MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

SAMARA STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Department...

Test.

Diversity of species on Earth. Functions of living matter on the planet.

performed:

...-year student

... faculty

checked:

SAMARA 2004

PLAN

INTRODUCTION.

1. FUNCTIONS OF LIVING MATTER.

CONCLUSION.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION.

In 1916, when the domestic scientist V.I. Vernadsky introduced into science the idea of "living matter", this completely changed the scientific worldview that had prevailed until that time. It is from this moment that the revision of the basic provisions of modern Earth science and a number of adjacent private natural science disciplines begins.

Previously, it was generally accepted that all living things arose simply through the gradual complication of the inert matter of the Earth. However, Vernadsky recognizes such opinions as untenable and, at a new stage in natural science, returns to theory J.L. Buffon, according to which the entire universe is permeated with eternal and indestructible organic particles, and the amount of life on Earth is constant. From these premises it followed that It is the living state of matter that is its main and fundamental state. In notes that were written between 1917 and 1921, and published 60 years later in the form of the book “Living Matter,” Vernadsky defines this new concept as follows:

“I will call living matter a collection of organisms,

participating in geochemical processes. The organisms that make up the totality will be elements of living matter. In this case, we will not pay attention to all the properties of living matter, but only to those related to its mass (weight), chemical composition and energy. In this usage, “living matter” is a new concept in science. I deliberately do not use a new term, but use an old one, giving it an unusual, strictly defined content.”

According to Vernadsky's theory, not only rocks and fossils, but also the Earth's atmosphere as a whole are the result of the vital activity of bacteria, plants and animals. The connection between geological structures and organic life, as a rule, is not accessible to direct observation, is not obvious and is veiled. This is due to the fact that these types of processes are characterized by extremely long periods of time. Nevertheless, such a connection exists, and with sufficient persistence of the researcher it is always possible to find the root cause - most often this process at its core contains the chemical influence of one or more organisms over a long period of time.

There are three fundamentally different answers to the question of the origin of life and, accordingly, the functions of living matter.

The first ultimately comes down to the postulate of the eternity of life and, therefore, about its cosmic origin. The second one is somehow based on the premise of purely earthly origin of life and, accordingly, the entire diversity of living species that we can observe at the current stage of evolution.

However, in both cases, both possible answers to the question of the origin of life are nothing more than hypotheses. And therefore, in order to get closer to the truth, scientists needed to leave these too abstract and speculative answers aside and be based on indisputable, consistent theses. These theses must follow from repeatedly proven facts, which, due to this circumstance, are no longer subject to doubt.

In his work “Biosphere” V.I. Vernadsky puts forward six such fundamental generalizations.

1. Under the conditions of the Earth, the fact of the origin of living things from non-living things has never been observed.

This thesis clearly demonstrates the difference between an empirical generalization not only from a hypothesis, but also from any purely theoretical postulate. It does not state that the generation of living things from non-living things is impossible in principle, but it only states that within the limits of our observations there are no such facts.

1. There are no eras without life in geological history
2. Modern living matter is genetically related to all past organisms
3. In the modern geological era, living matter also influences the chemical composition of the earth's crust as in past eras
4. There is a constant number of atoms captured at a given moment by living matter
5. The energy of living matter is the converted, accumulated energy of the Sun

1. FUNCTIONS OF LIVING MATTER.

The two most common answers to the question of the nature of the origin of life fall into three different solutions to this problem.

1. Life originated on Earth during the cosmic stages of its history in such unique conditions that were no longer repeated in later geological eras.
2. Life is eternal, that is, it existed on Earth and in the cosmic epochs of its past.
3. Life, eternal in the universe, appeared new on Earth. In other words, this concept states that the embryos of life were brought to Earth from the outside constantly. But they gained a foothold on our planet only when conditions favorable for this developed on Earth.

V.I. Vernadsky and a number of his followers, influential modern scientists, accept the third option, that is, the hypothesis of the cosmic transfer of latent forms of life, since, according to Vernadsky, “life is a cosmic phenomenon, and not specifically terrestrial.” It was this theory that gave rise to the idea of a single living substance of extraterrestrial nature. An important point in this theory is the introduction of living matter to Earth from the depths of space. But this source was introduced not in the molecular plane (that is, not in the form of a collection of living molecules), but in the form of biological fields constantly operating in the universe. The functioning of these fields is such that living molecules are formed wherever the necessary conditions for this are present. Recently, evidence has emerged of the real existence of this pervasive biological field.

A number of well-known scientific experiments and discoveries from time to time confirm the hypothesis of the primordial and eternity of living matter.

Some time ago, paleontologists discovered structures with a clear geological appearance from rocks whose age is approximately 3.8 billion years. Moreover, there is no reason to think that in this case the very initial stage of life was discovered. No one can guarantee that with the development of paleontological methods, even more ancient traces of life will not be found. Related to this discovery is another, already from the biogeochemical field: the constancy of the ratio of two carbon isotopes in the earth's crust. This discovery means that throughout geological history, living matter controls the earth's carbon cycle, since one of the carbons is biogenic.

In another experiment, scientists took living blood cells and added antibodies to them in the form of a solution. As expected, the result was a process of degranulation (destructuring) of living cells, and they died. These bodies were then diluted with water and added back to the blood cells. As a result, the cells disintegrated again. But the sensational nature of this experiment was that the limit after which the antibodies cease to act (since their concentration becomes negligibly small) was never found. Researchers, through a huge number of experiments, brought the dissolution to an incredible concentration, which significantly exceeds the number of elementary particles in the entire universe. But even at this concentration, the serum continued to act.

This seemed all the more incredible since not a single molecule of the active substance could exist in the solution, and yet degranulation continued. Scientists were faced with the question: how is information transferred in this case, if there are no longer even traces of the material carrier of this information? As a result of this experiment, it was established that biological information can be transmitted not only with the help of molecules, but also in some fundamentally different way. This unaccounted agent is a carrier of a biological field.

But, perhaps, the main circumstance that testifies in favor of the thesis about the eternity of living matter and its irreducibility from inanimate matter is associated with its following functions.

Living matter exists only in the form of a biosphere of a large body, the individual parts of which perform mutually supporting and complementary functions, as if providing each other with life-sustaining services. If there are organisms that accumulate certain substances, then it is logical to assume that organisms with the opposite biogeochemical function must also exist in order to maintain equilibrium. These organisms of the second type decompose this substance into simple mineral components, which are then put into circulation again.

Further, if there are oxidizing bacteria, then there must be - and they always are - reducing bacteria. One or more organisms will not be able to survive on Earth for any long time. An interesting and illustrative example can be given that confirms the complementary functions of living matter. When the first spaceships were created for long-term flights, the designers of these ships were the first to feel the need to introduce systems that perform self-sustaining life on board: like “kidneys”, “lungs”, etc. for the ship. Thus, they performed functions similar to the functions of living matter in nature.

In the big spaceship called Earth, if there is one thing that is constant, it is the functions of life. And it is not for nothing that Vernadsky, having initially called the biosphere a “mechanism,” later abandoned this word, replacing it with a more adequate one - an organism. Vernadsky considered the number of atoms captured in the life cycle to be constant. More precisely, the number of atoms was considered to fluctuate around some average value. It is on this basis that modern scientists, who have adopted the hypothesis of eternity and the cosmic origin of life, refute the popular belief that in unimaginably distant times life was frail and weak, huddling only in some isolated oases.

Further, scientists made calculations of the speed at which organisms capture space: in relation to bacteria, it turned out to be comparable to the speed of sound in the air. It is also known that they are capable of increasing a mass equal to the weight of the globe within a few days. And even the elephant, the slowest breeder of all animals, can do this in 1,300 years, that is, from a geological point of view, almost instantly.

Conventional and popular ideas, gleaned from school textbooks, are based on the idea of ​​a “beginning” and the gradual evolution of life, its development from simpler and more primitive forms, ascending to more and more complex ones. But in evolution, when it is presented in this way, some essential points are missed, for example: the constancy of a number of organisms throughout the history of the biosphere. Such organisms that stubbornly refuse to evolve include the so-called prokaryotes, or pellets. Unlike the rest of the living world, their cells do not have a nucleus.

Despite such primitiveness, and perhaps precisely because of it, prokaryotes turn out to be so ubiquitous that they are “built-in” in almost every chemical reaction that occurs on the surface, in the so-called weathering crust, in the interior, in hot springs, and also in water and volcanic emissions. A living substance is placed at some site of the reaction, thereby transforming the geochemical picture into a biogeochemical one, generating the irreversibility of these reactions and leading them to some result. And since the rate of division of these prokaryotes is enormous, the fruits of their biogeochemical work are stunning. For example, this can be said about the ore reserves of the Kursk magnetic anomaly or the Chiatura manganese basin. Wherever there is an increased content of any chemical element compared to its average content in the earth's crust, then, as a rule, one must look for living matter as the reason for this. Most often it is a prokaryote or, as it is otherwise called, lithotrophic bacteria.

They were discovered by an outstanding Russian microbiologist S.N. Vinogradsky. He examined sulfur bacteria, which had abnormal amounts of sulfur in their cells. The question remained unresolved: why do these creatures need so much sulfur? Winogradsky suggested that sulfur for bacteria is a nutrient substrate, the same as protein for other organisms.

This assumption was completely contrary to all the experience of biology. It was believed that inorganic, mineral substances are a structural, supporting or accompanying component of cells, but not an energy component. This is how lithotrophs, or so-called “stone eaters,” were discovered, which have a second main method of nutrition - mineral (chemosynthetic) as opposed to photosynthetic. By converting mineral compounds from one form to another, they extract energy, and therefore they do not require solar energy, like plants, or other organic matter, like animals.

As a result of further research, it turned out that the number of lithotrophs is constantly growing: what seemed to be a rare whim of nature has turned into a huge detachment. In addition, it turned out that in their morphological characteristics and in their ecology they are so different from the rest of the living world that they have formed a completely separate super-kingdom of living nature. Between him and the rest of the (eukaryotic) living world there is the same bottomless abyss without any transitions or intermediate steps, as between living and nonliving matter.

And finally, thirdly, prokaryotes are very independent organisms. Their units are capable of performing all functions in the biosphere. This means that, in principle, a biosphere with a structure that would consist only of prokaryotes is possible. It is quite possible that this is how it was in past, former spheres. And then all the dinosaurs and crocodiles, all the mosses and lichens, all the fish and animals, all the mushrooms and algae, grasses and trees - all this is just a superstructure, flowers on the “lining”, the first biosphere.

The lithotrophs themselves and blue-green algae, also belonging to the superkingdom of prokaryotes, are. On the geochronological scale, where orders and species of extinct and currently existing organisms are depicted as drops, more or less elongated, that is, appearing and disappearing, these organisms are presented as a continuous, even ribbon that stretches from the Archean period right up to the present day. Their exact stamping without changes throughout the entire abyss of the existence of the biosphere is a real mystery for supporters of the theory of universal evolution.

“Prokaryotes symbolize a certain special type of evolution, where

an organism cannot be considered separately from its environment: after all, without changing

themselves, they change the natural environment with their life activities. Maybe,

that the evolution of man himself is of the same nature; morphologically

he is still the same, and ahead of him rolls the ever-increasing shaft of civilization.

The face of the Earth has been changed decisively and irrevocably. Similar type of evolution

it would have to be called something special: for example, “irreversible immutability.” The existence of a “prokaryotic biosphere” proves first of all...

her eternity. Geology and paleontology, together with other disciplines,

especially with the prefix “paleo” - geography, climatology and ecology

before our eyes confirms the thesis about the eternity and cosmic nature of life,

about the ever-present vibrancy of the planet.”

As for sophisticated experiments in growing “life in vitro,” they all ended in nothing. And if earlier scientists still had a glimmer of hope to simulate certain initial conditions that could lead to the emergence of the simplest organisms, then after the discovery of the material carrier of heredity, all ground was knocked out from under them. Between laboratory organic matter and the genetic structures on the basis of which all living things are built, there is a gap that cannot be filled by anything.

Thus, exactly modern science considers biogenesis to be the main property of living things and at the same time the greatest secret of nature, its insoluble riddle, beyond the control of the human mind. The author of the concept of living matter, Vernadsky, had a negative attitude towards other versions of the origin of life, rightly emphasizing that the enormous factual material accumulated in natural science undoubtedly proves the origin of all modern living organisms through biogenesis.

Recognizing biogenesis, according to scientific observation, as the only form of the origin of living things, we inevitably have to admit that there was no beginning of life in the cosmos that we observe, since this cosmos itself did not have a beginning. Life is eternal insofar as the cosmos is eternal, and it has always been transmitted by biogenesis. What is true for tens and hundreds of millions of years that have passed from the Archean era to the present day is true for the entire countless passage of time during the cosmic periods of the Earth’s history, and therefore is true for the entire universe.

As a result, science comes to the conclusion that in the beginningless cosmos the same eternal ones are its four main components are matter, energy, ether and life.

From the very beginning of its emergence, the earth's biosphere was a region of the earth's crust in which the energy of cosmic radiation was transformed into such types of earth energy as electrical, chemical, mechanical and thermal. Thanks to this, the history of the biosphere is sharply different from the history of other parts of the planet, and its importance in the planetary mechanism is absolutely exceptional. It is as much, if not more, a creation of the Sun as it is a revelation of the processes of the Earth.

The automatic regulation of living matter in the biosphere, conditioned by the unity of order and chaos, also explains the origin of life, since the existence of chaos and regular, cyclic movement plays a huge role in the formation of various biological structures. After all, chaotic behavior is a typical property of many systems (both natural and technical). It is recorded in periodically repeated stimulation of heart cells, in chemical reactions, when turbulence occurs in liquids and gases, in electrical circuits and other nonlinear dynamic systems, it manifests itself in dissipative structures, as another prominent scientist called them Ilya Prigozhin.

Such dissipative structures have the following signs without which self-organization of the system is impossible: they are open, nonlinear and irreversible. In the process of the emergence of earthly life, the main role was played by self-organizing systems. The result of their specific selection along the path of long-term evolution is life.. Consequently, nature “invented” not only the principle of open-loop program control, but also the principle of closed-loop automatic control with feedback in living systems.

Cosmic radiation generated by the galactic core, neutron stars, nearby star systems, the Sun and planets permeate the entire biosphere, penetrating everything in it.

In this flow of a wide variety of radiations, the main place belongs to solar radiation, which determines the essential features of the functioning of the mechanism of the biosphere, which is cosmoplanetary in essence. V.I. Vernadsky writes the following about this:

“The Sun has radically reworked and changed the face of the Earth, permeated and embraced

biosphere. To a large extent, the biosphere is a manifestation of its radiations;

it constitutes a planetary mechanism that transforms them into new

various forms of free living energy, which is fundamentally

changes the history and fate of our planet."

If the infrared and ultraviolet rays of the Sun indirectly affect the chemical processes of the biosphere, then chemical energy in its effective form is obtained from the energy of solar rays with the help of living matter - a set of living organisms that act as energy converters. This means that earthly life is by no means something accidental; it is part of the cosmoplanetary mechanism of the biosphere.

The data available to modern science indicate that living matter develops progressively only if, through its vital activity, it increases the orderliness of its habitat. This is the main and extremely important sign of living matter.

For an intelligent form of living matter, these laws have a special, decisive significance. The earthly intelligent form of life - humanity - fulfills them, providing two vectors of its immortality: biological procreation (a common property of all living matter) and spiritual-cultural, ultimately cosmic immortality (creative contribution to the creation of the noosphere).

It is creative activity, as a purely human property of intelligent life, that for every human being is the basis and guarantee of its individual, personal development and long active life. In general, this is expressed in the progress of human populations, of all humanity, in the development of its psychophysiological, biological, global health.

It will apparently not be possible to understand the essence of life, living planetary matter, its intelligent form - man, by considering only the isolated space of the Earth. Earthly life is inseparable from cosmic processes and is included in the unity of the world whole (universe). The paths of human progress, as well as the contradictions, tensions, and catastrophes that accompany its life, can be comprehended and regulated only on the basis of a broad understanding of the anthropocosmic nature of the socio-natural evolution of man and his prospects.

Thus, putting forward a hypothesis about the cosmic scale of the distribution of living matter in the universe, scientists proceed from the fact that the principles of infinity and inexhaustibility of matter are valid with regard to the inclusion of life (including its intelligent form) in the unity of the universe.

2. DIVERSITY OF SPECIES ON EARTH.

Living matter, if we consider it as a whole, represents a certain single and homogeneous substance of life in general, it is life as such. However, in the nature around us, living matter is a complex and differentiated formation; it consists of a wide variety of species, which in turn are divided into numerous subspecies, consisting of individual living beings.

At the same time, one can state not only the expediency of the structure of each individual creature, but also the order that exists in all living nature as a whole. The unity and diversity of living species do not exclude each other; on the contrary, as various natural science studies show, they presuppose each other.

The diversity of the organic world is not limited to the number of different species. Species, in turn, consist of young and adult individuals, many have males and females, some social insects have queens, drones, "workers" and "soldiers", and, finally, most species have varieties, geographical races and ecological forms. They are characterized by certain structures and lifestyles.

And yet, with all its diversity, the organic world is not something scattered and chaotic. No matter how different the individual species of animals, plants and microorganisms may be, they all have a certain biochemical unity, expressed in the common chemical composition (proteins, carbohydrates, fats, enzyme and hormonal systems, etc.) and the similarity of the types of reactions underlying the processes of assimilation and dissimilation.

At the same time, there are also specific features and differences between species already at the level of biochemistry itself. These features distinguish an animal from a plant, bacteria from viruses, and sometimes even one species from another.

There is also a certain unity in the structure of animals, plants and microorganisms. This unity is mainly traced at the cellular level, since the cell is the basis of the structure of all organisms. Scientists have also identified and described some general laws according to which all species of animals and plants live and develop without exception. Such, for example, is the law of the unity of the living body and its environment, the law of natural selection, the law of the relationship between the individual and historical development of organisms, etc.

On the other hand, since the organic world is discrete, that is, it consists of separately existing parts, then each such part, in a certain sense, is already a whole. Possessing a certain autonomy, the parts are part of larger structural units, forming different stages of the organization of living matter - from the cell to the organic world as a whole.

But the autonomy of organisms (individuals) is also relative; they exist only as components of populations. Populations are a collection of freely interbreeding individuals of the same species occupying certain territories - biotopes. The totality of such territorial populations constitutes a species distributed over a certain part of the earth’s surface, to the conditions to which it has adapted.

“The association of heterogeneous individuals in a population, and different

populations into species creates many advantages in the struggle for existence

and ensures a more active relationship between the species and the environment, since

here more active complex forms of group life arise. Morphological diversity within the species, the existence of geographical

races (subspecies) and biological forms expand the use of the species

environment and are important for the success of its fight against other species."

Biocenoses of individual biotopes and natural zones, based on the general circulation of substances, are combined into a single system - the organic world. All parts of a single organic world differ not only in the degree of independence and autonomy, but also in the fact that as they develop, at each stage qualitatively new, more complex manifestations of life arise, while the interaction of living things with the inorganic environment deepens and expands.

The unity of diverse and complexly organized living nature is expressed in the interrelations and interactions of qualitatively different species of animals, plants and microorganisms. These relationships serve as the basis for the emergence and development of communities consisting of different species.

This is, in general, the structure of the organic world, resting on the main property of living matter - the exchange of substances and energy with the environment.

The relationships between animals, plants and microorganisms, developing on the basis of the biological cycle of substances, have a history as long as the evolution of these groups. They are regulated by mutual adaptations that emerged during evolution. This is what explains the known order and coherence in biocenoses. But these relationships are also contradictory. Individual species of animals, plants, or microorganisms are connected to each other by food, spatial and other relationships. In many cases, they cannot exist without each other, but at the same time, each species has a certain independence.

The autonomy of a species as part of an integral organic world lies in the possibility of many ways of its adaptation to its environment. Which of these methods of adaptation will actually be realized will depend on the specific combination of circumstances. In addition, species arose in different places and at different times, and therefore have different histories and abilities to exist in certain conditions. In biocenoses, species of different origins, which at different times became part of a given community, usually make up a significant proportion. Therefore, the degree of their mutual adaptation is also unequal, and the adaptations themselves are relative.

CONCLUSION.

The question of the functions of living matter and the diversity of species is closely related to origin of life problem.

Modern science argues that it makes no sense to talk about life on our planet in terms of genesis, because this would presuppose the existence of a certain “beginning,” that is, a point in evolution before which life on Earth would not yet exist. In this case, all that would remain is to postulate the hypothesis of the gradual emergence of living things from non-living matter. Modern science denies this possibility and puts forward a hypothesis about the extraterrestrial origin of life and its original nature.

Living matter is a phenomenon on a cosmic scale, and not “specifically terrestrial,” as V.I. Vernadsky put it. Vernadsky’s concept states that the germs of life were constantly brought to Earth from the outside, but they strengthened on our planet only when conditions favorable for this developed on Earth.

There are a number of main functions, properties and laws, along which living matter develops.

Its main function is self-sustaining life. It is evidenced by many scientific experiments and experiments, as a result of which scientists came to the conclusion that a number of organisms have remained unchanged throughout the history of the biosphere. These include primarily the so-called lithotrophic bacteria, discovered as a result of the experiments of S. N. Vinogradsky. These bacteria are literally immortal, indestructible and non-evolving substance.

In addition, individual parts of living matter are capable of providing each other with life-sustaining services. If there are organisms that accumulate certain substances, then it is logical to assume that in nature there must also exist organisms with the opposite biogeochemical function in order to maintain equilibrium. These organisms of the second type decompose this substance into simple mineral components, which are then put into circulation again. This is how it works closed cycle of circulation of living matter. This is possible thanks to the complementary and mutually supporting functions of individual parts of living matter.

The main property of life, therefore, is biogenesis, that is, the ability to generate self-organizing and self-developing systems. General property of living matter - biological procreation, and its special case - spiritual-cultural, ultimately cosmic immortality (man's creative contribution to the creation of the noosphere). Life in general is the result of specific selection along the path of long-term evolution.

Another aspect of the concept of living matter is the relationship of the organism with its environment. An organism (and, more broadly, matter in general) exists only due to exchange of substances and energy with their environment. This means that living matter develops progressively only if, through its vital activity, it increases the orderliness of its habitat.

On our planet it exists in four main forms: as matter, energy, ether and life.

In addition, science identifies several general laws of development and functioning of any organism: the law unity of the living body and its environment, law natural selection, law relationships between individual and historical development of organisms.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

1) V. I. Vernadsky. Age of the Earth // Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky: Materials for a biography. T. 15. - M.; 1988; ss. 318 - 326

Concepts of modern natural science. Textbook, ed. S.I. Samygin. - Rostov on Don; 1999. p. 534

Concepts of modern natural science. Textbook, ed. S.I. Samygin. - Rostov on Don; 1999. p. 382

1. What is the biosphere?

The biosphere is the shell of the Earth, including land, water and surrounding airspace, inhabited by living beings. The biosphere is an ecosystem that unites all the ecosystems of the Earth.

2. What living environments do you know?

There are four main habitats within the biosphere. These are the aquatic environment, the ground-air environment, the soil and the environment formed by the living organisms themselves.

3. What are the characteristics of the life of organisms in a particular environment?

Living in one environment or another, organisms have adapted to the conditions that are characteristic of each of them.

Questions

1. What is characteristic of the biosphere?

The composition of the biosphere and its basic properties are determined by the interaction of its biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components.

Living organisms do not simply depend on the radiant energy of the Sun.

The biosphere is characterized by a variety of natural conditions, depending on latitude and terrain, and seasonal climate changes. But the main reason for this diversity is the activity of living organisms themselves.

There is a continuous exchange of substances between organisms and the inanimate nature surrounding them, and therefore different areas of land and sea differ from each other in physical and chemical indicators.

2. What explains the diversity of living organisms on our planet?

The wide variety of living organisms on our planet is explained by the fact that living conditions on Earth are very different.

3. Can organisms influence their environment?

Living organisms not only experience influence from their environment, but also actively influence their environment. As a result of their vital activity, the physical and chemical properties of the environment (the gas composition of air and water, the structure and properties of the soil, and even the climate of the area) can change noticeably.

4. What is the impact of living organisms on their environment?

The simplest way life influences the environment is through mechanical action. By building holes and making passages, animals greatly change the properties of the soil. The soil also changes under the influence of the roots of higher plants: it strengthens, becoming less susceptible to destruction by water flows or wind.

The mechanical effect, however, is much weaker compared to the effect of organisms on the physicochemical properties of the environment. The largest role here belongs to green plants, which form the chemical composition of the atmosphere. Photosynthesis is the main mechanism for supplying oxygen to the atmosphere, thereby ensuring life for a huge number of organisms, including humans.

By absorbing and evaporating water, plants influence the water regime of their habitats. The presence of vegetation contributes to constant air humidification. Vegetation cover softens daily temperature fluctuations at the surface of the earth (under the canopy of forest or grass), as well as fluctuations in humidity and gusts of wind, and affects the structure and chemical composition of soils. All this creates a certain, comfortable microclimate, which has a beneficial effect on the organisms living here.

Living matter also changes the physical properties of the environment, its thermal, electrical and mechanical characteristics.

Organisms are capable of moving huge masses of various substances. According to the laws of physics, inanimate matter moves on Earth only from top to bottom. Living organisms can carry out reverse movements - from bottom to top. Schools of marine fish migrate up rivers to spawn, moving large quantities of living organic matter upstream. Plants lift huge masses of water and substances dissolved in it from the soil solution into the roots, stems and leaves.

Tasks

Based on the knowledge gained in biology lessons, give examples showing the impact of living organisms on various living environments.

Impact on the aquatic environment:

Small crustaceans, insect larvae, mollusks, and many types of fish living in the water column have a unique type of nutrition called filtration. By passing water through themselves, these animals continuously filter out food particles contained in solid suspensions.

Impact on the ground and air environment:

The largest role here belongs to green plants, which form the chemical composition of the atmosphere. Photosynthesis is the main mechanism for supplying oxygen to the atmosphere, thereby ensuring life for a huge number of organisms, including humans.

By absorbing and evaporating water, plants influence the water regime of their habitats. The presence of vegetation contributes to constant air humidification. Vegetation cover softens daily temperature fluctuations at the surface of the earth (under the canopy of a forest or grass. All this creates a certain, comfortable microclimate that has a beneficial effect on the organisms living here.

Largely due to the activity of living beings, the formation of gases such as nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and ammonia is controlled.

Impact on the soil environment:

Organisms have a decisive influence on the composition and fertility of soils. Thanks to their activity, in particular as a result of the processing of dead roots, fallen leaves, and other dead tissues by organisms, humus is formed in the soil - a light porous substance of brown or brown color, containing the main elements of plant nutrition. Many living organisms participate in the formation of humus: bacteria, fungi, protozoa, mites, centipedes, earthworms, insects and their larvae, spiders, mollusks, moles, etc. In the process of life, they convert animal and plant residues into humus, mix it with minerals particles, thereby forming the soil structure. By building holes and making passages, animals greatly change the properties of the soil. The soil also changes under the influence of the roots of higher plants: it strengthens, becoming less susceptible to destruction by water flows or wind.

All the diversity of the living world is almost impossible to express in quantitative terms. For this reason, taxonomists have combined them into groups based on certain characteristics. In our article we will look at the basic properties, basics of classification and organisms.

Diversity of the living world: briefly

Each species existing on the planet is individual and unique. However, many of them have a number of similar structural features. It is based on these characteristics that all living things can be grouped into taxa. In the modern period, scientists identify five Kingdoms. The diversity of the living world (the photo shows some of its representatives) includes Plants, Animals, Fungi, Bacteria and Viruses. The last of them do not have a cellular structure and, on this basis, belong to a separate Kingdom. The virus molecule consists of nucleic acid, which can be represented by both DNA and RNA. Around them is a protein shell. With such a structure, these organisms are able to carry out only the only characteristic of living beings - to reproduce by self-assembly inside the host organism. All bacteria are prokaryotes. This means that their cells do not have a formed nucleus. Their genetic material is represented by nucleoids - circular DNA molecules, clusters of which are located directly in the cytoplasm.

Plants and animals differ in the way they feed. The former are capable of synthesizing organic substances themselves during photosynthesis. This method of nutrition is called autotrophic. Animals absorb ready-made substances. Such organisms are called heterotrophs. Fungi have characteristics of both plants and animals. For example, they lead an attached lifestyle and unlimited growth, but are not capable of photosynthesis.

Properties of living matter

By what characteristics, in general, are organisms called living? Scientists identify a number of criteria. First of all, this is the unity of the chemical composition. All living matter is formed by organic substances. These include proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and nucleic acids. All of them are natural biopolymers consisting of a certain number of repeating elements. It also includes nutrition, respiration, growth, development, hereditary variability, metabolism, reproduction, and the ability to adapt.

Each taxon is characterized by its own characteristics. For example, plants grow unlimitedly throughout their lives. But animals increase in size only up to a certain time. The same goes for breathing. It is generally accepted that this process occurs only with the participation of oxygen. This type of breathing is called aerobic breathing. But some bacteria can oxidize organic substances even without the presence of oxygen - anaerobically.

Diversity of the living world: levels of organization and basic properties

Both a microscopic bacterial cell and a huge blue whale have these signs of living things. In addition, all organisms in nature are interconnected by continuous metabolism and energy, and are also necessary links in food chains. Despite the diversity of the living world, levels of organization imply the presence of only certain physiological processes. They are limited by structural features and species diversity. Let's look at each of them in more detail.

Molecular level

The diversity of the living world, along with its uniqueness, is determined precisely by this level. The basis of all organisms are proteins, the structural elements of which are amino acids. Their number is small - about 170. But the protein molecule contains only 20. Their combination leads to an endless variety of protein molecules - from the reserve albumin of bird eggs to the collagen of muscle fibers. At this level, the growth and development of organisms as a whole, the storage and transmission of hereditary material, metabolism and energy conversion take place.

Cellular and tissue level

Molecules of organic substances form cells. The diversity of the living world, the basic properties of living organisms at this level are already manifested in full. Single-celled organisms are widespread in nature. These can be bacteria, plants, and animals. In such creatures the cellular level corresponds to the organism level.

At first glance, it may seem that their structure is quite primitive. But this is not true at all. Just imagine: one cell performs the functions of an entire organism! For example, it carries out movement using a flagellum, breathing across the entire surface, digestion and regulation of osmotic pressure through specialized vacuoles. The sexual process is also known in these organisms, which occurs in the form of conjugation. Tissues are formed. This structure consists of cells that are similar in structure and function.

Organismal level

In biology, the diversity of the living world is studied precisely at this level. Each organism is a single whole and works in harmony. Most of them consist of cells, tissues and organs. The exceptions are lower plants, fungi and lichens. Their body is formed by a collection of cells that do not form tissue and is called a thallus. The function of roots in organisms of this type is performed by rhizoids.

Population-species and ecosystem level

The smallest unit in taxonomy is the species. This is a collection of individuals that have a number of common traits. First of all, these are morphological, biochemical characteristics and the ability to freely interbreed, allowing these organisms to live within the same habitat and produce fertile offspring. Modern taxonomy includes more than 1.7 million species. But in nature they cannot exist separately. Several species live within a certain territory. This determines the diversity of the living world. In biology, a collection of individuals of the same species that live within a certain area is called a population. They are isolated from such groups by certain natural barriers. These can be bodies of water, mountains or forests. Each population is characterized by its diversity, as well as its gender, age, environmental, spatial and genetic structure.

But even within a single habitat, the species diversity of organisms is quite large. All of them are adapted to living in certain conditions and are closely related trophically. This means that each species is a source of food for the other. As a result, an ecosystem or biocenosis is formed. This is a collection of individuals of different species, connected by habitat, circulation of substances and energy.

Biogeocenosis

But they constantly interact with all organisms. These include air temperature, salinity and chemical composition of water, the amount of moisture and sunlight. All living beings are dependent on them and cannot exist without certain conditions. For example, plants feed only in the presence of solar energy, water and carbon dioxide. These are the conditions for photosynthesis, during which the organic substances they need are synthesized. The combination of biotic factors and inanimate nature is called biogeocenosis.

What is the biosphere

The diversity of the living world on the widest scale is represented by the biosphere. This is the global natural shell of our planet, uniting all living things. The biosphere has its boundaries. The upper one, located in the atmosphere, is limited by the ozone layer of the planet. It is located at an altitude of 20 - 25 km. This layer absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation. Life above it is simply impossible. At a depth of 3 km there is the lower boundary of the biosphere. Here it is limited by the presence of moisture. Only anaerobic bacteria can live this deep. In the watery shell of the planet - the hydrosphere, life was found at a depth of 10-11 km.

So, living organisms that inhabit our planet in different natural shells have a number of characteristic properties. These include their ability to breathe, feed, move, reproduce, etc. The diversity of living organisms is represented by different levels of organization, each of which differs in the level of complexity of structure and physiological processes.

Diversity of living organisms on our planet. You already know that the organisms inhabiting planet Earth are extremely diverse: plants, fungi, animals, bacteria. They live in bodies of water, in the soil and on its surface, inside or on the surface of other organisms. Some living organisms (trees, birds, fish) are clearly visible, others (bacteria, some algae and fungi) are so small that it is impossible to see them without special devices. Therefore, to study them, they use magnifying devices, which you will become familiar with later.; The science of the diversity of species of living beings is called systematics (from the Greek system - tikos - ordered).

Scientific names of organisms. When faced with various living organisms, people gave them names. Therefore, the names of organisms can be folk, used in a particular country or locality, and scientific, used by scientists around the world. For example, the lemon balm plant in Ukraine is also called “lemon balm”, “lemon grass”, “honey grass”, “bee grass”. Do we really need to remember all these names in order to understand that we are talking about the same plant? Of course not.

Scientists assign a single international scientific name in Latin to each type of organism. It consists of two words. In our case, the plant is called Melissa officinalis (the Latin name of the plant is given for reference, not for memorization). The first of the two words – Melissa – is the name of the genus to which this species belongs (a genus is a collection of species that are similar to each other). This word is written with a capital letter. Another word - officinalis - indicates belonging to a certain species, it is written with a lowercase letter.

Basics of classification of organisms. You know that some organisms differ from others in one way or another. For example, you can always distinguish a birch from a poplar, a pine from a spruce, and a rose hip from a raspberry.

Systematic scientists combine organisms that are similar in certain characteristics into groups. To do this, they developed rules for the classification of organisms, with the help of which they determine their position among other creatures, that is, their belonging to certain systematic units. The basic systematic unit is the species.

A species is a group of organisms with similar structural features and vital processes that can freely interbreed and produce fertile offspring. Individuals of each species are also characterized by general requirements for living conditions and occupy a specific territory.

Species that are similar to each other are grouped into a genus. For example, warty birch and downy birch belong to the Birch genus. Close genera, in turn, are united into families. For example, the genera Beech, Chestnut and Oak belong to the Beech family. Close families are united into orders. For example, the families Beech and Birch are included in the order Beeceae.

Close orders are grouped into classes. For example, the order Beeceae, along with many other orders, is part of the class Dicotyledons. Classes, in turn, are combined into departments. For example, the classes Dicotyledons and Monocots are classified under the division Angiosperms. The highest systematic unit is the kingdom. Thus, all plant divisions belong to the plant kingdom.

Thus, to classify a certain organism means to determine its place in the system of the living world, that is, its belonging to certain systematic units.

Let us consider, for familiarization (and not for memorization), the classification of plants using the example of the dog rose, which you know.

The name “biology” for the science that studies living nature was simultaneously and independently proposed in 1802 by the French scientist J.-B. Lamarck (1744–1829) and the German G. R. Treviranus (1776–1837).

Swedish nature explorer Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) proposed a system for classifying flora and fauna. It was he who introduced double species names, that is, names consisting of two words.

The first attempt to classify plants was made by the ancient Greek scientist Theophrastus (370–285 BC). He is called the "father of botany."

The development of transport, constant trade and other connections between countries have led to the fact that the fruits and seeds of various plants have the opportunity to “travel” with people across all continents. Often such “newcomers” quickly settle in new conditions and become harmful weeds. For example, the weeds galinsoga and ragweed were brought from the American continent to Europe, which in a very short time were widely scattered throughout the fields and vegetable gardens in Ukraine. Therefore, in most countries, special quarantine services have been created to control the import of plants and monitor their movement throughout the country.

Potatoes were brought to Europe from America in the mid-16th century as an ornamental crop because of their beautiful flowers. Only later did they begin to grow it as a vegetable crop. On the territory of the former Russian Empire, Peter I ordered the cultivation of potatoes as a vegetable crop. But the peasants, out of ignorance, did not eat tubers, but poisonous berries, and often got sick from this. There are even so-called potato riots, when peasants refused to plant potatoes. Therefore, mass cultivation of potatoes in Russia and Ukraine began only in the middle of the 19th century.

1. Diversity of the living world

2. Development of taxonomy.

3. The emergence of a natural classification system.

4. Systematic groups.

1. Diversity of the living world

The living nature that surrounds us in all its diversity is the result of the long historical development of the organic world on Earth, which began almost 3.5 billion years ago. The biological diversity of living organisms on our planet is great. Each type is unique and inimitable. For example, there are more than 1.5 million species of animals. However, according to some scientists, there are at least 2 million species in the insect class alone, the vast majority of which are concentrated in the tropical zone. The number of animals in this class is also large - it is expressed in numbers with 12 zeros. And there can be up to 77 million different single-celled planktonic organisms in just 1 m 3 of water.

Tropical rainforests are particularly rich in biological diversity. The development of human civilization is accompanied by an increase in anthropogenic pressure on natural communities of organisms, in particular the destruction of the largest tracts of Amazon forests, which leads to the disappearance of a number of animal and plant species and a decrease in biodiversity.

2. Special science helps to understand all the diversity of the organic world - taxonomy. Just as a good collector classifies the objects he collects according to a certain system, a taxonomist classifies living organisms based on characteristics. Every year, scientists discover, describe and classify new species of plants, animals, bacteria, etc. Therefore, taxonomy as a science is constantly developing. Thus, in 1914, a representative of a then unknown invertebrate animal was described for the first time, and only in 1955 did the domestic zoologist A.V. Ivanov (1906-1993) substantiate and prove that it belongs to a completely new type of invertebrate - pogonophora.

Development of taxonomy (creation of artificial classification systems). Attempts to classify organisms were made by scientists back in ancient times. The outstanding ancient Greek scientist Aristotle described over 500 species of animals and created the first classification of animals, dividing all then known animals into the following groups: I. Animals without blood: soft-bodied (corresponds to cephalopods); soft-shelled (crustaceans); insects; cranioderms (shell molluscs and echinoderms). II. Animals with blood: viviparous quadrupeds (corresponding to mammals); birds; oviparous quadrupeds and legless (amphibians and reptiles); viviparous legless animals with pulmonary respiration (cetaceans); Legless, scaly fish that breathe through gills.

By the end of the 17th century. a huge amount of material was accumulated on the diversity of forms of animals and plants, which required the introduction of the concept of species; this was first done in the works of the English scientist John Ray (1627-1705). He defined a species as a group of morphologically similar individuals and attempted to classify plants based on the structure of their vegetative organs. However, the famous Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), who in 1735 published his famous work “The System of Nature,” is rightfully considered the founder of modern systematics. K. Linnaeus took the structure of a flower as the basis for classifying plants. He grouped closely related species into genera, similar genera into orders, and orders into classes. Thus, he developed and proposed a hierarchy of systematic categories. In total, scientists have identified 24 classes of plants. To designate the species, K. Linnaeus introduced double, or binary, Latin nomenclature. The first word means the name of the genus, the second - the species, for example Stumus vulgaris. In different languages, the name of this species is written differently: in Russian - common starling, in English - common starling, in German - Gemeiner Star, French - etoumeau sansonnet etc. Common Latin names of species make it possible to understand who we are talking about and facilitate communication between scientists from different countries. In the animal system, K. Linnaeus identified 6 classes: Mammalia (Mammals). He placed man and monkeys in the same order, Primates; Aves (Birds); Amphibia (Reptiles, or Amphibians and Reptiles); Pisces (Pisces); Insecta (Insects); Vermes (Worms).

3. The emergence of a natural classification system. K. Linnaeus' system, despite all its undeniable advantages, was inherently artificial. It was built on the basis of external similarities between different species of plants and animals, and not on the basis of their true relationship. As a result, completely unrelated species ended up in the same systematic groups, and closely related ones turned out to be separated from each other. For example, Linnaeus considered the number of stamens in plant flowers as an important systematic feature. As a result of this approach, artificial groups of plants were created. Thus, viburnum and carrots, bells and currants fell into one group only because the flowers of these plants have 5 stamens. Linnaeus placed plants different in the nature of pollination into one class of monoecious plants: spruce, birch, duckweed, nettle, etc. However, despite the shortcomings and errors in the classification system, the works of C. Linnaeus played a huge role in the development of science, allowing scientists to navigate the diversity of living organisms.

Classifying organisms according to external, often the most striking, characteristics, C. Linnaeus never revealed the reasons for such similarity. This was done by the great English naturalist Charles Darwin. In his work “The Origin of Species...” (1859), he was the first to show that similarities between organisms can be the result of a common origin, i.e. relationship of species. Since that time, taxonomy began to bear an evolutionary burden, and classification systems built on this basis are natural. This is the unconditional scientific merit of Charles Darwin.

Modern taxonomy is based on the commonality of essential morphological, ecological, behavioral, embryonic, genetic, biochemical, physiological and other characteristics of classified organisms. Using these characteristics, as well as paleontological information, the taxonomist establishes and proves the common origin (evolutionary relationship) of the species in question or establishes that the classified species are significantly different and distant from each other.

4. Systematic groups and classification of organisms. The modern classification system can be presented in the form of the following scheme: empire, superkingdom, kingdom, subkingdom, type (division - for plants), subtype, class, order (order - for plants), family, genus, species. For extensive systematic groups, additional intermediate systematic categories have also been introduced, such as superclass, subclass, superorder, suborder, superfamily, subfamily. For example, the classes of cartilaginous and bony fishes are combined into a superclass of fishes. In the class of bony fishes, subclasses of ray-finned and lobe-finned fish, etc. are distinguished.

Previously, all living organisms were divided into two kingdoms - Animals and Plants. Over time, organisms were discovered that could not be classified as one of them. Currently, all organisms known to science are divided into two empires: Precellular (viruses and phages) and Cellular (all other organisms). Precellular life forms. In the Pre-Cellular Empire there is only one kingdom - viruses. They are non-cellular life forms that can invade and reproduce in living cells. Science first learned about viruses in 1892, when Russian microbiologist D.I. Ivanovsky (1864-1920) discovered and described the tobacco mosaic virus, the causative agent of tobacco mosaic disease. Since that time, a special branch of microbiology has emerged - virology. There are DNA-containing and RNA-containing viruses.

Cellular life forms. The Cellular Empire is divided into two kingdoms (Pre-nuclear, or Prokaryotes, and Nuclear, or Eukaryotes). Prokaryotes are organisms whose cells do not have a formed (membrane-bound) nucleus. The prokaryotes include the kingdom of Drobyanok, which includes the subkingdoms of Bacteria and Blue-greens (Cyanobacteria). Eukaryotes are organisms whose cells have a formed nucleus. These include the kingdoms of Animals, Fungi and Plants (Fig. 4.1).

In general, the Cellular Empire consists of four kingdoms: Grinders, Mushrooms, Plants and Animals.

As an example, consider the systematic position of a well-known bird species - the common starling:

Thus, as a result of long-term research, a natural system of all living organisms was created.