Lecture 1 Understanding the spatial and temporal distribution of organisms: - What unit of life is present and where - taxon (plural is taxa) means organisms. - How are organisms adapted to those areas - Why are some places more species-rich than others? - What factors limit species distribution? - How has species distribution changed over time? Biosphere: - Biosphere = part of Earth where life is present - Each species is distributed over a part of the biosphere, this is known as it's 'range' - Range is influenced by physical environment, competition, adaption and evolutionary history - Range reflects a response to the physical environment(abiotic factors, e.g., rock, air, water) - Also reflects competition with other species for food, living space & other resources - Also reflects the adaptation of the species over time to its environment & its evolutionary history Spatial Scales: - Scale is really important when considering patterns of change - micro- and macroscales highlight different patterns. - Niemela et al. (1992) -comparison of ant species in Finnish boreal woodland - There is also vertical as well as horizontal differentiation Temporal Scale: - Diurnal Separation - occurs daily - e.g. swallows and bats both hunt insects, however swallows hunt insects during the day, and bats are nocturnal so hunt during the night - Seasonal Separations - this occurs over the variations in seasons - e.g. migrations of birds from the North to the South to avoid colder weather. - Climate change - over 1ffffs, 1ffffffs, or 1ffff, ffffffs of years fluctuations in climate have resulted in forcing of contraction and expansion - many oscillations. History of Research: - Until the C15th, descriptive science prevailed with relation to the descriptions of different species. - Carl von Linne (known as the father of taxonomy) founded the Linnean system of scientific classification. He was consequently given the Latin name Carolus Linnaeus. He produced Systema Natura, 1735-58. - Following this system, organisms began to be classified properly under the system of binomial nomenclature - two-name system. Each species is given a genus name and a species name - e.g. Canis lupus - wolf, (canis = genus, lupus = species - followed by author (L.) and date (1758). - All life forms on this planet fall within 5 kingdoms: 1) Monera: Single celled, microscopic bacteria; most successful of all living organisms, invisible to human eye 2) Protista: algae/protozoans; unicellular eucaryotes - have a cell wall 3) Plantae: the plants, photosynthetic organisms with cellulose cell walls 4) Fungi: Moulds, yeasts, & mushrooms, organisms that decompose dead organisms, decomposition 5) Animalia: The animals; organisms that eat other organisms & lack cellulose cell walls; often motile - Within each kingdom there are many different Phyla(plural of Phylum) - A-ending = plural - Um-ending = singular Plant Phyla (divisions): - Anthocerotophyta: Hornworts - Bryophyta: Mosses - Marchantiophyta: Liverworts
- Lycopodiophyta: Clubmosses & spikemosses - Pteridophyta: Primitive ferns & horsetails - Pteridospermatophyta: Seed ferns - Pinophyta: Conifers - Cycadophyta: Cycads - ftingophyta: ftinkos - Anthophyta: Flowering