adaptive radiation
The evolutionary process whereby species that are descended from a common ancestor diverge to exploit different ecological niches.
algae
Single or multicellular predominantly aquatic plant organisms. In sewage treatment, algae are used for biological filtration. Under some circumstances they form a symbiotic relationship with ...
Archaebacteria
A subkingdom of the Prokaryotae (See Classification). The archaebacteria are placed in a group separate from the rest of the bacteria (the eubacteria) on the basis of a variety of biochemical ...
Bacteria
One of three superkingdoms (domains) of cellular organisms, the others being Archaea and Eukarya. Bacteria are unicellular and anucleate i.e. prokaryotes. They embrace a great diversity of forms, ...
binomial nomenclature
The system of naming organisms using a two-part Latinized (or scientific) name that was devised by the Swedish botanist Linnaeus (Carl Linné); it is also known as the Linnaean system. The first part ...
biology
The study of living organisms; or a generic term for the life sciences, including botany, zoology, anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and related disciplines. [From Greek bios life + logos word, ...
Carolus Linnaeus
(Carl Linné; 1707–78) Swedish botanist. He travelled round Europe and by 1735 had described more than 100 new species of plants. In 1749 he announced his system of binomial nomenclature, which, with ...
chemotaxonomy
The classification of plants and microorganisms based on similarities and differences in their natural products and the biochemical pathways involved in their manufacture. See also taxonomy.
cladistics
A method of classification that attempts to uncover the genealogic relationships between any two species by stressing only the advanced characteristics that they share. The graphic representation of ...
cladogenesis
In cladistics, the derivation of new taxa (see taxon) that occurs through the branching of ancestral lineages, each such split forming 2 equal sister taxa that are taxonomically separate from the ...
class
A category used in the classification of organisms that consists of similar or closely related orders. Similar classes are grouped into a phylum. Examples include Mammalia (mammals), Aves (birds), ...
classification
1. the process of grouping organisms on the basis of features they have in common, or on the basis of their ancestry, or both. 2. the resulting arrangement of living things into groups as a ...
domain
The highest taxonomic category in a classification system based on comparisons of ribosomal RNA. There are three domains: Archaea; Eubacteria; and Eukarya. Each domain comprises organisms that are ...
Émile Durkheim
(1858–1917)French sociologist and one of the founding fathers of modern sociology.After he graduated from the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, Durkheim taught sociology first at the University of ...
endemism
The situation in which a species or other taxonomic group is restricted to a particular geographic region, due to factors such as isolation or response to soil or climatic conditions. Such a taxon is ...
Eubacteria
One of the three major domains of living organisms, comprising aerobic and anaerobic bacteria occurring in virtually all habitats. Some live in or on the bodies of other organisms, and may cause ...
Eucaryota
In taxonomy, the group that includes all eukaryotes. In the five-kingdom classification the Eukarya ranks as a superkingdom and in the three-domain classification it is a domain. In both systems the ...
Eukarya
A domain containing all eukaryotic organisms, embracing protists, fungi, plants, and animals. In three-domain classification systems, the other two (prokaryotic) domains are Archaea (comprising the ...
family
Family bible a bible designed to be used at family prayers, typically one with space on its flyleaves for recording important family events.the family that prays together, stays together motto ...
fungus
n. ( pl. fungi) a simple organism (formerly regarded as a plant) that lacks the green pigment chlorophyll. Fungi include the yeasts, rusts, moulds, and mushrooms. They live either as saprophytes or ...
