Hobbies And Interests
Plant Kingdom
The plant kingdom is essential to the survival of every other living creature. Not only do plants make up the foundation of the food chain, they provide the Earth with life-giving oxygen. The plant kingdom includes flowers, shrubs, trees, mosses, liverworts and aquatic plants. There are over 250,000 species of plants -- most of them vascular, flowering plants that reproduce sexually. Plants are autotrophic, meaning they create their own food. They do so by using the sun's energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into sugar.
Animal Kingdom
The animal kingdom is the largest life kingdom, with nearly one million known species. Animals are self-mobile and reproduce sexually. They are also heterotrophs, meaning they get food from external sources. Animals are classified into two groups: vertebrates, which have spines and internal skeletal systems; and invertebrates, which have external skeletons or no skeletons at all. Vertebrates include birds, fish, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Invertebrates, which make up the largest portion of the animal kingdom, include insects; worms; arachnids, such as spiders and scorpions; echinoderms, such as starfish and sea urchins; mollusks, such as clams, snails and slugs; crustaceans, such as crabs and shrimp; and cephalopods, such as squid and octopi.
Fungi Kingdom
Once included in the plant kingdom, fungi are now in a class all by themselves. Fungi include mushrooms, lichens, yeasts and some molds. Fungi lack the major defining characteristic of plants: they are not autotrophs. Fungi mainly feed off of dead organic matter, although some are parasitic, meaning they feed off of living hosts. Fungi digest food externally. They secrete enzymes that break down matter, and then absorb the leftover nutrients. Fungi reproduce asexually by sporing.
Eubacteria Kingdom
The eubacteria kingdom is comprised of common singe-celled bacteria. Some of these bacteria are autotrophs, and contain chlorophyll just as plants do. These tend to live in aquatic environments, and have a blue-green color. Some parasitic varieties are heterotrophs. These live absolutely everywhere, including in and on your body. Still others are chemotrophs, meaning they feed off of chemicals in the environment.
Archaebacteria Kingdom
Like eubacteria, the archaebacteria kingdom is made up of complex single-celled organisms. The difference between the two kingdoms is related to the bacteria cells' chemical makeup. Archaebacteria are found in extreme environments, such as those that are so hot or acidic that they were previously thought unable to support life.
Protista
The protist kingdom is the most diverse -- and possibly the strangest kingdom. Basically, it consists of tiny, multicellular, water-based organisms that don't strictly fit into the plant, animal or fungi kingdom.The protist kingdom includes red, green and brown algae, as well as zooplankton and slime molds. Some protists are heterotrophs, and some are autotrophs. Some reproduce sexually, while others don't. Some have flagella that allows them to move independently, while others are carried by currents. Often, two different species of protists have very little in common.