Taxonomy is the process by which different organisms are identified, classified and named. All organisms including living and extinct are grouped into distinct categories with other similar organisms and given a scientific name. Animals and plants are categorized into eight distinct taxonomic groups such as Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus and Species. Taxonomy assists people to group organisms so that biological information can be easily communicated ( Krathwohl, D. R., & Anderson, 2009 ). It also assists scientist to comprehend and organize life diversity on earth. Native plants and animals are considered native only if they came in their location naturally without the involvement of human activity.
One of the selected native plants is the large-leaved lupine found in western North America. It is a seasonal herbaceous plant with stout stems. Lupine is a large and diverse genus within the legume Family Fabaceae. The plant is categorized within Kingdom Plantae; order Fabales, family Fabaceae and genus lupines L. The Lipunus plant has evolved into different species. Initially, the species of Lupinus L. were divided into lupines, Lupinnelus, and Platycarpos. As much as the taxonomy of Lupinus is confusing, many distinct species of Lipunus plant have been identified. The plant has evolved to almost 200 species with the center of diversity in South and North America.
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One of the selected native animals is the Koala bear. The koala bear is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial whose native habit is mainly Australia. It belongs to the Phascolarctidae family. The animal is categorized into Kingdom Animalia, family Phascolarctidae, order Diprotodontia, class Mammalia and genus Phascolarctos. The Koala bear has gradually changed over time as a result of climate, location and many more. The animal has evolved in four stages. The stages that the Koala bear has evolved include Perkoala Plankarinnicca that existed 15 million years ago, followed by Litokoala Kutjamarpensis that existed 10 million years ago ( Dickens, 2015) ). Koala bear has evolved into Koobor Notabilis and Koobor Jimbarratti that existed 5 million years ago. Koala bear has currently transformed into Phascolarctos Cinereus. Some of the factors that have contributed to this species branching out in the above species are climate, location, and predators.
Evolution of plants and animals reflect the biodiversity of life over time by permitting species to become differentiated. In this case, species gradually transform in many different ways. The changes that appear to be helpful are passed to future generations and eventually contribute to the increase of new species. It is in this particular way that evolution assists to explain diversity ( Jarne & Charlesworth 1993 ). Additionally, the process of evolution permits new species to rise as well as permit species to come into existence and fill every niche in the ecosystem. As a result of so many niches, there is going to be a broad variety of life. By allowing species to fill various niches, many diverse forms of life will establish itself.
The plants, animals, and fungi work together in many different ways. To begin with, plants form symbiotic relationships with Mycorrhizal fungus. As the roots of the plant feed sugars to the fungus, the fungus feed plants with minerals. In this case, they act as extensions of the roots that can help in degrade rocks for their minerals. Apart from helping plants, fungus helps animals in digestion by acting as part of the biota. Lichens are food sources for grazing animals. Additionally, mushrooms are used a food, penicillin produces antibiotics and yeast is used to prepare bread. Fungi also help in the decomposition of dead plant and animal matter and recycle these nutrients back to the soil.
References
Dickens, R. K. (2015). The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)! past, present and future. Australian Veterinary Journal , 51 (10), 459-463.
Jarne, P., & Charlesworth, D. (1993). The evolution of the selfing rate in functionally hermaphrodite plants and animals. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics , 24 (1), 441-466.
Krathwohl, D. R., & Anderson, L. W. (2009). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives . Longman.
