3.4.5 Species and taxonomy

Okay so we sorta need to know a bit about how organisms are classified and named etc (naming system isnt rly important but it sort of is good to know so i'll put it in, just skip to the next paragraph if you cba to read it)...

We use the binomial naming system. The first name is the generic name (this is the name of the genus, think GENeric=GENus). Next is the specific name (this is the name of the species, think SPECIfic=SPECIes). For example, Homo sapiens (us). This tells us that we belong to the homo genus and sapiens species.

A species is a set of organisms that are able to breed to produce fertile offspring.


Courtship behaviour
Individuals can recognise members of their own species by the way they act (the behaviour of members of the same species is more similar than that of different species). Reproduction is necessary for a species to survive (duh). It is important that mating is successful as it will lead to maximum chance of species survival. Courtship behaviour enables individuals to:

• recognise members of their own species
• identify a mate that is capable of breeding (e.g is sexually mature)
• form a pair bond
• synchronise mating
• become able to breed

Courtship behavior is often used by males to determine which females are at the receptive stage (in most species, females only produce eggs for a short amount of time). 

Classification

The grouping of organisms allows better communication between scientists and avoids confusion. Classification is the grouping or organisms. there are two main types of classification:

• Artificial classification
• this divides organisms according to things that are useful at the time (e.g colour, size, etc). These features are described as analogous characteristics where they have the same function but not he same evolutionary origins (e.g butterfly and bird wings originated differently but are both used for flight).
• Phylogenic classification
• this is based upon evolutionary relationships between organisms and their ancestors. it arranges the groups into a hierarchy in which the groups are contained within larger groups with no overlap.
• it attempts to arrange species into groups based on their evolutionary origins and relationships
• Each group is called a taxon (plural taxa)
• one hierarchy comprises the taxa:
• domain
• kingdom
• phylum
• class
• order
• family
• genus
• species. 

NOTE: The theory and practice of biological classification is taxonomy.