1.Definition and basic concepts of Biosystematics, , Historical perspectives of Biosystematics and Taxonomy, Stages of taxonomic procedures-alpha taxonomy, Beta taxonomy and Gamma taxonomy, Neo taxonomy.

1. By
Datta Ashok Nalle

2. 1.Definition and basic concepts of Biosystematics, ,
Historical perspectives of Biosystematics and
Taxonomy, Stages of taxonomic procedures-alpha
taxonomy, Beta taxonomy and Gamma taxonomy,
Neo taxonomy. (SLIDE 3 TO 17)
 Approaches/Trends in taxonomy-embryological,
ecological, ethological, cytological, Biochemical,
and numerical approaches in taxonomy
 Significance/Importance of Taxonomy in –
biodiversity and conservation, research,
medicine,agriculture and pest management, and
fisheries.
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3. Definition of Taxonomy:
1. The term taxonomy is derived from two Greek words – taxis
meaning arrangement, and nomos meaning law.
2. It was first proposed in 1813 by A.P. de Candolle (a professor
of Montpellier University in France) in its French form, for the
theory of plant classification.
“Taxonomy is the theoretical study of classification,
including its bases, principles, procedures and rules”.
1. According to Mayr (1982), “Taxonomy is the theory and
practice of classifying organisms”.
2. Taxonomy is thus an information system comprising of
classification, nomenclature, descriptions and identification.
3. According to Christoffersen (1995), taxonomy has become
the most basic activity in biology, dealing exclusively with the
discovery, ordering and communication of patterns of biological
taxa. It, however, leans heavily on systematics for its concepts.
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4. Taxonomy is the study of scientific classification, in particular the
classification of living organisms according to their natural relationships.
Taxonomy's first father was the philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC),
sometimes called the "father of science." It was Aristotle who first
introduced the two key concepts of taxonomy as we practice it today:
classification of oranisms by type and binomial definition.
Aristotle was the first to attempt to classify all the kinds of animals in
his History of Animals (Historia Animalium in Latin).
He grouped the types of creatures according to their similarities: animals
with blood and animals without blood, animals that live on water and
animals that live on land. Aristotle's view of life was hierarchical.
He assumed that creatures could be grouped in order from lowest to
highest, with the human species being the highest. Subsequent
commentators on Aristotle interpreted this as a "ladder of nature" (scala
naturae) or a "Great Chain of Being," but these were not Aristotle's terms.
His system of classification was not evolutionary, and the various species
on the ladder had no specific genetic relationship to each other.
 Aristotle regarded the essence of species as fixed and unchanging, and
this view persisted for the next two thousand years.
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5. His other innovation was binomial definition. "Binomial" means
"two names," and according to this system each kind of organism
can be defined by the two names of its "genus and difference." The
word "genus" comes from the Greek root for "birth," and among its
meanings are "family" and "race.“
Aristotle's notion of definition was to place every object in a
family and then to differentiate it from the other members of that
family by some unique characteristic. He defined humans, for
example, as the "rational animal." This, according to Aristotelian
thought, defines the essence of what it is to be human, as opposed
to such pseudo-definitions as "featherless biped.
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6. Andrea Cesalpino (1519-1603) was an Italian
physician who created one of the first new
systems of classifying plants since the time of
Aristotle.
He was a professor of materia medica, the
study of the preparation of medicines from
plants, at the University of Pisa, and was also in
charge of the university's botanical garden.
There, he wrote a series of works titled On
Plants (De Plantis), detailing his system of
classification.
While his work was in large part based on the
work of Aristotle and his successors, his
innovation in basing his system of classifying
plants on the basis of the structure of their fruits
and seeds influenced subsequent scientists such
as Linnaeus.
Andrea Cesalpino
(1519-1603)
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7. Carl (Carolus) Linnaeus (1707-1778) was born, there were many
systems of botanical classification in use, with new plants constantly
being discovered and named.
This, in fact, was the problem — there were too many inconsistent
systems, and the same plant might have several different scientific names,
according to different methods of classification.
During his childhood, Linnaeus was so fond of collecting plants that he
was known as "the little botanist." He later became a physician, as so
many other early taxonomists did, but returned to botany as his primary
study.
He published his most innovative work as a young man in 1735. The
System of Nature (Systema Naturae) is notable for an overall framework
of classification that organized all plants and animals from the level of
kingdoms all the way down to species. The full subtitle of its tenth edition
was: System of nature through the three kingdoms of nature, according to
classes, orders, genera and species, with characteristics, differences,
synonyms, places. This system of classification, although greatly modified,
is essentially the one we use today.
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8. BY.DATTA A NALLE 8
THE BOOK WRITTEN
BY Carolus Linnaeus

9. Among biologists the
Linnaean system of
binomial nomenclatur
e, created by Swedish
naturalist Carolus
Linnaeus in the
1750s, is
internationally
accepted.
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10. Biosystematics is simply known as “the study of biodiversity and its
origins” and it is an art as much as science. In a broader sense, it is a
science through which organisms are discovered, identified, named and
classified with their diversity, phylogeny, spatial and geographical
distributions.
Definition of Systematics The term Systematics is derived from
Latinized Greek word systema, as applied to the systems of
classifications developed by early naturalists. Systematics is the
science of diversity of organisms.
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11. The scope of taxonomy and that of systematic in particular are:
1. It works out a vivid picture of the existing organic diversity of our
earth and is the only science that does so.
2. It provides much of the information, making it possible for the
reconstruction of the phylogeny of life.
3. It reveals various interesting evolutionary phenomena, making them
available for casual study by other branches of biology.
4. Almost entirely, it supplies information needed by the various
branches of biology.
5. It provides names for each kind of organism, so that all concerned
can know what they are talking about and such information can be
recorded, stored and retrieved when needed.
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12. 6. It differentiates the various kinds of organisms and points out their
characteristics through descriptions, keys, illustrations etc.
7. It provides classification, which are of great heuristic and explanatory
values in most branches of biology like evolutionary biochemistry,
immunology, ecology, genetics, ethology, historical geology etc.
8. It is important in the study of economically or medically important
organisms.
9. It makes important conceptual contributions in population thinking,
thereby making it accessible to experimental biologists. It thus contributes
significantly to the broadening of biology and to a better balance within
biological science as a whole.
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13. Levels of Taxonomy
α (alpha),
β (beta)
and
Ƴ (gamma)
taxonomy
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14. Alpha (α) taxonomy:
1. Alpha (α) taxonomy is the analytic phase in
which the species are identified, characterised
and named.
2. At this level when a new species is discovered it
is named in accordance with Linnaeus system
of binomial nomenclature.
3. Here priority is given to the one who publishes
his work first. All problems relating to species
are dealt here.
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15. Beta (β) taxonomy:
1. Beta (β) taxonomy refers to the arrangement of
the species into a natural system of hierarchial
categories.
2. This is done on the basis of easily observable,
shared, structural features and evaluation of
numerous characters.
3. Thus, β-taxonomy relates to the search of a
natural system of classification. Each taxon
would thus possess diagnostic features unique
to that taxon.
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16. Gamma (Ƴ) taxonomy:
1. Finally, gamma (Ƴ) taxonomy designates the analysis of
intraspecific variations and evolutionary studies. Much
attention is paid to a causal interpretation of organic diversity
— study of speciation.
2. But in actual practice it is rather difficult to dissociate them
because these overlap and integrate.
3. There are only a few groups of animals (some vertebrates,
especially the birds and a few insect orders like Lepidoptera
etc.) where the taxonomy has reached up to the gamma level.
4. Otherwise, in almost majority of the groups, the Works are still
at the alpha and beta level.
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17. Neo-taxonomy Or Experimental Taxonomy
1. modern taxonomy which considers species to be the
product of evolution, studies all its populations, varieties
and sub-species and gathers information from various
fields before delimiting a species from its relatives. Julian
Huxley (1940) developed the concept of New Systematics.
2. It is related to the genetical studies based on a common
gene pool for a taxon and become helpful to distinguish two
different taxa.
3. Some modern procedures are applied to collect the data for
morphology.
4. The use of electron arid scanning electron microscope in
different groups of invertebrates such as protozoans,
helminthes, arthropods to study the fine structures that
become helpful in morphotaxonomy.
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