Given the importance of this topic from competitive examinations like SSC CGL, UPSC in this article, we would look at the basics of classification of organisms.
1. Characteristics like growth, reproduction, metabolism and response to stimuli distinguish us from non-living things.
a. Growth refers to the increase in number or mass of cells.
b. Reproduction is the process of producing young ones of the same kind.
c. Metabolism refers to the chemical reactions that occur inside a living cell to produce energy and waste products.
d. Response to stimuli is an organism’s ability to sense changes in their surroundings and respond to it.
2. Around one million organisms live in the ocean, with two-thirds of them as yet unidentified. Such diversity makes it nearly impossible to study each organism individually.
3. This diversity necessitates classification, a systematic approach that helps scientists to categorize the organisms based on similarities in their features (ecological information, morphological, behavioural, genetic and biochemical observations).
4. Scientific name for categories thus formed is taxa (singular – taxon).
5. The branch of study that deals with systematic arrangement of organisms is called systematics. It helps to establish relationships between different categories of organisms. The scope of systematics includes identification, nomenclature and classification.
6. Taxonomy: The branch that deals with identification, description and classification of the living organisms is called taxonomy.
7. Greek philosopher Aristotle was the earliest to attempt scientific classification of organisms. He grouped plants into herbs, shrubs and trees and the animal kingdom into the ones with and without red blood/bloodless.
8. Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus is called the Father of Taxonomy. He categorised all the organisms into two kingdoms-Plantae and Animalia-in his book Systema Naturae. However, due to disputed positions of organisms like bacteria, fungi, virus and euglena (single-celled organism found in fresh and salt waters), the system of classification had to be reconsidered.
9. He discovered binomial nomenclature (binomial means two names; nomenclature is the system used for naming things) – the formal system of naming an organism with a two-word Latin name and hierarchical classification system based on observable characteristics of the organism.
10. Five-kingdom classification: It was proposed by R.H. Whittaker in 1969 considering the complexity of cell structure, body of the organism, mode of nutrition, lifestyle and phylogenetic relationship (evolution history of a species, especially based on shared common ancestors).
11. The five kingdoms comprise of kingdoms Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia.
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