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i.
What is systematics? ii
Systematic biology in the UK | iii.
The national strategy
‘Without
taxonomy to give shape to the bricks, and systematics to tell us how
to
put them together, the house of biological science is a meaningless
jumble’
Robert M. May, 1990
Systematic biology
– in which scientists discover, describe, name and classify living and
fossil organisms, and uncover their evolutionary relationships – is
central to the life sciences. By devising a single agreed system of
scientific names, it enables people around the world to communicate
with each other about the diversity of life on Earth, past and present.
It provides guides for the identification of species, and classifications
that allow predictions to be made about their propoerties (figure
1).
The knowledge that
is derived from systematics meets our basic need to discover and understand
the world around us. By revealing the origins and evolution of life
on Earth, we can begin to understand the history of our planet and our
place within it. But this knowlege is also essential for our well being
and long- term survival, because organisms, including our own species,
interact together in a complex web of life:
- Nature is the
ultimate source of our food, raw materials and many medicines.
- We must be able
to recognise, classify and understand the natural history of organisms
in order to protect ourselves from diseases, pests and invasive species.
- Our knowledge
of living species can be applied to monitor the quality of our environment
and to help us use the Earth’s natural resources in a sustainable
manner.
- Knowledge of
fossil species reveals the progress and patterns of evolution and
enables us to interpret past environmental and climatic changes so
that we can interpret current trends more accurately and make predictions
about the future.
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1 Products
of systematic biology
Names
– an
internationally used system for naming organisms allows all who
use or work with natural diversity to communicate their knowledge
and learn from others.
Identifications
– systematics generates the understanding of the characteristics
by which an organism can be identified. Of fundamental importance
to scientists, this information also translates into guides for
those who need to identify species but have little or no systematic
knowledge.
Relationships
– systematics uncovers the natural relationships between groups
of organisms, which are then used to organise the Earth’s living
diversity into hierarchical classifications based on evolutionary
history.
Distributions
– both the collections themselves and the knowledge of systematic
biologists are used to produce guides (known as faunas and floras)
to which species occur where in the world. Systematists also generate
knowledge of changes in the distribution of species with time,
from rapid changes caused by human impacts to those occurring
over geological timescales of millions of years.
Knowledge
of natural history – the knowledge and experience of systematists,
and the data at their disposal, provides deeper understanding
of their specialist groups, drawing together the results of other
studies in genetics, physiology, development, evolution, behaviour
and ecology. They also have unrivalled skills in locating and
identifying organisms in their natural environments.
Collections
– the reference collections that are the foundation of systematic
biology are also widely used by other scientists and those working
with natural resources. The specimens are a verifiable record
of variation in genetic make- up and body form, the past and recent
geographical distribution of organisms, environmental change and
much other biological information
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Although an estimated
13 million species inhabit our planet (figure 2),
it is surprising that only 1.7 million have so far been described (Stork,
1997). Extending
and deepening our knowledge of the Earth’s biological diversity is both
a responsibility and one of the most pressing scientific challenges
facing us today. Not only would this bring uncharted economic and cultural
benefits, it is an international priority because human activities are
rapidly eroding the diversity that exists:
- Rising numbers
of species face extinction or severe depletion in the wild. It has
been estimated that roughly one to ten per cent of the world’s species
will become extinct or decline irrecoverably over the next quarter
century. This would represent an extinction rate approximately 1,000
to 10,000 times greater than the average background extinction rates
interpreted from the fossil record (Hanski et al 1995).
- The genetic diversity
of many valuable species, including the wild relatives of our most
important crops, is declining. This reduces the potential gene pool
for developing new strains to combat disease and increase yield.
- Threats to the
balance of nature, caused by loss of biodiversity, may jeopardise
the function of essential ecological services such as the recycling
of water and nutrients.
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