LSM1301 AY 2023/2024

GENERAL BIOLOGY

BIODIVERSITY
DR. ZEEHAN JAAFAR
Email: [email protected]
Consultation : by appointment
 Outline

• Biodiversity
– Definition • Taxonomy
– Why study biodiversity? – Naming species
– Linnaean classification
• Species
– Species Concepts
• A Quick Tour of the Tree of
– Speciation Life
– Extinction
 Biodiversity
• Biodiversity
• Short for “biological diversity”
• Refers to the whole range of life on earth
• Includes different organizational levels
Ø genes
Ø Individuals
Ø populations
Ø ecosystems

• How many species are there?

• Around 2 million species have been described
• Estimates given that there are 7-100 million species in total
How many species?
 Biodiversity
• 7,000-10,000 new species are described annually

• Tropical rain forests are believed to be home to two-thirds of the world’s existing
species, most of which have yet to be named

5
 Biodiversity
• Why study biodiversity?
• Essential to processes that keep the planet habitable
for humans
• Example: water and carbon cycle, soil formation
• Human societies are dependent on properly
functioning ecosystems
• Benefit industries such as agriculture, fisheries,
pharmaceuticals, veterinary and human medicine
• Increases psychological well-being
• Information is needed to be able to monitor and
conserve species and environments
 Biodiversity
• Why study biodiversity?
❶ Economic – food, fuel, leisure, pharmaceutical, tourism
❷ Ecological –ecosystem service and climate regulation
❸ Scientific – to increase knowledge

Scientists working on material during Expedition Panglao Philippines, Fishes for sale at seafood market in Thailand
photo by Dr Tan Swee Hee
 Economic role of biodiversity

• Harvesting biodiversity for food, timber and fuel

 Economic role of biodiversity

• Creating better agricultural yields

- 80% of food sources derived from only 20 plant species
(wheat, sugar cane, rice, potatoes, maize)

• Monocultures lead to disease susceptibility

- Irish potato famine, US corn leaf blight epidemic

• Greater gene pool allows for greater variety

- Wildtypes introduced to cultivars to obtain improved
varieties (higher yield, better resistance)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2005/06/050619194524.jpg
 Economic role of biodiversity
• Bio-prospecting
- Extracting active compounds for medication

• 40% of medicinal compounds from Nature

- Tamiflu vaccine - Chinese star anise extracts
- Digitalin (heart conditions) – Foxglove
- Vincristine (childhood leukemia) - Periwinkle

http://www.livingrainforest.org/lib/img/cms/rosy-periwinkle.jpg
http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/Faculty/Carr/images/dig_pur.jpg
 Economic role of biodiversity
• Recreation – Ecotourism is an expanding industry worldwide
 Ecological role of biodiversity
• Diversity of species and genes affects the functioning of ecosystems
→ removal causes ecosystem collapse – overharvesting of timber and food
→ unchecked internal/external pressures cause ecosystem collapse – such as the widespread bleaching of coral reefs in Indian and Pacific
Oceans in 2010 which caused many dive sites in Thailand to be closed, coral mortality in some areas were more than 50%.
 Ecological role of biodiversity
• Diversity of species and genes affects the functioning of ecosystems which affects
ecosystem services
- processes through which natural ecosystems sustain human life
Air & water purification, replenishment of oxygen, pollination of flowers, dispersal of seeds, provision of wildlife
habitats, waste decomposition, erosion and flooding control, pest.

Aceh in the wake of the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2006 New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005
 Ecological role of biodiversity

• Ecological effects of biodiversity in turn affect climate change

e.g. enhanced greenhouse gases, aerosols and loss of land cover, and biological diversity

• Rapid loss of ecosystems causes extinctions of species

Please read:
http://www.fauna-flora.org/news/fauna-flora-international-discovers-new-species-of-snub-nosed-monkey/

Newly discovered species of snub-nosed monkey

already threatened with extinction. Photo by
natgeo.com
 Scientific role of biodiversity
• To increase our knowledge and understanding of the natural world

Expedition Panglao Philippines, photo by Dr Tan Swee Hee

Biodiversity and the Deep
http://www.nautiluslive.org/video/2018/09/20/gulper-eel-balloons-its-massive-jaws
 Species
• Species
• Types or kinds of organisms
• Arise from existing ones through evolution

• Species are a human concept

• Define species for our purposes
• To be able to identify groups of organisms as
being unique
• To have a standard point of reference
 Species Concepts
• Biological Species Concept
• Defines species as organisms that can breed
with each other in the wild and produce
fertile offspring
• Reproductive isolation occurs when there is a
lack of gene flow and genetic changes
accumulate until interbreeding is not possible
• Reproductive barriers classified as pre-zygotic
or post-zygotic (before or after a zygote is
formed)
 Typological Species Concepts
• Morphological species concept
• Earliest definition
• Defines species as organisms sharing
distinct anatomical features that
distinguish them from others
• Based on a “type specimen”
• First individual named and described
• Collected and deposited in a museum
• Used as a standard for comparison
 Speciation
• Formation of new species through reproductive isolation
• Three modes of speciation defined by spatial pattern
• Allopatric – no contact between populations
• Parapatric – populations share a border area
• Sympatric – continuous contact between populations
 Speciation
• Allopatric speciation
• A barrier physically separates a population into two groups that cannot
interbreed
• With no gene transfer between the two populations, each proceeds down its
own evolutionary line
 Speciation
• Parapatric speciation
• Part of a population enters a new
habitat bordering the range of the
parent species
• Expanding population evolve traits that
suit the bordering habitat
• Mating can occur between populations,
but most individuals mate within their
own population
 Speciation
• Sympatric speciation
• Populations diverge genetically
while sharing a habitat
• Seen to occur in 2 ways:
Ø Each species specializes in a
unique micro-environment,
leading to reproductive
isolation
 Extinction
• Extinction is a natural process
– Five mass extinctions in the past
– Fossil record shows that species
diversity has been increasing but
not steadily
– Periods of high speciation as well
as extinction
• Species existing today may
represent only 2-4% of all
species that ever existed
 Extinction
• Humans have been linked to
extinctions in since pre-historic times
Ø Elimination of megafauna (terrestrial
animals >44kg) from different continents Aurochs, large
roughly corresponds to time of bovines, Europe
colonization by humans Moa, giant
• 6th mass extinction in modern times bird, New
Zealand
Ø >800 species extinct in the last 500 years
Ø Estimate >50% of all species will go
extinct in the next 500 years
Megalonyx , giant
sloth, N America
 Taxonomy
• Taxonomy is the science of
• Identifying, describing and
naming species
• Classifying species into
hierarchal groups based on
similarities to others
• Classical approach used the
morphological species concept
• Modern taxonomists also use
molecular tools
 The Science Behind Naming Organisms
• Taxonomy is a branch of biology concerned with classifying, identifying
and naming of organisms

• Began with the ancient Greeks and Romans

- Aristotle classified organisms into groups such as horses, birds, and
oaks

- John Ray, English Naturalist (1627–1705)

- Believed that each organism should have a set name
- Otherwise, “men…cannot see and record accurately.”
 The Science Behind Naming Organisms

• Many systems were proposed over time

• First internationally recognized and adopted system was proposed by :

Carl Nilsson Linnaeus (1707–1778)

• Laid the groundwork for modern biological classification
• Universality; practicality

• Linnaeus proposed a hierarchical, binomial system

where each species has a unique combination of Latin paired names which
provides ancestry
 Taxonomy
• Carolus Linnaeus
– Swedish botanist who developed the scientific naming system
still in use today
Ø Unique binomial name for each species
Ø Taxonomic hierarchy of classification

• Rules set and standardized by scientific associations

 Naming species
• Common names
• Imprecise, can lead to confusion
ØOne organism can have many names (synonyms)
ØOne name can apply to many organisms (homonyms)

• Scientific Names
• Advantages = Each name is unique, no homonyms or synonyms
• Disadvantages = Difficult to remember and pronounce
Ø Usually in Latin, Greek or other ancient language
What’s in a (Scientific) Name?
Year description
published

Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758

Generic Name or Specific Epithet the author of

Genus or Species name the name (not
italicized or
underlined)
Always italicized or if written by
hand, should be underlined
Etymology: Latin “homo”, man + “sapiens”, wise
 Naming species
• All named species have been
formally described in a peer-
reviewed publication
• Detailed description
• Identify what features make it unique
• Compare with other species that it is
closely related to
 Why use scientific names?
• We saw that common names while easy to use, may cause some
problems such as

- One name can apply to many different organisms of different forms

- One organism can be referred to by many names
- Limited to one language which is understood to those practicing that language
- No information on relationships
- Rare organisms have no common names
- Imprecise application leads to confusion
- Applicable to different taxonomic levels but no indication of rank
• Turtles and frogs applies to order rank (there are many turtle and frog
species)
• Black-spitting cobra applies to species rank
• Red Delicious applies to one cultivated variety of apples(one genotype)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Haeckel_Chelonia.jpg
 Why use scientific names?
• Scientific names may be difficult to use as there are rules to adhere
to, and Latin is a difficult language to learn and use.

However, there are advantages to using scientific names:

• Applies to a specific rank

• Precise application makes things very clear for users
• One name applies to one entity
• Every known rank (species, genus, …, domain) will have a scientific name
• Relationships made known by suffices at the end of the name

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Haeckel_Trochilidae.jpg
Linnean Classification
• When a species is given a name, it also is
classified into the taxonomic hierarchy
Ø Established by Carolus Linneaus

• Members of each rank share common features

with others
Ø the more features two organisms share, the more
taxonomic levels they share

• Mostly an aid to our recollection

Ø ideally should reflect evolution
 A Quick Tour of the Tree of Life
3 Domains
❶ Bacteria

❷ Archaea

❸ Eukarya

4 Kingdoms
a. Protista
b. Plantae
c. Fungi
d. Animalia
 Domain Bacteria
• Very diverse – found everywhere; important in
many natural processes
• Prominent in human medicine: some are sources of
antibiotics, some cause infections
• Reproduce asexually, have horizontal gene transfer Dental plaque is caused by bacteria
• Currently has ~23 phyla

Anthrax – derived from Bacillus anthracis

 Domain Archaea
• Long thought to be part of Domain Bacteria, since they are very similar
• “Extremophiles” – first found in extremely hot, acidic, or salty environments
• Reproduce asexually, have horizontal gene transfer
• 3 phyla
 Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Protista
• Primarily unicellular
• Metabolically diverse
• Structurally complex
• Asexual reproduction usual but also sexual
• Live mostly in water

Well-known groups:
Blue-green Algae Amoeboids
Diatoms Ciliates
Dinoflagellates Slimemolds
Euglenoids
 Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Fungi
• Cell walls with chitin
• Heterotrophs: obtain food by absorption
• Reproduce asexually and by sexual spores
• Classified by reproductive structures
• Well known groups: molds, yeasts,
mycorrhizae, mushrooms
 Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Plantae
• Cellulose cell walls
• Autotrophic: perform photosynthesis
• Terrestrial plants classified by
– tissue structure into non-vascular and vascular
– reproductive characteristics
 Domain Eukarya

Kingdom Animalia
• No cellulose cell walls
• Heterotrophs: obtain energy
from other organisms
• Some have complex organ
systems
• Able to move about and
respond rapidly to stimuli
Summary
The End