Classification of Organisms

Because of the enormous amount of species in our planet, it is neccesary to classify them using a logical order. The most used system for achieving this organization, is the binomial nomenclature. This system was developed by Carolus Linnaeus. There are seven classification levels:

• Kingdom
• Phylum
• Class
• Order
• Family
• Genum
• Species

In the generally accepted system there are 5 kingdoms:

• Animalia
• Plantae
• Fungi
• Protista
• Monera

Dichotomous Key is a method of organizing organisms based on characteristics. Organisms paired with a series of direction that leads to increrasingly more specific descriptions of an organism, ending when a group containing all of the relevant characteristics found.

Trophic Levels

A trophic level is the hierarchal position that an organism or group or organisms occupies in an ecosystem. 3 levels can be mainly found in an ecosystem:

• Producers: An organism that obtains organic food molecules without eating other organisms but by using energy from the sun or inorganic molecules to make organic molecules.
• Consumers: An organism that obtains its nutrition by eating other organisms. Herbivores and Carnivores. The role of consumers in an ecosystem is to transfer energy from one trophic level to the next. In this trophic level, we can find several sublevels in which species can be classified into: primary, secondary tertiary and quaternary consumers.
• Decomposers: An organism that obtains energy by breaking down dead organic matter into more simple substances. Alco called saprobes.

Info on Ecosystems

Ecosystems are complex sets of relationships among the living resources, habitats and residents of an area. Ecosystems consist of nonliving (Abiotic) and living (Biotic) components and are often described based on feeding relationships. Some examples of ecosystems are:

• Desert
• Forest
• Coral Reef
• Tundra
• Savanna
• Chaparral

Each of these ecosystems, are located in different parts of the planet and share characteristics such as weather, vegetation, species, etc. which allows us ti classify them into these categories.

Systems!

System is a word used to define a set of components which interact and function between them. One of the main characteristics of a system is that it acts in a predictable way and is composed by:

• Inputs
• Outputs
• Flows
• Storages
• Sources
• Sinks

Systems can be classified into 3 different categories:

• Open System: Materials and Energy are exchanged across the boundaries of the system.
• Closed System: Energy is exchanged across the boundaries but matter is not
• Isolated System: Neither matter nor energy is exchanged.

Basic Information

In order to start writing this blog about environmental systems and societies I will put up some basic information about systems.

What is a system?

Simply put, a system is a set of components that function and interact in some regular and theoretically predictable. Though you will learn more about systems later on.

Examples of different systems could be tundra, taiga, rainforest, desert, estuary, etc. Here, in Monterrey, you can find different ecosystems such as decidious forest, aquatic ecosystem, and steppe.

In the ecosystems exist the trophic levels which is the position of an organism according to its place on the food chain. A food chain represents a succession of organisms that eat another organism and are, in turn, eaten themselves. The number of steps an organism is from the start of the chain is a measure of its trophic level. Food chains start at trophic level 1 with primary producers, move to herbivores at level 2, predators at level 3 and typically finish with carnivores or apex predators at level 4 or 5. The path along the chain forms a one-way flow along which energy travels in the form of food.

Here's an example of trophic levels:

A savanna is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses. Some classification systems also recognize a grassland savanna from which trees are absent

It is often believed that savannas feature widely spaced, scattered trees. However, in many savannas, tree densities are higher and trees are more regularly spaced than in forest. Savannas are also characterized by seasonal water availability, with the majority of rainfall confined to one season. Savannas are associated with several types of biomes. Savannas are frequently in a transitional zone between forest and desert or prairie. Savanna covers 20% of the Earth's land area. The largest area of savanna is in Africa.

Werner, Patricia A.; B. H. Walker; P. A Stott (1991). "Introduction" Patricia A. Werner. Savanna Ecology and Management: Australian Perspectives and Intercontinental Comparisons. Oxford:Blackwell Publishing.

grass savanna, Britannica Online Encyclopedia