1. Home
  2. Dna barcodes decoded
  3. Background
  4. What is a species?

What is a species?

<< Chapter < Page
  Dna barcodes decoded   Page 1 / 1
Chapter >> Page >
What is a species? In the past, scientists classified living things into categories based primarily on morphological characteristics, such as beak size, tail length, and coat patterning. Today, scientists use several methods, including genetic analyses, as described below.

Recent research

Scientists are refining their taxonomic strategies in the hope of developing a standardized method of classifying, identifying, and describing the evolutionary history of species. The following links will take you to original research addressing these issues.

How do scientists identify and name species?

What is a species? Scientists don't agree on the exact definition of a species. Read about species concepts on this UC Berkeley site.

What is taxonomy? Taxonomists name and classify living things, so they play an important role in determining how we define species. Read more about taxonomy at this Vision Learning website.

Who was Linnaeus? Read about the taxonomist Linnaeus on this UC Berkeley site.

Try your hand at classifying living things using Linnaeus's method .

What are the current approaches to classification? Scientists today use morhological (physical) traits, embryology (patterns of development), and molecular biology to identify species.

Classify organisms using current methods in this activity.

Can't get to a museum? Visit the Zoological Museum Amsterdam in the Netherlands online and check out hundreds of 3-D bird specimens online.

Your turn...

  • Why is the naming and classifying of species so difficult?
  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of different methods?
  • If you could create your own classification system, what factors would you consider?

Digging Deeper: Want more detail about how classification, taxonomy, and evolution are related? The National Center for Biotechnology Information provides a very thorough explanation.

Questions & Answers

A golfer on a fairway is 70 m away from the green, which sits below the level of the fairway by 20 m. If the golfer hits the ball at an angle of 40° with an initial speed of 20 m/s, how close to the green does she come?
Aislinn Reply
cm
tijani
what is titration
John Reply
what is physics
Siyaka Reply
A mouse of mass 200 g falls 100 m down a vertical mine shaft and lands at the bottom with a speed of 8.0 m/s. During its fall, how much work is done on the mouse by air resistance
Jude Reply
Can you compute that for me. Ty
Jude
what is the dimension formula of energy?
David Reply
what is viscosity?
David
what is inorganic
emma Reply
what is chemistry
Youesf Reply
what is inorganic
emma
Chemistry is a branch of science that deals with the study of matter,it composition,it structure and the changes it undergoes
Adjei
please, I'm a physics student and I need help in physics
Adjanou
chemistry could also be understood like the sexual attraction/repulsion of the male and female elements. the reaction varies depending on the energy differences of each given gender. + masculine -female.
Pedro
A ball is thrown straight up.it passes a 2.0m high window 7.50 m off the ground on it path up and takes 1.30 s to go past the window.what was the ball initial velocity
Krampah Reply
2. A sled plus passenger with total mass 50 kg is pulled 20 m across the snow (0.20) at constant velocity by a force directed 25° above the horizontal. Calculate (a) the work of the applied force, (b) the work of friction, and (c) the total work.
Sahid Reply
you have been hired as an espert witness in a court case involving an automobile accident. the accident involved car A of mass 1500kg which crashed into stationary car B of mass 1100kg. the driver of car A applied his brakes 15 m before he skidded and crashed into car B. after the collision, car A s
Samuel Reply
can someone explain to me, an ignorant high school student, why the trend of the graph doesn't follow the fact that the higher frequency a sound wave is, the more power it is, hence, making me think the phons output would follow this general trend?
Joseph Reply
Nevermind i just realied that the graph is the phons output for a person with normal hearing and not just the phons output of the sound waves power, I should read the entire thing next time
Joseph
Follow up question, does anyone know where I can find a graph that accuretly depicts the actual relative "power" output of sound over its frequency instead of just humans hearing
Joseph
"Generation of electrical energy from sound energy | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore" ***ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7150687?reload=true
Ryan
what's motion
Maurice Reply
what are the types of wave
Maurice
answer
Magreth
progressive wave
Magreth
hello friend how are you
Muhammad Reply
fine, how about you?
Mohammed
hi
Mujahid
A string is 3.00 m long with a mass of 5.00 g. The string is held taut with a tension of 500.00 N applied to the string. A pulse is sent down the string. How long does it take the pulse to travel the 3.00 m of the string?
yasuo Reply
Who can show me the full solution in this problem?
Reofrir Reply
Got questions? Join the online conversation and get instant answers!
Jobilize.com Reply
<< Chapter < Page Page > Chapter >>

Read also:

Get Jobilize Job Search Mobile App in your pocket Now!

Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store Now




Source:  OpenStax, Dna barcodes decoded. OpenStax CNX. Feb 09, 2005 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10266/1.1
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

Notification Switch

Would you like to follow the 'Dna barcodes decoded' conversation and receive update notifications?

Ask