A specific set of step-by-step procedures for computing answers toa mathematical problem.
Morphological characteristics of two or more taxathat are superficially similar but not as a result of any common evolutionary origin. For example, birds, bats, and butterflies all have wings, but this is not because they are closely related. Compare with homologous features.
A system of nomenclature in biological taxonomy whereby each type of plant or animal is given a two-word name, with the first name identifying the genus and the second the species. Genus name is always capitalized and abbreviated after the firstuse, and species name is lowercased. Both are always shown in italics; thus, Homo sapiens and, later in the same document, H. sapiens.
A large ecosystem (community of interdependent organisms and their inorganic environment) characterized by its dominant life-forms. There are two basic varieties of biome: terrestrial, or land-based, and aquatic.
A system of taxonomy that distinguishes taxonomic groups or entities (i.e., taxa) on the basis of shared derived characteristics, hypothesizing evolutionary relationships to arrange these in a tree like, branching hierarchy. Cladistics is one of several competing approaches to taxonomic study.
The third most general obligatory of the taxonomic classification ranks, after phylum but before order.
A very broadterm, with application far beyond the biological sciences, that refers to the act of systematically arranging ideas or objects into categories according to specific criteria. A more specific term is taxonomy.
A cell that has a nucleus as well as organelles (sections of the cell that perform specific functions) bound bymembranes.
The third most specific of the seven obligatory ranks in taxonomy, after order but before genus.
One of the five kingdoms of living things, consisting of multicellulareukaryotic cells arranged in a filamentous form (that is, a long, thin series of cells attached either to one another or to a long, thin cylindrical cell.) Fungi include "true" fungi, molds, mushrooms, yeasts, mildews, and smuts (a type of fungus that afflicts certain plants).
The second most specific of the obligatory ranks in taxonomy, after family but before species.
Morphological characteristics of two or more taxa that indicate a common evolutionaryorigin, even though the organisms may differ in terms of other morphological features. An example is the pentadactyl limb, common to many birds and most mammals (e.g., the human's four fingers and thumb), which indicates a common ancestor. Compare with analogous features.
The highest or most general ranking in the obligatory taxonomic system. In the system used in this book, there are five kingdoms: Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia.
One of the five kingdoms of living things, consisting of single-cell prokaryotes, including bacteria, blue-greenalgae, and spirochetes (spiral-shapedundulating bacteria that may cause such diseases as syphilis).
Structure or form, or the study thereof.
The act or process of naming, or a system of names—particularly one used in a specific science or discipline. See also binomial nomenclature.
Anapproach to taxonomy in which specific morphological characteristics of an organism are measured and assigned numerical value, so that similarities between two types of organism can be compared mathematically by means of an algorithm. Numerical taxonomy also is called phenetics.
The seven taxonomic ranks by which all species must be identified, whether or not they also are identified according to nonobligatory categories, such as subphylum, cohort, or tribe. These ranks are kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.
The middle of the seven obligatory ranks in taxonomy, more specific than class but more general than family.
Another name for numerical taxonomy.
The biological conversion of light energy (that is, electromagnetic energy) from the Sun to chemical energy in plants. In this process carbondioxide and water are converted to sugars.
The evolutionary history of organisms, particularly as that history refers to the relationships between life-forms, and the broad lines of descent that unite them.
The second most general of the obligatory taxonomic classificationranks, after kingdom and before class.
A cell without a nucleus.
One of the five kingdoms of living things, consisting of single-cell eukaryotes. Protista include protozoans, slime molds (which resemble fungi), and algae otherthan the blue-green variety.
The most specific of the seven obligatory ranks in taxonomy.
The science of classifying and studying organisms with regard to their natural relationships.
A taxonomic group or entity.
The area of the biological sciences devoted to the identification, nomenclature, and classification of organisms according to apparent common characteristics. The word taxonomy also can be used more generally to refer to the study of classification or to methods of classification (e.g., "the taxonomy of Dickens's characters.")
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