Taxonomy Group Project - Ms Barnes' Biology 11



Alien Taxonomy

In the year 2525….

Humans, after hundreds of years of constant effort, have successfully polluted all bodies of water on Earth. As a result, almost all previously known species of plant, animal, and other life have become extinct. Through natural selection, genetic engineering, and selective breeding programs, a portion of the Earth has been successfully repopulated. The following organisms are all that remain:

1. Photosynthetic sun-basking sharks. Their green fins have chlorophyll to convert sunlight to energy (autotrophs)

2. Chemosynthetic goldfish that convert pollution to food (autotrophs)

3. Aquatic humanoids whose main diet is aqua-wheat and basking sharks. They have fins instead of legs (heterotrophs)

4. Aqua-wheat: one of the few plants that remain, it is similar to algae.

5. Terrestrial Humanoids with 4 arms, their diet consists of butter-roaches and fuzzy hamsters.

6. Tentacled aqua humanoids, they only feed on aqua-wheat and have tentacles for arms and legs.

7. Cockroaches that feed on humanoid waste.

8. Giant Aqua-spiders that live in water and feed on goldfish and basking sharks.

9. Green-haired rats that are photosynthetic.

10. Parasitic mosquitoes that feed off any humanoid

11. Ten-legged fleas that live on the photosynthetic rats and drink blood.

12. Poison Grass - this plant is a hybrid between grass and poison ivy. The plants are toxic to almost everything (autotrophs)

13. Fuzzy hamsters with green hair that use the sunlight to make their food, thought to be related to the rats.

14. Butter-roaches: genetic engineering created these butterfly-like creatures from cockroaches. Butter-roaches eat poison grass.

Your assignment:

1. As an alien taxonomist, it is your responsibility to classify these existing organism types.

a. Create two additional organisms that might have survived the destruction of Earth’s ecosystems. Feel free to base your organism on existing ones from the year 2014 or to create something completely new. Give each one a common name, a short description and tell how it gets its energy (food, sunlight, chemicals, etc.)

b. Create a taxonomic scheme using only kingdom, phylum, genus, and species. The intermediate categories have been eliminated since the total number of species has been drastically reduced. (Two Kingdoms are recommended). Remember, if the organisms are in the same genus, they are closely related.

c. Create Latin-sounding scientific names for each organism (including the two that you invented). Remember, these will be scientific names and will include the genus and species classification. Written in this form: Genus species or Genus species

2. Illustrate your interpretation of each organism's appearance. Write the common name and the scientific name next to the drawing.

3. Prepare a dichotomous key for these organisms so that your fellow aliens can identify them when they come to Earth for their summer vacations. Remember that a dichotomous key is based on APPEARANCE of the organisms (what you can SEE from the drawings).

Each group will pass in:

1. A poster with the Taxonomic diagram using the 4 classifications with the binomial scientific names for each organism and an illustration. Here are some examples of diagrams you could use:

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[pic][pic] [pic]

2. A dichotomous key for the organisms. You can include it with your poster or pass it in on separate A4 paper.

Due Date: Friday, November 7, 2014

Total: /20 points

Alien Taxonomy Marking Rubric

|Category |3 points |2 points |1 point |O points |

|Taxonomic scheme |Logical choices were made for |Good choices were made for each|Vague or illogical choices were|No taxonomic scheme evident |

| |each taxonomic division; |taxonomic division, but some |made for each taxonomic | |

| |organisms in each taxa have |organisms seem to be out of |division, organisms in each | |

| |characteristics in common |place. |taxa do not have many | |

| | | |characteristics in common | |

|Kingdom names | |Logical, based on the |Illogical, not based on the |Absent |

| | |description of the organisms |description of the organisms | |

|Phyla names | |Logical, based on the |Illogical, not based on the |Absent |

| | |description of the organisms |description of the organisms | |

|Scientific (genus, species) | |Logical, based on the |Illogical, not based on the |Absent |

|names | |description of the organisms |description of the organisms | |

|Illustrations |Extremely creative and |Creative and colorful, mostly |Somewhat creative, mostly based|Completely different from given|

| |colorful, based on the |based on the description of |on the description of each |descriptions |

| |description of each organism, |each organism showing most or |organism, but key features are | |

| |each picture easily shows the |all of the key features |missing or indistinguishable | |

| |key features of each organism | | | |

|New organisms |Common name, scientific name, |Common name, scientific name, |New organisms not fully |No new organisms |

| |description & picture included.|description & picture included |developed in terms of naming & | |

| |Incorporated into taxonomic |but not incorporated into |taxonomic scheme | |

| |scheme & dichotomous key |taxonomic scheme & dichotomous | | |

| | |key | | |

|Dichotomous key |All 16 organisms are easily |10-15 organisms are identified |5-9 organisms are identified by|4 or fewer organisms are able |

| |identified by the 2 logical |by the 2 choices at each level |the 2 choices at each level OR |to be identified with the key |

| |choices provided at each level | |key does not have 2 choices at | |

| | | |each level | |

|Spelling | |No spelling mistakes on the |1-5 spelling mistakes on the |6 + spelling mistakes on the |

| | |poster or in the key (for real |poster or in the key |poster or in the key |

| | |words & names given in the | | |

| | |assignment) | | |

Total: /20 points

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