8 Current Approaches in Taxonomy | Zoology

The following points highlight the eight current approaches in

taxonomy. The approaches are: 1. Morphological
Approach 2. Embryological Approach 3. Ecological Approach
4. Behavioural Approach 5. Genetical Approach 6. Biochemical
Approach 7. Numerical Taxonomy 8. Differential Systematics.
1. Morphological Approach:
Morphological characters such as wings, antennae, mouth parts, genitalia etc.
mainly among arthropods and insects in particular are still of immense
taxonomic importance. New techniques have, however, been developed to
understand the time structures of some morphological characters which would
be more reliable.

The use of scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron

microscope (TEM), ultraviolet rays etc. have helped the cause of new
systematics. The use of SEM has provided excellent minute information
(three-dimensional pictures) in insects, mites, ticks and other smaller arthro-
pods, which could not be adequately studied under stereo-microscopes. These
highly magnified three dimensional figures helped in the discovery of new
characters.

These characters would lead to the discovery of new species and also prepare
dichotomous keys. TEM is also of great value in groups like Protozoa where
features appear to be few. The pattern of ultraviolet reflection on the wings of
butterflies has been used as taxonomic characters in some butterflies. It can be
of great help in the recognition of sibling and closely related species.

2. Embryological Approach:
During embryonic development individuals pass through quite different
morphological stages. Thus, the taxonomic identification is based not only on
the morphological characters of the adult but rather it is based on the sum
total of all characters of all stages.

A very good example, where the character of the immature stages is useful in
classification, is Anopheles maculipennis. This species has a number of sibling
species and their identification is based on the basis of their egg structure.
Another example is Dacus oleae and Ceratitis capitata, the two economically
important fruit flies that show superficial similarity in the shape and size of
their eggs. However, the fine structural analysis of their egg shells reveals
distinct structural differences of anterior pole, studied under SEM.

The egg shell of C. capitata has very thick vitelline membrane and the endo-
chorionic complex is composed of two trabecular layers and is inverted in
respect to each other. In case of D. oleae the vitelline membrane is thin and
the endo-chorionic layer is compact with only one trabecular layer.

3. Ecological Approach:
It is an established fact that each species has its own niche in nature, differing
from one another on its closest relative in preferences of food, breeding
season, tolerance to various physical factors etc. If two species coexist in the
same habitat, they avoid inter-specific competition by their species-specific
niche characteristics, with each species subsiding on different types of food.

For example, although the larvae of Drosophila mulleri and D. aldrichi, both
live on the decaying pulp of cactus (Opuntia lind-heimeri) fruits, yet both have
specialities in their preferences for certain bacteria and yeast. Another
example is the sibling species of Anopheles maculipennis, which are broken
into six different species (Table 3.1) based on their ecological differences.

4. Behavioural Approach:
The use of behavioural characteristics is one of the most important sources in
animal systematics. Comparative ethology has proved very useful in improving
the classification of insects (particularly bees, wasps, some beetles and
cricket), fishes, frogs, birds etc.

These behavioural characteristics play a vital role in isolating mechanisms and

initiating new adaptations. The characteristics are genetically determined and
are passed on from generation to generation like morphological and
physiological characteristics.

Various sound recording devices are used. Ultrasonic sounds are produced by
a number of animals in both intra- and interspecific communications. These
sounds can be exploited (through sound spectrograms) in the discovery of not
only sibling species but also in the separation of closely related species and
simplification of classification.

A few examples are:

1. Alexander (1962) discovered about 40 species of crickets in North America
on the basis of sound analysis.

2. Barber (1951) distinguished 18 sibling species in the genus Photuris (fire

flies) in North America on the basis of the height and length of the marks
indicating intensity and pattern of flashes.

3. van der Kloot and Williams (1953) classified spiders on the characteristics
of their web construction.

4. Depending on the materials used in the construction of nests, the bee

genera Anthidium and Dianthidium can easily be separated. The former genus
uses cottony plant fibres, while the latter of resinous plant exudations and
sand or small pebbles.

5. Schmidt (1955) separated the various species of the termite genus

Apicotermes, on the basis of their nest structure.

6. In molluscs, the way in which the materials are attached to the shells
provide useful taxonomic characters in classifying the species, particularly in
the genus Xenophora.

5. Genetical Approach:
a. The DNA complement:
Deoxyribonucleic acid is the essential material for heredity, is a known fact. It
is possible that if the DNA complement of all species is known, then their
evolutionary course would become quite apparent. We know that the amount
of DNA per chromosome set is constant for each species and this can be used
in the identification of species.

b. DNA Hybridization:
‘Hybridization’ between single stranded DNA components from different
origins can provide a physicochemical means for assessing genetic relatedness
among species. The DNA from one organism is extracted and made to
hybridize in vitro with the cell-lines of other organisms. Such DNA matching
techniques hold much promise in solving complex taxonomic problems.

c. Karyological studies:
By using various staining techniques, the number, shape and banding of
chromosomes can be determined. Such karyotype is a definite and constant
character of each species. Chromosomal taxonomy can be quite useful both in
determining the phylogenetic relationships among taxa as well as in the
segregation of sibling or cryptic species. Such reliable karyotypes are now
available for about 1,000 species of mammals, several hundred species of
birds, reptiles, amphibians and fishes.

For example, on the basis of the shape and number of chromosomes, Grewal
(1982) separated some important fruit fly species (Fig. 3.1). Similarly,
Patterson and Stone (1952) were able to differentiate 16 species of the genus
Drosophila on the basis of number and shape of chromosomes.
Closely related species may show considerable rearrangement of
chromosomes and sometimes the reverse may also occur. Reproductively
isolated species may also have similar chromosomal structure and differ only
in their gene content.

Geographical races of many insect species may differ in their banding patterns
of their polytene chromosomes. Therefore, to solve systematic problems,
karyomorphology cannot be treated as the only answer. It can only be used in
selective cases.

6. Biochemical Approach:
Biochemical approach has been extensively studied in plants than in animals.
Animals contain a large number of complex compounds like hormones,
enzymes and protein molecules comprising of peptides, nucleic acids, amino
acids etc.

The primary work of a biochemical taxonomist is concerned with the

comparison and contrasting of compounds of the same class and performance
of similar functions in different animal species, in respect to their properties
as well as their distribution in different body organs.

Based on the above, taxonomy can be:

1. Protein Taxonomy:
Protein taxonomy was coined by Crick (1958), as species can be differentiated
based on the sequence of amino acids in the proteins of an organisms. Thus,
species differ in the differences of their amino acid sequences.

2. Molecular Taxonomy:
Molecular taxonomy, the term coined by Lahni (1964), was primarily based on
the nucleotide sequences of polynucleotides. When trying to measure degrees
of genetic relationship it is very important to look for the genetic material they
are composed of and this is when molecular taxonomy comes into play. It is
also believed that the changes in the enzyme structure can help in the
discovery of new species.

Turner in 1966 divided molecular taxonomy into –

(i) Micro-molecular taxonomy:
It lays stress upon the distribution and biosynthetic interrelationships of small
molecular weight compounds like free amino acids, alkacids, terpenes,
flavonoids etc. These are commonly referred to as secondary compounds. This
type of approach is particularly useful in resolving systematic problems where
hybridization has been a factor.

(ii) Macromolecular taxonomy:

Macro molecular taxonomy is concerned with the polymeric molecules. It is
more or less close to the core of hereditary information that is the DNA
sequence, RNA, polysaccharides and proteins. This approach is useful in
solving some of the more intractable systematic problems, especially those
involving relationships among higher categories. Biochemical characters have
been found to be extremely useful in solving various taxonomic problems.

A few examples are:

1. Phylogenetic relationship among various orders of birds have been
demonstrated by Basu Chaudhary and Chatterjee (1969), based on the
quantitative analysis of ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid is produced by some birds
(Anseriformes, Columbiformes etc.) in the kidney; in some (piciformes) it is
produced in the liver; while in some in both liver and kidney, and in some of
the more evolved passerine birds, it is completely lost.

2. Using the biochemical characters of the unique venoms of fire ants, Brand
(1972) were able to establish the phylogeny of a group of fire ants. Although
the biochemical approach is helpful in solving many taxonomical problems,
yet in many cases they are not useful.

Moreover, such studies are not possible in extinct organisms and, therefore, it
is difficult to trace the course of evolutionary history through this process.
However, proteins and nucleic acids provide a much reliable estimate of the
degree of genetic homology among animals.

The distribution of free amino acids in different organs of insects is of greater

taxonomic value. Similarly, in mammals, the classification of species, based on
the amino acid sequences, are in accordance to the accepted one based on the
morphological data. Such biochemical studies are conducted in five ways —
immunological, chromatographic, electrophoresis, infra-red
spectrophotometry and histochemical studies.

7. Numerical Taxonomy:
Instead of Numerical Taxonomy, some workers prefer to use the terms
‘Taximetrics’, ‘Taxonometrics’ and ‘Taximetry’. Degree of similarity was one of
the basic criteria on which the recognition of taxa had been based. The first
comprehensive effort to develop a new theoretical and practical approach to
biological systematics was put forward by Robert R. Sokal and P.H.A. Sneath
(1963), illustrated in their book Principles of Numerical Taxonomy.

It is based on an operational attitude where objects are compared ‘at face

value’. The numerical concept refuses to incorporate into taxonomy dubiously
retrievable phylogenetic informations and the philosophy has been defined as
phenetic or directly dependent on the overall similarity of the characters (the
phenotypes).

Numerical phenetics is the methodology of assembling individuals into taxa

on the basis of an estimate of un-weighted overall similarity. This concept is,
thus, based on the use of maximum number of characters and all the
characters are given equal weightage. The larger the number of taxonomic
characters, the better is the result.

The characters not necessarily be derived only from external or internal

morphology, but it may include any attributes of the operational taxonomic
units or OTUs (biochemical, behavioural, cytological, ecological,
developmental etc.).

However, there are differences in opinion of the number of characters used in

this approach. Sokal and Sneath (1963), prefer the use of at least 60
characters, Moss (1967) prefers 135 to 146 characters, while Steyskal (1968)
prefers at least 1000 characters (particularly in insects).

However, in phenetic analysis there is no place for homology or for history-

dependent concepts, such as ancestry or evolutionary changes. That taxonomy
should be freed of all theoretical implications, led pheneticists to reject in their
work any reference of species. They were replaced by the concept of the OTU.
However, OTUs are very heterogeneous class of entities and may be indi-
viduals, populations and some may be historical entities.

The branching diagrams found in the works of phenetics are not phylogenies
of species, but simply dendrograms made due to the clustering together of
OTUs. This work with matrices and branching diagrams cannot be developed
by hand.

It requires the use of several algorithms and computer programs, developed to

carry out the calculations. The technical advantages of numerical techniques,
thus, have proved to be a more lasting contribution to systematics. However,
Blackwelder (1967) and many other taxonomists doubt the usefulness of
numerical methods, due to:

1. The use of large number of characters probably tends to reduce the effect of
homoplasy on the result.

2. The approach is exposed to a great risk of reaching unsound classification,

as in giving equal weightage to all characters it does not allow for mosaic
evolution, special adaptations, convergence, parallelism, development and
genetic homeostasis and also evolutionary, genetic and developmental
phenomena.

3. The use of complex mathematical and statistical methods by numerical

taxonomists has led to great difficulties to follow them, by the biological
taxonomists.

In spite of the above difficulties it is believed that today all systematics is to

some extent numerical. Computers and numerical taxonomic programmes are
now standard resources in every museum and systematics laboratory. One of
the very useful software is NTSYS.

8. Differential Systematics:
Womble in 1951, proposed differential systematics as a method for summing
up the rates of change with distance (differential) for several characters to
show zones of differentiation within a taxon. However such laborious
procedures to obtain the differential set of characters have been out-rightly
rejected by a number of biologists.

However, with the advent of modern technologies, like the use of computer,
such drawbacks can be eliminated.