Chapter 4

Section 3: The Diversity of Living Things

Kingdoms

• 6 kingdoms– Based on different characteristics – Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Fungi,

Protists, Plants, Animals

Archaebacteria and Eubacteria

• 2 different kingdoms, share similar characteristics

• Microscopic, single-celled organisms

• Usually have cell walls

• Reproduce by dividing in half

• Lack nuclei

Archaebacteria and Eubacteria

• Archaebacteria: usually found in extreme places – Hot springs

• Eubacteria: very common, can be found in soil and animal bodies – Commonly referred to as bacteria

Archaebacteria and Eubacteria

• Bacteria and Environment– Some break down remains and wastes of

other organisms and return nutrients to soils

– Others recycle mineral nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorous

– Allow organisms to extract nutrients from food (ex. E.coli)

Fungi

• Fungus: organism whose cells have nuclei and cell walls– Mushroom is reproductive structure of a

fungus, rest is an underground network of fibers

• Fungi get their food by releasing chemicals that help break down organic matter, and then absorbing the nutrients

Fungi

• Fungi and Environment– Break down the bodies and body parts of

dead organisms

• Some cause disease – Ex. Athletes foot

• Some add flavor to food– Ex. Blue cheese, yeast

Protists

• Protists: diverse group of one-celled organisms and their many-celled relatives

• Amoeba- animal like

• Kelp- plant like

• Some are even fungi like!

Protists

• Most are single-celled microscopic organisms

• Plasmodium- causes malaria • Algae- probably most important

– Plant like protists that can make their own food using the sun’s energy

– Range from kelp to phytoplankton – Sources of food and covert CO2 to O2

Plants

• Plants: many-celled organisms that have cell walls and that make their own food using the sun’s energy

• Need resources:– Sunlight, oxygen, carbon dioxide

Plants

• Roots: access water and nutrients in soil

• Leaves: collect light and gases in air

• Leaves and roots are connected by vascular tissue– System of tubes that carries water and

food

Plants

• Lower Plants– First land plants, had no vascular tissue,

and swimming sperm – Could not grow large and had to live in

damp places– Descendents: mosses– Ferns and club mosses were first of

vascular plants

Plants

• Gymnosperms– Pine trees and other evergreens with

needle-like leaves (conifers- seeds inside cones)

– Definition: woody plants that produce seeds, but their seeds are not enclosed in fruits

Plants

• Gymnosperms– Can live in drier conditions because they

produce pollen– Pollen: protects and moves sperm between

plants– Produce seeds, which protect developing

plants from drying out – Needle-like leaves loose little water

Plants

• Angiosperms – Definition: flowering plants that produce

seeds in fruits – Flower: reproductive structure of the plant – Produce pollen, some use insects to

transfer – Most depend on animals to carry seeds (in

fruits)

Animals

• Cannot make their own food; take in food from environment

• Have no cell walls

• More mobile, move around environment

Animals

• Invertebrates– Definition: lack backbones – Many live attached to hard surfaces in the

ocean and filter their food out of the water – Ex. Corals, worms, mollusks, squid, insects

Animals

• Invertebrates: Insects– More insects exist on earth than any other

type of animal– Have a waterproof external skeleton;

keeps them from loosing water – Move and reproduce quickly – Most can fly

Animals

• Invertebrates: Insects– Many insects and plants have evolved

together and depend on each other to survive

– Insects carry pollen to from male parts of a flower to female parts of a flower to fertilize a plant’s egg

– Insects eat other insects, some considered pests, transmit disease

Animals

• Vertebrates – Definition: animals that have backbones – Include:

• Fish: fist vertebrates• Amphibians: partially aquatic, return to water to

lay eggs (toads, frogs salamanders)• Reptiles: complete life cycle on land (turtles,

lizards, snakes, crocodiles)

Animals

• Vertebrates– Include:

• Birds: warm-blooded vertebrates with feathers, eggs have hard shells

• Mammals: warm-blooded vertebrates that have fur and feed their young milk

• Ability to maintain a high body temperature allows birds and mammals to live in cold areas