Basic evolutionary hypotheses elementary unit, factors and habitat biological concept of species historical development of the organic world. basics

The next management structure after the vision, goal and mission, actively used in the process of strategic management, is the concept. A professionally developed concept plays an important role in the implementation of strategic management of the development of any business organization or government institution - any object of management.

If the mission gives a general description of what the organization was created for, its positioning in the outside world and its purpose, then the purpose of the concept is to determine the key areas of activity of the control object, which includes identifying ways and technologies to achieve the goals with highlighting the main factors for their achievement.

At the same time, the concept should not be confused with strategic or tactical planning, the purpose of which is to take concrete measures to implement the strategy and solve short-term tasks or problems that have arisen. A well-thought-out concept is, first of all, directions, priorities and technologies for the development of the control object in the long term.

The concept should present the most priority directions for the development of the control object for a specific period of time or until the goal is achieved. It essentially serves as a generalized scenario for achieving goals that should also be clarified during the concept development process. In addition, the concept defines the ways of transition from the current position of the control object to the desired one in accordance with the goals set by the control subject.

A concept is a management construct containing a general system representation of the transition paths from the current position of the control object to the desired one.

The concept of the development of the control object can be considered a kind of prologue to the development of a strategy for its development.

Concept types

Just like the mission, the concept can be enlarged and detailed. Enlarged the concept gives only a general idea of ​​the ways of development of the object of management or ways to solve a major management problem. detailed concept gives them a more complete picture.

The enlarged concept should contain the following components.

• 1. General description and assessment of the state of the control object and its position in the external environment.
• 2. Goals of development of the control object for a given period.
• 3. Problems and tasks that must be solved in order to achieve strategic goals.
• 4. Ways and stages of achieving strategic goals.
• 5. Expected results and state of the control object at the end of the specified period.
• 6. Indicators by which the degree of achievement of strategic goals can be assessed.
• 7. Characteristics of the management system that ensures the achievement of strategic goals.

The developed concept should develop general requirements for technologies and necessary resources, key factors that can ensure the achievement of the set strategic goals or, as they are called, key success factors. Since obtaining the expected results is impossible without effective management, the concept should provide for an organizational solution to issues that arise in the process of implementing the strategy and implementing the strategic plans that will be developed on its basis.

Even a detailed concept, not to mention an enlarged one, does not require full detailing. It should contain thoughtful, comprehensively discussed ideas on how and by what means the transition from the current position of the control object to the desired one will take place.

A concept, just like a vision, can be trajectory and point.

The development of a concept, depending on the depth of study of issues, can consist of several stages. At the same time, each subsequent stage differs from the previous one in a greater depth of study. When developing the concept, it is advisable to consider various alternative options for the development of the control object, their elaboration and evaluation. At the final stages of concept development, experimental verification of the main provisions of the concept may be envisaged, especially when it comes to the production of a new type of product, the introduction of new equipment or new technologies.

The developed and adopted concept is a completed document, on the basis of which a development strategy and a strategic action plan for its implementation are developed. The concept should describe the most preferred option from those considered in the process of its development. If a decision is made on a deeper study of the concept, the developed version of the concept becomes the starting point for subsequent more in-depth and detailed study.

Let us give as an example the development of the concept of creating a car of the XXI century. models Prius, in accordance with the concept development technologies adopted in the company Toyota. It consisted of three stages. First, a general concept of a new car was developed, then a refined concept, and a deeply developed detailed version of the concept was completed.

The concept in the company is developed when it is necessary to solve a new, complex, intractable problem. The concept sets the vector of movement to achieve the goal. It outlines the general directions of the forthcoming work, the general contours of the project, and the indicators to be achieved are determined only tentatively.

The initial idea was simple - to develop an economical, compact car with the lowest possible fuel consumption, as opposed to bulky cars that have become gasoline "eaters". At the same time, despite the relatively small dimensions of the model, its interior had to be roomy and spacious. At this stage of concept development, the requirements for the future car were determined:

• 1) the most spacious saloon with the minimum dimensions of the car:
• 2) fuel economy.

At the second stage, the base model for further development was chosen corolla, in which a gallon of gasoline was consumed in 30.8 miles. The goal was for the new car to run a gallon of gas for 47.5 miles, 50% more than the existing car. Three months were allotted for the development of an updated concept of the project. By the end of the term, the group not only presented ideas, but also completed drawings on a scale of 1: 2. The requirements for the future car were specified in comparison with the first stage of concept development:

• 1) roomy interior due to the maximum length of the wheelbase;
• 2) relatively high seat placement for easy entry and exit from the vehicle:
• 3) streamlined body shape at a height of 1500 mm;
• 4) fuel consumption - 47.5 mpg, etc.

The refined concept was the result of extensive research work and was supported by specific calculations of the parameters and characteristics of the future car. It has been approved by the top management of the company.

At the third stage of concept development, it was already planned to develop drawings of the future car. This took six months. According to practice Toyota at the final stage of concept development, a prototype should be made. However, Mr. Utiyamada, who headed this stage, considered that one should not hurry with the manufacture of a prototype, since far from everything was still clear. He wanted all possible alternatives for the project to be considered and evaluated before making a final decision, which was called "parallel design based on a number of alternatives." The final decision was supposed to be made only after their consideration and evaluation.

It was very important not to "drown" in the discussion of details. In particular, the discussion of the transmission took a long time. It was a dead end, which the leader pointed out to the development team: "This needs to be stopped. Stop thinking about hardware. We engineers are used to thinking only about hardware. But we must decide what the concept of the future machine is, and not its material embodiment. Let's forget about hardware and return to the concept of a qualitatively new machine that needs to be created.

Conducted "brainstorming" led the developers to understand the key problem - the need to create an environmentally friendly car. This problem was to become one of the main ones in the development of the model. Prius. The fact is that until now there was a possibility of solving this problem within the framework of an electric vehicle. But then the car turned into a means for transporting too bulky batteries. The concept was saved by the idea of ​​a hybrid engine, with which it was possible to realize an optimal combination of an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. The optimal mode of their sequential operation was determined by means of a built-in computer.

The idea of ​​creating a hybrid engine was considered before, but it was considered too risky, since it required many fundamentally new solutions. And the fact that the concept model of a new car led to the creation of a hybrid engine served as an impetus for the beginning of its creation.

However, one idea, or rather the possibilities that appeared during its development, gave rise to others. Since a hybrid engine will be created, it is necessary to squeeze everything possible out of it in terms of economical fuel consumption, because a revolution in automotive energy consumption was becoming a reality. The engine of a new class opened up other possibilities in the layout of the created car.

At the request of the head of the concept development team, the best specialists of the company were selected. The principle of "parallel design based on a number of alternatives" was again used. 80 alternative hybrid engine options were considered. Of these, about 10 "viable" were selected. After a comparative analysis and evaluation, there were four options that were of the greatest interest. Each of them was carefully studied using computer simulations, on the basis of which the most preferred option was selected. Thus, the development of the concept was completed and it was possible to move on to the development and implementation of a strategy for organizing mass production of a car with a hybrid engine for the first time in the world.

To develop the concept, it is advisable to form a group, which can include both specialists in the relevant subject area and specialists who own the necessary management technologies. If the concept is intersectoral or multifunctional in nature, then it should include specialists from the relevant areas of professional activity. The group leader must be given the necessary authority and be responsible for the document developed by the group.

All provisions of the presented concept must be substantiated. It is advisable to have an open discussion of the presented concept, taking into account the proposals expressed in the process of its preparation.

The greatest danger is the formal attitude to the development of the concept, its clearly expressed declarative nature. In this case, it cannot perform the functions of a document, taking into account which the strategy and strategic plans for its implementation are developed. The concept should not include provisions, the feasibility of which is in doubt.

The purpose of developing the concept was to create a management structure that could determine the strategic goals and key directions for developing a strategy for the development of the control object (Fig. 4.11).

THE CONCEPT OF EVOLUTION Evolution is a process of irreversible changes in the structure and functions of living organisms throughout their historical existence. The section of biology that studies the general patterns, factors, mechanisms and consequences of evolution is called evolutionary doctrine.

HISTORY Change of scientific ideas about the origin and development of life on Earth

The main provisions of the evolutionary hypothesis Developed a systematics of living organisms. The systematic arrangement of species made it possible to understand that there are species that are relatives and species characterized by distant kinship. The idea of ​​kinship between species is an indication of their development over time. Carl Linnaeus ()

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck () The main provisions of the evolutionary hypothesis He believed that organisms that lack a nervous system directly change under the influence of environmental factors. One of the factors of evolution according to Lamarck is the inheritance of all traits that have arisen under the influence of external conditions. Another factor is the internal desire of organisms for progress, which does not depend on external conditions.

The main provisions of the evolutionary hypothesis The author of the first coherent evolutionary concept was Charles Darwin, who wrote a book on this subject: “On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection or on the Preservation of Favorable Breeds in the Struggle for Life” Charles Darwin ()

The main factors of evolution according to Darwin Indefinite variability The struggle for existence Natural selection This is the whole set of relationships between individuals and various environmental factors. environment This is a consequence of the struggle for existence. These are changes that individually occur in each organism, regardless of the influence of the environment. Environments and transmitted to descendants

The basic logic of evolutionary teachings Heredity Variability The ability of organisms to reproduce indefinitely Limitation of environmental conditions Organisms differ from each other and can pass on their characteristic features to descendants Struggle for existence The fittest survive Natural selection

Species criteria A species is a set of populations of individuals similar in structure, functions, position in the biogeocenosis, inhabiting a certain part of the biosphere, freely interbreeding in nature and producing fertile offspring. Morphological Genetic Ethological Physiological Ecological Geographic

BIOLOGICAL CONCEPT OF SPECIES It is based on the concept of population as a unit of evolution and reproductive isolation - a phenomenon in which different species are separated due to the inability to interbreed. Ernst Mayr (b. 1904, USA) One of the founders of the synthetic theory of evolution. Creator of the biological concept of species.

PHYSIOLOGICAL CRITERION This is the similarity or differences in the processes of vital activity of a particular one or different species. For example, the ability to interbreed, as a result of which fertile offspring appears or, conversely, reproductive isolation is observed.

Evolution

This is a directed process of the development of living nature, accompanied by a change in the genetic composition of populations, the formation of adaptations, speciation and extinction of species, the transformation of ecosystems and the biosphere as a whole.

The main driver of evolution is natural selection.

View

The main structural unit of the biological systematics of living organisms (animals, plants and microorganisms) is a taxonomic, systematic unit, a group of individuals with common morphophysiological, biochemical and behavioral characteristics, capable of interbreeding, giving fertile offspring in a number of generations, naturally distributed within a certain area and similarly changing under the influence of environmental factors.

Criteria, signs of the species

One species can be separated from another by five main featured:

The morphological criterion makes it possible to distinguish between different species according to external and internal features.

Physiological-biochemical criterion fixes the dissimilarity of chemical properties and physiological processes of different species.

The geographical criterion indicates that each species has its own range.

Ecological allows you to distinguish between species according to the complex of abiotic and biological conditions in which they formed and adapted to life.

The reproductive criterion determines the reproductive isolation of a species from others, even closely related ones.

Often there are other criteria species: cytological (chromosomal) and others.

Each species is a genetically closed reproductive system isolated from other species.

Due to unequal environmental conditions, individuals of the same species within the range break up into smaller units - populations. In reality, a species exists precisely in the form of populations.

Species are monotypic - with a weakly differentiated internal structure, they are characteristic of endemics. Polytypic species are characterized by a complex intraspecific structure.

Within species, subspecies can be distinguished - geographically or ecologically isolated parts of a species, individuals of which, under the influence of environmental factors, in the process of evolution have acquired stable morphophysiological features that distinguish them from other parts of this species. In nature, individuals of different subspecies of the same species can freely interbreed and produce fertile offspring.

View concepts

A species, as a taxon, is the basic structural unit of any system of the organic world, on the definition of the boundaries of which the structure of the entire taxonomic hierarchy depends. At the same time, the species problem, due to the presence of a number of unique properties in this taxon, can be considered as an independent area of ​​biological science.

In modern science, there is still no common understanding of the biological essence of the species.

The most common 7 concepts are:

typological,

nominalistic,

biological,

hennigov,

evolutionary,

phylogenetic concept of B. Mishler - E. Theriot and

phylogenetic concept of K. Wheeler - N. Pletnik.

Typological concept of the species

The concept is based on an essentialist approach to classification, that is, attributing to a “species” a certain unchanging set of qualities and properties. The description of the species, according to this concept, must be made on the basis of a specific sample (for example, a herbarium). The described sample thus becomes the standard (type) of the species, and individuals showing similarity with this standard can be assigned to this species.

Typological definition of the species:

Species - a group of individuals identical to the reference individual in terms of diagnostic features.

A fatal flaw in the typological concept is that the traits by which the standard is described can vary greatly within a species depending on sex, age, season, genetic variability, etc. In practice, individuals in the same population may differ more strongly than representatives two commonly recognized types. Another problem is twin species, that is, species that are practically indistinguishable, but when they coexist, they do not interbreed and preserve the integrity of their gene pool. These cases are difficult to describe from the point of view of the typological concept.

Nominalist concept of view

This concept reflects the nominalist view of taxonomy. It denies the discreteness of the species, since organisms are constantly changing in the course of evolution. And the species itself is considered only as a speculative concept.

Nominalist definition of species:

A species is a group of individuals recognized by a formal classification that constitutes a certain stage in the development of a given evolutionary branch.

Biological concept of a species

Proposed by Ernst Mayr. A species is recognized as discrete only at a given moment, while over time the species is continuously subject to evolutionary changes. In the description of the species, both traditional features and ecological and biological parameters are used, namely the population structure of the species, the ability of individuals to interbreed and produce fertile offspring. Thus, genetic relationships within a species are of particular importance, and species status is a property of a population, and not of an individual.

Biological definition of the species:

Species - a group of individuals that are similar in morphological-anatomical, physiological-ecological, biochemical and genetic characteristics, occupying a natural range, capable of freely interbreeding with each other and producing fertile offspring.

A species is a reproductively related set of populations.

Hennig's concept of view

Proposed by R. Meier and R. Willmann, based on the views of the founder of cladistics, Willy Hennig. The main criterion of a species, from the point of view of this concept, is not the potential ability to interbreed and produce fertile offspring (which is also typical for taxa of a lower rank, such as populations), but the presence of reproductive isolation between individuals of different species. thus, it is the reproductive barrier that determines the species status. The process of speciation is reduced to the formation of a reproductive gap between sister groups. Proponents of Hennig's concept of the species reject the biological concept on the grounds that it considers the isolation of the species not only from the sister species, but from any other species in general.

Species definition according to R. Meyer and R. Willmann:

Species are reproductively isolated natural populations or groups of populations. They arise as a result of the decay of the stem (ancestral) species during speciation and cease to exist as a result of extinction or a new act of speciation.

Hennigov and the biological concept of the species are based on the identification of reproductive relationships and barriers between organisms. But in practice, it is difficult for a researcher to identify aspects of the interbreeding of individuals. Another problem of both concepts is the presence of groups of organisms incapable of sexual reproduction (viruses, bacteria, imperfect fungi). With regard to these groups, the criterion of crossability cannot be applied by definition.

Phylogenetic concept of B. Mishler and E. Theriot

In terms of this concept, organisms are grouped into species based on descent from a common ancestor (proof of monophyly). Reproductive connections of the species fade into the background. An "ancestor" is considered not an ancestral species (as in Hennig's concept of a species), but a taxon with a lower taxonomic status: a population, a dem, or an individual.

The decision on the species status of the studied group of organisms depends on the methods of cladistics, as well as on biological criteria. In general, this solution is artificial to a certain extent, since the researcher is limited by the Linnean rank system.

Phylogenetic definition of the species according to B. Mishler and E. Theriot:

The species is the smallest monophyletic group that deserves formal recognition.

Phylogenetic concept of K. Wheeler and N. Pletnik

This concept, in contrast to the concept of Mishler and Theriot, denies the applicability of phylogenetic criteria to the species. Since there are no reproductive barriers within a species, the genealogical relationships between individuals are reticulate (tocogenetic), and the description of speciation as a monophyletic process is inadequate. The view description is limited to the most general parameters:

Phylogenetic definition of the species according to K. Wheeler and N. Pletnik:

A species is the smallest set of populations where sexual reproduction occurs, or asexual lineages, that are characterized by a unique combination of trait states.

Evolutionary concept of a species

Proposed by E. O. Wiley and R. Mayden, based on the views of taxonomist J. Simpson. The species is considered as a peculiar individual. He experiences birth, existence and death. An ancestral species is treated as a "parent" and retains its species status after speciation. The individuality of the species is preserved due to tocogenetic relationships.

Evolutionary definition of the species according to E. O. Wiley and R. Maiden:

A species is a biological entity made up of organisms, retaining its individuality across time and space, and having its own evolutionary destiny and historical trends.

Subspecies

A subspecies in biological taxonomy is either a taxonomic rank below that of species, or a taxonomic group at that rank. Subspecies cannot be defined in isolation: a species is either defined as having no subspecies at all, or has two or more subspecies, but there can never be one subspecies.

Organisms belonging to different subspecies of the same species are capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring, but they often do not interbreed in nature due to geographic isolation or other factors. Differences between subspecies are generally less distinct than between species, but more distinct than between breeds or races (different subspecies may be named as race if they are taxonomically distinct). The characteristics assigned to a subspecies usually develop as a result of geographic distribution or isolation.

Criteria

Individuals of one subspecies differ from members of other subspecies of that species morphologically and/or by different DNA coding sequences. When defining a subspecies, they start from the description of its species.

If two groups don't interbreed because of something inherent in their genetic make-up (perhaps green frogs don't find red frogs sexually attractive, or they breed at different times of the year), then they are different species.

If, on the other hand, two groups are free to interbreed, provided that some external barrier is removed (for example, it is possible that there is a waterfall too high for the frogs to cross, or the two populations are too far away) apart), they are subspecies. Other factors are also possible: differences in mating behavior, environmental preferences such as soil composition, etc.

Note that the differences between species and subspecies depend only on the probability that, in the absence of external obstacles, two populations will merge back into one, genetically unified population. They have nothing to do with how different the two groups appear to a human observer.

Since knowledge about specific groups is increasing all the time, the classification of species has to be refined from time to time. For example, the rock pipit was formerly classified as a subspecies of the mountain pipit, but is now recognized as a complete species.

Species with a protective complex are morphologically similar, but have differences in DNA or other factors.

population

This is a collection of individuals of the same species, occupying a certain habitat and capable of free interbreeding.

It is a collection of organisms of the same species that live in the same area for a long time.

This is a group of individuals capable of more or less stable self-reproduction (both sexual and asexual), relatively isolated (usually geographically) from other groups, with representatives of which (during sexual reproduction) genetic exchange is potentially possible. From the point of view of population genetics, a population is a group of individuals within which the probability of interbreeding is many times greater than the probability of interbreeding with representatives of other similar groups. Populations are usually referred to as groups within a species or subspecies.

The population is the elementary unit of the evolutionary process.

Ontogenesis

Ontogeny is the individual development of an organism, a set of successive morphological, physiological and biochemical transformations that an organism undergoes from the moment of its inception to the end of life. O. includes Growth, i.e., an increase in body weight, its size, and differentiation. The term "O." introduced by E. Haeckel (1866) when he formulated the biogenetic law. In animals and plants that reproduce sexually, the birth of a new organism occurs in the process of fertilization, and fertilization begins with a fertilized egg, or zygote. In organisms that are characterized by asexual reproduction, O. begins with the formation of a new organism by dividing the maternal body or a specialized cell, by budding, and also from a rhizome, tuber, bulb, etc. In the course of O., each organism naturally passes through successive phases , stages or periods of development, of which the main ones in sexually reproducing organisms are: embryonic (embryonic, or prenatal), post-embryonic (postembryonic, or postnatal) and the period of development of an adult organism. O. is based on a complex process of realization at different stages of the development of an organism of the hereditary information embedded in each of its cells. The O. program, determined by heredity, is carried out under the influence of many factors (environmental conditions, intercellular and intertissue interactions, humoral-hormonal and nervous regulation, etc.) and is expressed in interconnected processes of cell reproduction, their growth and differentiation. O.'s patterns, causal mechanisms and factors of cellular, tissue and organ differentiation are studied by a complex science - developmental biology, which uses, in addition to the traditional approaches of experimental embryology and morphology, the methods of molecular biology, cytology and genetics. O. and the historical development of organisms - phylogeny - are inseparable and mutually determined aspects of a single process of development of living nature. The first attempt at a historical substantiation of O. was made by I. f. Meckel. The problem of the relationship between O. and phylogeny was posed by C. Darwin and developed by F. Muller, E. Haeckel, and others. All traits associated with changes in heredity, new in evolutionary terms, appear in O., but only those that contribute to a better adaptation of the organism to the conditions of existence, are preserved in the process of natural selection and are transmitted to subsequent generations, that is, they are fixed in evolution. Knowledge of patterns, causes and factors O. serves as a scientific basis for finding means of influencing the development of plants, animals and humans, which is of paramount importance for the practice of crop and animal husbandry, as well as for medicine.

Animal ontogeny

Plant ontogeny

The ancient scientists (Theophrastus and Pliny the Elder) had a rudimentary idea of ​​the organic matter of plants. The scientific study of O. began in the 18th century. Italian botanist P. Micheli (1729), C. Linnaeus (1751), J. W. Goethe (1790), and others, and then continued in the 19th century. the Swiss algologist J. Vaucher (1803), A. Dutrochet (1834), the French botanist G. Thuret (1853), and others who studied the developmental cycles of algae and fungi; N. I. Zheleznov (1840), K. Negeli (1842), M. Schleiden (1842-43), V. Hofmeister (1851), I. N. Gorozhankin (1880), V. I. Belyaev (1885) and S. G. Navashin (1898) uncovered the patterns of organic matter in higher plants. In the 2nd half of the 19th century. Many botanists have studied the dependence of the course of oxygenation in different groups of plants on the environment (A. F. Batalin, M. S. Voronin, and the Austrian botanist Yu. Vizner). The role of low temperature in the heading of winter crops was revealed by I. G. Gasner (1918), and photoperiodism was discovered by V. V. Garner and H. A. Allard (1920). M. Kh. Chailakhyan proposed (1937) the hormonal theory of flowering. I. V. Michurin (1901-35), German botanist W. Pfeffer (1904), Austrian botanist G. Molisch (1929), Soviet botanist N. P. Krenke (1940) revealed the internal factors of O. From the 2nd half of 20 in. an in-depth study of the morphological, physiological, biochemical, and genetic foundations of O. is underway, and the problems of its evolution are being studied.

Plant growth is distinguished by: growth, i.e. neoplasm of structural elements, leading to an increase in the size of the organism, its mass, development is the process during which a fertilized egg or vegetative germ, as a result of cell division and differentiation, takes the form of an adult organism and creates types of specialized cells characteristic of it, and aging is a set of irreversible structural and physiological and biochemical changes, manifested in the weakening of the biosynthesis and self-renewal of proteins, as well as all physiological functions, which ultimately leads to the death of the organism. In O., different aspects of a single process closely interact: morphological, including morphogenesis - the shaping of the body as a whole, organogenesis - the shaping of individual organs, and histogenesis - the formation of tissues; physiological-biochemical - a set of physiological and biochemical processes occurring in cells, tissues, organs and in the whole plant during its development; genetic - the process of realization of inheritances. information; ecological - the growth and development of the organism in the environment; evolutionary - a change in all aspects of O., occurring in a long chain of generations at different stages of phylogenesis. Thus, and O. of plants - a product of long evolution, is determined by the genotype and is expressed in successive series of physiological and biochemical processes that determine the creation of morphological structures (organs) and are a prerequisite for new similar processes. Depending on the environmental conditions and the norm of the reaction of the organism, the genotype is realized in a series of Phenotypes, which are characterized by the corresponding stages (phenophases), marking the appearance of new structures.

The main feature of O. of higher plants and a significant number of species of algae is the alternation of generations, asexual (Sporophyte) and sexual (Gametophyte). The starting point for the formation of the sporophyte is the zygote, and for the gametophyte, the germinating spore. The development of the sporophyte and gametophyte is a set of processes (in lower plants they are different, in higher plants they make up an ordered chain), ending in the formation of certain organs. In ferns, for example, the sporophyte is represented by the Germ, cormus, sporangium and spore, and the gametophyte by the outgrowth, archegonium and antheridium, egg and sperm. In angiosperms, the gametophyte is greatly simplified. At all stages of O., the organism is an integral system that closely interacts with the environment. This is determined by the interaction of its parts both in the process of metabolism and due to the action of phytohormones. The transition from one stage of O. to the next is determined by the combined action of internal and external factors. O.'s duration varies at plants from 20-30 min. (bacteria) up to several thousand years (sequoia, juniper, baobab). The knowledge of plant organiza- tion contributes to their rational economic use and the development of methods for raising yields.

Phylogenesis

Phylogeny is the historical development of organisms, in contrast to ontogenesis, the individual development of organisms. The term was proposed by the German evolutionist E. Haeckel in 1866. Later, the term "phylogenesis" received a broader interpretation - the meaning of the history of the evolutionary process was assigned to it. One can speak of the phylogenesis of individual characters: organs, tissues, biochemical processes, the structure of biological molecules, and the phylogenesis of taxa of any rank - from species to superkingdoms. The purpose of phylogenetic studies is the reconstruction of the origin and successive evolutionary transformations of the studied structures and taxa.

Phylogeny - evolution in the past - cannot be observed directly, and phylogenetic reconstructions cannot be verified by experiment. Therefore, they can only be refined and corrected as new data accumulate.

Incompleteness of the fossil record

It would seem that phylogenesis can be traced using the data of paleontology, directly lining up the rows of organisms from ancestors to descendants. But the fossil record is very incomplete: the number of known fossil species is about 9% of the modern biodiversity and no more than 3% of the biodiversity that existed during the 3.5 billion years of the history of the Earth's biosphere. Information about extinct life forms is presented very unevenly for different organisms. The remains of large animals are preserved better than small ones. Therefore, for example, dinosaurs have been studied incomparably better than their contemporary mammals. Hard tissues - bones, shells, shells, etc. - are fossilized and preserved better than soft tissues, whose imprints are rarely found by paleontologists. This sharply limits the number of characters available for comparing extinct forms both with each other and with living organisms: comparing only bone fragments or shells, it is impossible to find a proper place for each new paleontological find in phylogenetic reconstruction. For example, back in 1844, some fossilized teeth were found, called conodonts. These teeth are found, sometimes in large numbers, during a long period of evolution of the biosphere - from the middle of the Cambrian period to the end of the Cretaceous, that is, more than 400 million years. Organisms that had these teeth died out about 70 million years ago. It was not until 1983 that a complete imprint of a conodont body was found in early Carboniferous deposits in Scotland. It was a small, about 4 cm long animal that did not have a skeleton, swam with the help of a tail, and the teeth served it to hunt for small planktonic organisms. Before that, no one knew who the teeth belonged to. A variety of hypotheses were expressed: either they were considered the chitinous jaws of marine polychaete polychaete worms, or fragments of sturgeon scales. However, since the evolution of conodonts did not stop, the structure of the teeth changed from earlier marine sedimentary rocks to later ones, and this was used by geologists for the purposes of stratigraphy - determining the sequence of layers of sedimentary rocks at different points of their outcrop on the Earth's surface.

Extremely rare finds of forms that can be considered transitional between extinct or now existing taxa. Groups - ancestors of divergent taxa are usually small in number and their detection is unlikely - this is a pattern of evolution. For example, one of these transitional forms has long been considered Archeopteryx (first bird). Back in 1860, in Bavaria, in the deposits of lithographic limestones famous for their paleontological finds, a bird feather was found near Solengof. According to this pen, the species was named Archaeopteryx lithographica (in Greek - lithographic ancient wing). Lithographic - because even slabs of Solengofen deposits were used for engraving and printing lithographs. In 1876, during the lifetime of Charles Darwin, a complete skeleton of this creature was found, surprisingly combining the signs of reptiles and birds. It had a long, vertebrae-like tail, like a lizard, but feathers grew on this tail. He had real wings, but they retained three fingers, dressed in scales and with claws. On the jaws, unlike all modern birds, there were teeth, like those of reptiles.

Species

View criteria

Structure and general features of the species

The history of the development of the species concept. Modern View Concepts

A species is one of the main forms of organization of life on Earth and the main unit of classification of biological diversity. The variety of modern species is enormous. According to various estimates, about 2-2.5 million species currently live on Earth (up to 1.5-2 million animal species and up to 500 thousand plant species). The process of describing new species is continuously ongoing. Every year, hundreds and thousands of new species of insects and other invertebrates and microorganisms are described. The distribution of species by classes, families and genera is very uneven. There are groups with a huge number of species and groups - even of high taxonomic rank - represented by a few species in modern fauna and flora. For example, a whole subclass of reptiles is represented by only one species - the tuatara.

So the number of insect species is about 80% of the total number of animal species. The ratio of the number of aquatic plant species (about 8%) to the number of land species (about 92%) coincides with that in the animal world (7 and 93%, respectively). What do you think are the reasons for this phenomenon?

At the same time, the modern species diversity is much less than the number of extinct species. Due to human activities, a huge number of species die out every year. Since the conservation of biodiversity is an indispensable condition for the existence of mankind, this problem is becoming global today. And in order to protect, you need to know what we are protecting. The concept of "species" is still one of the most complex and controversial biological concepts. The problems associated with the concept of biological species are easier to understand when viewed from a historical perspective.

The term "species" was first used by Aristotle (384-322 BC). However, this category was logical, not biological. The concept of "breed" corresponds to the modern understanding of the species in Aristotle. Aristotle described about 500 breeds of animals. This interpretation of the species lasted until the 17th century.

The scientific study of the species began with the work of the English botanist J. Ray ("Historia plantarum", 1686), who formulated the idea of ​​a biological species. He also has the honor of introducing the term “species” into biology - species (from the Latin speciere - I examine, examine). According to J. Ray “The specific identity of a bull and a cow, a man and a woman, follows from the fact that they come from the same parents; in plants, too, the surest sign of belonging to the same species is the origin of the same plant. Forms belonging to different species retain the same character of their species, and never one species arises from the seeds of another, and vice versa. Thus, J. Ray (1686) formulated the concept of a biological species as a set of organisms that differ from each other no more than the children of one pair of parents differ. In this way, Ray turned the logical category into a biological one.

However, the species became the main classification unit of biology only as a result of the work of K. Linnaeus. K. Linnaeus laid the foundations of modern taxonomy of living organisms (The System of Nature, 1735). K. Linnaeus found that within a species, many essential features change gradually, so that they can be arranged in a continuous series. However, between two different species, a gap in gradualness in the distribution of characters can be found. In this regard, K. Linnaeus considered species as objectively existing groups of living organisms, quite easily distinguishable from each other. The identification of species at that time was based on differences between individuals in a limited number of external features. This approach to the study of the species is called typological. According to the typological concept A species is a collection of individuals that are identical to each other in terms of species. Each species is separated from other species - hiatus - a break in the gradual change of signs. As collections of organisms, species actually exist in nature.

In practical systematics, the typological concept meant the need to compare an individual with a type specimen of a species - holotype (type specimen). The holotype is the individual from which the species was first described. The comparison was carried out according to external features available for observation without dismemberment of the individual. This made it possible to use museum collections and create them while preserving holotypes. If the characters could not be correlated with any of the existing species diagnoses, then a new species was described based on this specimen. At the same time, on the issue of the origin of species, K. Linnaeus, like J. Ray, adhered to creationism, believing that all individuals of any species are the descendants of one originally created pair, and after the act of creation not a single new species appeared on Earth.

In the first half of the XIX century. ideas began to take shape about the change in the species in the process of development of wildlife. A dilemma arose: either species without evolution, or evolution without species. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck denied the existence of species. Contrasting the evolution of the immutability of species, Lamarck created nominalist concept of the species. Nomen - name, name. The views are not real. There are only their names, invented by people for their own convenience, in nature there are only individuals. Ch. Darwin in some statements considered them "artificial concepts invented for the sake of convenience", in others he recognized the reality of the existence of species.

By the end of the 19th century, the shortcomings of the typological approach became apparent: It turned out that animals from different places sometimes, although slightly, but quite reliably differ from each other. In accordance with the established rules, they had to be given the status of independent species. The number of new species grew like an avalanche. Along with this, the doubt grew: should different populations of closely related animals be assigned a species status only on the basis that they are slightly different from each other? The formation of the synthetic theory of evolution in the first half of the 20th century led to a revision of a number of definitions and concepts in systematics. Thus, the population (biological) concept of the species arose.

The biological concept of the species. The biological concept was formed in the 30s-60s of the XX century. based on the synthetic theory of evolution and data on the structure of species. It was developed with the greatest completeness in Mayr's book Zoological Species and Evolution (1968).

Mayr formulated the biological concept in the form of three points:

1. species are determined not by differences, but by isolation;

2. species do not consist of independent individuals, but of populations;

3. species are determined based on their relationship to populations of other species. The decisive criterion is not crossbreeding fertility, but reproductive isolation.”

Thus, according to the biological concept A species is a group of actually or potentially interbreeding populations that are reproductively isolated from other such populations. This concept is also called polytypical.

The positive side of the biological concept is a clear theoretical base, well developed in the works of Mayr and other supporters of this concept. However, this concept is not applicable to sexually reproducing species and in paleontology.

The morphological concept of a species was formed on the basis of a typological, more precisely, on the basis of a multidimensional polytypic species. At the same time, it represents a step forward compared to these concepts.

According to her, the view is a set of individuals that have a hereditary similarity of morphological, physiological and biochemical features, freely interbreed and give fertile offspring, adapted to certain living conditions and occupying a certain area in nature - an area.

Thus, two concepts of species are mainly discussed and applied in the current literature: biological and morphological (taxonomic).

Topic 1.2 Marketing - management concept

The first concept of marketing is the concept of production improvement. It is the oldest one and states that consumers will favor products that are widely available and affordable, and therefore, the management of the company should focus on improving production and increasing the efficiency of the distribution system.

This concept is applied in two cases: firstly, when demand exceeds supply, and secondly, when production costs are high and need to be reduced, increasing productivity and making the product available to the buyer.

The second concept is the concept of product improvement. It focuses production on improving the quality and improving the performance properties of goods. However, it often leads to marketing myopia. Indeed, no matter how you improve the product, if there is no need for it or it has decreased, there will be no sales either.

The third concept is the concept of intensifying commercial efforts. It is also called the marketing concept. Unlike the first two, which are based on the improvement of production and the profit of the company, the marketing concept focuses on significant efforts in the field of sales and demand stimulation. The sales concept marks a turn towards traditional marketing. The first two concepts, although they force you to study the market, are still more applicable in mass production. The intensification of commercial efforts strengthens the contacts of sellers with buyers, activates an individual approach to the client and increases information about him. However, the marketing concept also ignores the needs of the buyer and focuses on the needs of the seller.

The fourth concept - the concept of traditional marketing - states that the key to achieving the goals of the company is to determine the needs and requirements of target markets and provide the desired satisfaction in a more efficient and productive way than competitors. The concept of traditional marketing reflects the commitment of the firm to the theory of consumer sovereignty. The company produces what the consumer needs, and makes a profit by satisfying his needs to the fullest.

The fifth concept - the concept of social and ethical marketing - is a phenomenon of a later time. She argues that the firm's mission is to identify the needs, needs, and interests of target markets and deliver the desired satisfaction in a more efficient and productive manner than competitors, while maintaining and enhancing the well-being of the consumer and society as a whole. This concept is designed to unite the interests of society, consumer and producer. It overcomes the shortcomings of the concept of traditional marketing and takes into account environmental degradation, lack of natural resources, worldwide inflation and the neglect of social services.