Biology:Kingdom questions?

Question

1. Why was the kingdom monera divided into two separate kingdoms? 2. Why might Protista be though of as the odds and ends kingdom? 3. Which kingdom includes only prokaryotes, and which only heterotrophs?

Answer 1

1. Kingdom Monera was divided into Kingdoms Archaebacteria and Eubacteria because scientists discovered too many differences in cell structures and DNA to keep these groups in the same kingdom together.
2. Kingdom Protista includes all the kinds of organisms that did not belong in any of the other three eukaryotic kingdoms. It's that "miscellaneous" label that puts protists together in one kingdom.
3. Prokaryotes are Kingdoms Eubacteria and Archaebacteria. Kingdoms Fungi and Animalia contain only heterotrophs.

Answer 2

This is actually funny because I just studied Biology this year and I completely forgot everything. I think I could help on #2 though.

while the other kingdoms are organized by attributes the organisms have in common, the organisms in Protista are only put there because they don't fit into any other kingdom. It's the only kingdom grouped by exception. Though in the end, organisms in that kingdom seem to have some few things in common. Some are quite pretty [the diatoms and such] under a microscope, that's totally irreverant though.

Answer 3

Archaea are a major division of microorganisms. Like bacteria, Archaea are single-celled organisms lacking nuclei and are therefore prokaryotes, classified as belonging to kingdom Monera in the traditional five-kingdom taxonomy. Eubacteria (singular: bacterium) are unicellular microorganisms. They are typically a few micrometres long and have many shapes including spheres, rods, and spirals.

Eubacteria and Archeabacteria differ most noticably in the enviroments they are able to inhabit. Eubacteria encompass the vast majority of bacteria we, as humans, come into contact with. The bacteria that live inside and around us, such as E. coli and Salmonella, are Eubacteria. Archeabacteria live in much harsher conditions, such as acidic hot springs and a mile below the arctic ice.

The first three kingdoms are well-defined monophyletic groups, but the "Kingdom Protista" is not monophyletic; it contains organisms which are more closely related to members of other kingdoms than they are to other protists. It's also defined on the absence of characters (i.e. no complex development from embryos, no extensive cell differentiation, etc.), which is considered poor form.



Prokaryotes are organisms without a cell nucleus (= karyon), or any other membrane-bound organelles. Most are unicellular, but some prokaryotes are multicellular). The prokaryotes are divided into two domains: the bacteria and the archaea. The metabolism of prokaryotes is far more varied than that of eukaryotes, leading to many highly distinct types of prokaryotes. For example, in addition to using photosynthesis or organic compounds for energy like eukaryotes do, prokaryotes may obtain energy from inorganic chemicals such as hydrogen sulfide.

A heterotroph is an organism that requires organic substrates to get its carbon for growth and development. A heterotroph is known as a consumer in the food chain. Contrast with autotrophs which use inorganic carbon dioxide or bicarbonate as sole carbon source. All animals are heterotrophic, as well as fungi and many bacteria. Some parasitic plants have also turned fully or partially heterotrophic, whereas carnivorous plants use their flesh diet to augment their nitrogen supply, but are still autotrophic.

Heterotrophs are unable to synthesize organic, carbon based compounds independently from the inorganic environment's sources (e.g. Animalia, unlike Plantae, cannot photosynthesize) and therefore must obtain their nutrition from another heterotroph or an autotroph.

Answer 4

i can answer number 2: because most of its organisms are placed in their because they can't fit into the other categories without creating "categorizing conflicts"