A Look at
Diversity
The Kingdoms of Life
The Kingdoms
•
•
•
•
•
•
Animalia
Plantae
Fungi
Protista or Protoctista
Archaea
Eubacteria
Kingdom Animalia
• Multicellular – “made up of many cells”
• Cells are eukaryotic (“true nucleus”)
• Obtain food/energy by eating and digesting
(“heterotrophic”)
• MOST reproduce sexually
• Can live in many different environments
– Freshwater, soil, land, jungles, houses!
• HUGE range of sizes
– Microscopic worms to whales
Kingdom Plantae
• Multicellular
• Cells are eukaryotic (“true nucleus”)
• Obtain energy by converting sun energy into
their own “food” a.k.a. photosynthesis
(“autotrophic”)
• Reproduce sexually! Really!
• Can live in many different environments
– Freshwater, soil, land, jungles, houses!
• Come in diverse forms in a HUGE range of sizes
– Mosses all the way to giant sequoias
Kingdom Fungi
• Also multicellular but some fungi (like yeast) are
organisms made of a single cell
• Obtain energy/food “opposite” from the way
animals do…(still “heterotrophic”)
• Can reproduce sexually or asexually, depending
on what species
• Hugely diverse!
• Examples include penicillium, yeast,
mushrooms, athlete’s foot, ringworm!
Kingdom Protista
• Live in water, moist habitats, soil, on trees,
inside other organisms
• Diverse ways that protists:
– Reproduce
– Obtain food/energy
– Are shaped (and size varies, too)
– Live their lives!
• Diseases include malaria, giardia
Kingdom Archaea
(or Archaebacteria)
•
•
•
•
Single celled. That means 1 cell = 1 organism
Prokaryotic (“before” “nucleus” – so has none!)
Come in many different shapes
Lives in extreme environments
– Low oxygen, high temperature, high salt, high acidity
• Some obtain food/energy from the environment
(“heterotroph”) and some can convert sun 
energy (“autotroph”)
• Typically don’t move (no structures on body to
allow movement)
Kingdom Bacteria
•
•
•
•
Single celled. That means 1 cell = 1 organism
Prokaryotic (“before” “nucleus” – so has none!)
Come in many different shapes
Can live in any environment
– soil, human bodies, water, dog poop!
• Some obtain food/energy from the environment
(“heterotroph”) and some can convert sun 
energy (“autotroph”)
• Typically don’t move (no structures on body to
allow movement)
Kingdom Bacteria
• Used for environmental clean-up efforts
• Reproduce by dividing in two (to produce
two “daughter” bacteria/cells) or budding
• Some exchange small amounts of DNA
• Prokaryotes (pro = “before”, karyon =
“kernel”/“nucleus”
Homework to complete after
lecture
• Bacteriophage
• Pretty good lecture
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycx_ClAcyc
Debrief Questions
1. Which of the characteristics seems to be
the most useful to biologists in grouping
organisms into kingdoms?
2. How does this table address the
following statement?
All living things show unity and diversity.
3. Analyze your table for three trends that
go from left to right and write them
descriptively.