Question

Explain Whittaker’s System of Classification with examples and basic characters of the group?

Answer 1

Hint: In order to explain the biodiversity, Whittaker’s Five Kingdom analysis has brought an important feature of ecology-based animal and plant kingdom. In 1957, his first article on kingdoms was published. Scientist Wilson later told that biological research has been more concentrated on cells and molecules in their basic approaches after Whittaker’s contribution.

Complete Answer:
1. Robert H. Whittaker recognized five kingdoms of living things: Monera (Bacteria), Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia.
2. In brief, we can say that this entire classification is based on a few aspects. They are: a) complexity of cell structure, b) mode of nutrition, c) body organization and d) phylogenetic or evolutionary relationship.
3. By cell type, Monera is Prokaryotic and Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia are Eukaryotic.
4. By the aspect of cell type, we can see that Monera and Protista are unicellular and the rest of the three kingdoms, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia are multicellular. In Fungi, both unicellular and multicellular criteria can be found.
5. In terms of cell walls, in every kingdom, there are cell walls. Only in Protista, some of them do not have any cell walls.
6. In terms of Nutritional class, Monera are Phototrophic, Heterotrophic and Chemoautotrophic. Protists are Heterotrophic and Phototrophic. Fungi are Heterotrophic and Plantae and Animalia are Phototrophic and Heterotrophic respectively.
7. In terms of Nutrition, Monera and Fungi show absorptive nature. In Protista, we can see absorptive and ingestive. And, Plantae and Animalia are of mostly absorptive and mostly ingestive nature respectively.

Note: Whittaker not only used the innovative empirical data sampling techniques, he also searched the holistic theories too which are proven the ground stones of those applications. He had proposed the biome classification too. This classification is based on two abiotic factors, which are temperature and precipitation.