Visualizing Ecology

  Scientific classification of life on earth The scientific classification of life on earth was developed using seven hierarchical categories (taxanomic unit, shortened to taxon or taxa) based on shared physical traits.Kingdom (Animals, Plants, Fungi, Protist, Monera)

Phylum (e.g. Chordate, Arthropoda, Annelida, Mollusca, Nematoda, Crustacea)

Class (e.g. Arachnida, Chilopoda, Diplopoda, Insecta)

Order (e.g. Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Hemitera, Diptera)Family (e.g. Carabidae, Curculionidae)Genus (e.g. Carabus)Species. (e.g. nemoralis) European Ground Beetle – common in Washington gardens Prefixes (super or sub) may be attached to taxonomic levels to indicate further groupings or organisms within a taxonomic level. Wikipedia has excellent explanations of taxonomy and scientific classification. More recently a Tree of Life (http://tolweb.org/) on earth that is based on nucleic acid sequences distinguishes three Domains of life, the Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. Eukarya include all multi-cellular organisms. This molecular approach to taxonomy contradicts the separation of life into five kingdoms (animals, plants, fungi, protist, monera).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-domain_systemhttp://tolweb.org/notes/?note_id=54 Classifying organisms using levels below kingdom (phylum, class, order, family, genus, species) is still meaningful and most resource materials are organized based on this classification system.  Focus on soil dwelling animalsSeveral phyla of animals reside in the soil and leaf litter above. Most notable are the Arthropoda (chitin exoskeleton, including insects, spiders, mites, centipedes, millipedes, and springtails), Annelida (segmented worms, earthworms), Nematoda (round worms, nematodes), and Mollusca (snails and slugs) Focus on Arthropods following section is from http://www.fcps.edu/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/arthropod.htm Arthropod means "jointed legged creatures." All animals in the Artrhopod Phylum have jointed legs and exoskeletons. This means their skeleton is on the outside of their bodies. The Arthropod Phylum is split into Classes. Several Classes are listed below:Insecta Class: Called "insects." These animals have six legs, two antennae, and three main body sections: head, thorax, abdomen. Most insects have two sets of wings. Insects have either a four-stage life cycle (egg, larva, pupa, adult) or a three-stage life cycle (egg, nymph, adult). Includes: Bees, Wasps, Flies, Dragonflies, Butterflies, Moths, Beetles, Grasshoppers, Crickets, Mantids, Ants, Termites, and Cicadas.Arachnida Class: Called "arachnids." These animals have eight legs, no antennae, and two main body sections: cephalothorax and abdomen. Includes: Spiders, Ticks, Mites, and Scorpions.Crustacea Class: Called "crustaceans." These animals have ten legs, four antennae, and two main body sections: cephalothorax and abdomen. Most live underwater. Includes: Crayfish, Water Fleas, Shrimp, and Crabs.Chilopoda Class: Called "chilopods." These animals have long, flattend bodies with many segments. Each segment has one pair of legs. Includes: Centipedes.Diplopoda Class: Called "diplopods." This animals have long, rounded bodies with many segments. Each segment has two pairs of legs. Includes: Milllipedes.___________________________________________________________________ Identifying and classifying soil organismsThis is a difficult task! Organisms have been ‘extracted’ from soil samples using a Berlese funnel apparatus. The organisms move away from heat and light as the soil dries, dropping into the ethanol below which preserves them for observation. http://ed.fnal.gov/samplers/prairie/graphics/pp_fnal_invert_diag.gif Pour the extracted material into a Petri dish and observe under a dissecting microscope. Draw what you see. Using the on-line resources linked below, attempt to key out organisms that you observe.  Internet Resources for identifying soil organisms.Very simple diagram key – scroll to vry bottom http://www.yptenc.org.uk/docs/factsheets/env_facts/minibeasts.html 

Hope College Leaf Litter Arthropod Key

http://www.hope.edu/academic/biology/leaflitterarthropods/ Kwik-Key to Soil-Dwelling Invertebrates http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent525/soil/ident.html A Pictographic Key to Leaf Litter Arthropods from the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Projecthttp://web.missouri.edu/~bioscish/index.shtml Soil Mite pictureshttp://www.fcps.edu/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/soil_mite.htm Separating spiders and miteshttp://www.publish.csiro.au/web_cds_demo/mites/UserGuide.htm Water bears http://www.fcps.edu/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/water_bear.htm Internet resources for background information on soil organisms

Forest Invertebrates http://www.forest.nsw.gov.au/publication/forest_facts/invertebrates/default.asp

 http://www.earthlife.net/insects/soileco.htmlhttp://pages.britishlibrary.net/charles.darwin/texts/vegetable_mould/mould.html