants), Kingdom Protista (protists), etc.]
Phylum (pl. Phyla) [e.g. Phylum Anthropoda (anthropods, like lobsters, grasshoppers, spiders, etc.), Phylum Mollusca (mollusks), Phylum Poriphera (sponges), Phylum Cnidaria (polyp/medusa aqualic creatures, like jellyfish and coral), etc]
Class [e.g. Class Bivalvia (bivalves, like oysters and clams), Class Gastropoda (slugs and snails), Class Aracnida (spiders and scorpions), Class Condrichthyes (sharks and other cartilaginous fish), Class Aves (birds), etc.]
Order [e.g. Order Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), Order Nudibranchia (sea slugs - SOOO CUTE!), OrderMyxiniformes (hagfish), Order Rosales (roses and rose-like fruit bearing trees, like peaches and cherries), etc]
Family [e.g. Family Delphinidae (marine dolphins), Family Felidae (cats),Family Ramphastidae (Toucans), etc]
Genus [e.g. Genus Capra (goats), Genus Lamiaceae (mint), Genus Equus (horses), etc]
Species (self explanatory, also, never listed alone for reasons discussed below)
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| NUDIBRANCHS! SO CUTE! |
Even though these seven levels of taxa are commonly used, other groupings are also often used, such as Subphyla, Subclass, Superorder, etc. Also, higher classifications are sometimes used, but can are a controversial topic (to be discussed below); these include the groupings Domain, which goes above Kingdom (i.e. a Domain is made up of Kingdoms, just like how a Kingdom is made up of Phyla, a Phylum is made up of Classes, a Class is made up of Orders, etc).
Binomial Nomenclature was invented by Carl Linné. He was a Swedish scientist who was immensely interested in grouping things, and when he first created the system of binomial nomenclature, genetics been discovered, so he grouped animals and plants by shared characteristics. For example, he put birds together because they all had feathery wings and beaks. He was unaware that his classifications hinted at evolutionary lineages (his work was done before Darwin's work). Carl Linneaus loved latin, and so he assigned latin names to all of the species he classified; he was so obsessed that he changed his name to its latinized version: Carolus Linneaus.
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| SO SWEDISH! SO LATIN-Y! |
Binomial Nomenclature uses an organism's Genus and Species classifications in identification; the whole name is italicized, and only the genus is capitalized. For example, if I wanted to talk about the Monarch Butterfly in a scientific context, to be specific so that other scientists know exactly what organism I'm talking about, I would refer to it as Danus plexippus. When using binomial nomenclature in writing, once a specific species has been identified, to save space and time, the entire thing can be shorted by using a capital initial for the genus. So, because I've already specified the exact species of butterfly I'm talking about here in a previous sen, I can now refer to the Monarch Butterfly as D. plexippus.
The study of taxonomy is a fascinating field, and is one where heated debates often occur. The most common areas of debate occur at the highest levels of classification, and the lowest levels of classification.
The high levels of classification are a controversial topic because they seek to divide very large groups of organisms, and evolutionarily, the changes that occurred to separate these groups happen so incredibly long ago that the order in which these changes occurs is almost indiscernible. The main topics of debate at the moment is between the Kingdoms. Some taxonomists wish there to be only two kingdoms (Plantae and Animalia), some four (Monera, Protista, Plantae, and Animalia), and some five (Monera, Protista, Animalia, Fungi, and Viridiplantae). The problem is not the large organisms, but the tiny, colonial and unicellular organisms. These organisms comprise of over 80% of the earth's biodiversity and biomass, and because they are so diverse and evolve so quickly, it is difficult to place these organisms into the classic Kingdom scheme of things; some that act like bacteria have plant-like properties, and some that should be plants exhibit animal-like traits.
The other area of heated debate is distinguishing species. To be able to group organisms into a species, one must first define what a species is, and how to determine whether something belongs in a species or another. The conventional definition is this: Organisms are part of the same species if they exhibit similar characteristics and are able to mate and reproduce. Sure, this sounds fine and dandy, but there are many bizarre examples that are quite difficult to divide.
For example, it has been discovered that in the arctic circle, five populations of birds that look very similar exist. Biologists attempted to classify these birds into species, but ran into a small problem. The populations were arranged in a circle around, and for the sake of this discussion, we'll call them A, B, C, D, and E. Population A can reproduce with B, B can reproduce with C, C can reproduce with D, and D can reproduce with E. Now, because they're arranged around the arctic circle, that means that population A is also beside population E. Now get this. Population E CANNOT reproduce with population A. So the question is: Where does one species start and one end? The individuals in population A are certainly different from those in E, but is sufficiently similar to B that they can reproduce.
Taxonomy is an interesting study, because it pushes the bounds of the human obsession with classifying things into nice, neat groups. Organisms and populations like the example above pose problems to our need to systematically divide everything. I argue that perhaps, some of these problems have no answers. We can try to change our definitions, but the truth is, there will always be things that we are unable to classify, unable to understand; things that do not have a nice, neat answer, and we must just perform the act of capitulation.
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I enjoyed reading your discussion on the thought of the Heavenly Realm, and I must say I don't have much to add to it; I remember having lengthy conversations with Moorhead over Christian and Semantic thought, and this was one of the topics that came up. I agree with you and him that Heaven is not a place above Earth where we "rise" to; rather, it is a New Earth that the Lord will bring, a rebirth, if you will. The picture of food made me hungry. Also, if you didn't know, it was a photo of grilled eggplant slices with fresh tomato and herb garnish. Just thought you should know it made my mouth water.
Also, I was intrigued by your notion that the Kingdom of God can be viewed as a system of ruling, and I had never thought of it that way before, but it totally makes sense!
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Sorry for not posting during the week last week; I was finishing up midterms (I had two) as well as assignments, so I've been pretty busy. This week and next week I have Lab Finals, and other shenanigans, so I'll also be pretty busy. I forgot how long it takes to write one of these! Granted, I wrote ALOT, so maybe I'll do a few short posts over the next few weeks that are less education oriented and more blog/life oriented.
I just got my OChem midterm back today that I wrote on thursday; the average was 45%. Not to brag, but I got 93%. Needless to say, I almost died from happiness. Organic Chemistry is quite fun (sometimes, when I'm not dying of stress =P) Also, one of my friends calls it "Org" instead of "O-Chem," and every time she says that, I have to pause for a moment and think "OH, she means 'Organic Chemistry', NOT 'Orgasm'."
Things have been pretty hectic; also, the temp plummeted on Friday and we got snow (as my panicked and hysterical texts have indicated... Again apologies for worrying you). My pashmina scarf is no longer sufficient for warding off the frigidity (I LOVE THAT WORD! FRIGIDITYFRIGIDITYFRIGIDITY!!!!); I broke out my wooly full on winter scarf today. SO LOOKING FORWARDS TO SCANDINAVIAN IGLOO CITY 2010! GOING TO BE SO REDIC!
On a separate note, I've finally finished breeding Feebas! This weekend I was successful in breeding a Feebas with sufficiently high IV's who also has the correct nature, so I EV trained him and prepped him for evolution, and now I can move on to breeding Roselia! I realize that this entire paragraph totally doesn't make sense, but all you need to know is that I'm working on raising/engineering (because honestly, high-level play totally requires you to engineer the best pokemon) my new team for pokemon because I'm finally getting a 4th Gen game this Christmas! I'm working on making it the most BA team that I can =)
Aw Clay, your flattery is very... well... flattering. Thank you for never letting me forget that I'm capable of doing good things. It's so easy to forget sometimes.
Lol Clay your strange TWU-learned descriptive phrases make me lol. So redic. LOL BURNT POPCORN? Oh Caly, your antics make me lol in a good way. Clay you need to learn how to cook properly. Men who cook are just that much more attractive, just saying. I mean, imagine how awesome it would be to make Belgian Waffles! (speaking of which... OMG BELGIAN WAFFLES!)
I should probably be studying my vocab and text for my essay in French on Huis Clos tomorrow, but I just can't be bothered (which reminds me: I will be posting about Huis Clos and Sartrien Existentialism some time in the future). It's French. Frankly, at this point, I've given up. Yes, I've learned some new things and I've managed to bring back some semblance of being able to understand French, but I'm not getting as much out of this course as I hoped to. I don't get to practice my writing and speaking enough, and although it's fun, I don't have the time or motivation to practice it in my spare time. It's good, but not the same without Mme Tsui, so I'm dropping the French course I signed up for next term and I'm taking another arts course. Is this influenced by the fact that my French mark is lowering my average? Yes, a bit. I need my average to be as high as possible in order to even have a chance at getting into Honours Physiology, so that's playing a big role, but I'm also not as happy as I'd like to be in the class, and it's not as good as I'd hoped, so there's also good reason on that end too. I hope to return to French when I have the time, patience, and less need for a high GPA. After that, it's on to Mandarin! That will be quite the adventure... haha XD
Anyways, wishing you all the very best for the last few weeks of school, and the impending finals.
Chat soon!
~Tim~
PS - Sorry for not including a picture for the whole arctiv birds thing; I tried to upload one but blogger is being a ridiculous idiot.
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