ystematics

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"Systematic biology" redirects here. For the journal, see Systematic Biology. For other uses, see
Systematics (disambiguation).

A comparison of phylogenetic and phenetic (character-based) concepts

Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present,
and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as
evolutionary trees (synonyms: cladograms, phylogenetic trees, phylogenies). Phylogenies have
two components: branching order (showing group relationships) and branch length (showing
amount of evolution). Phylogenetic trees of species and higher taxa are used to study the
evolution of traits (e.g., anatomical or molecular characteristics) and the distribution of
organisms (biogeography). Systematics, in other words, is used to understand the evolutionary
history of life on Earth.

Contents
 1 Branches and applications
 2 Definition and relation with taxonomy
 3 Taxonomic characters
 4 See also
 5 References
o 5.1 Notes
o 5.2 Further reading
 6 External links
Branches and applications
In the study of biological systematics, researchers use the different branches to further
understand the relationships between differing organisms. These branches are used to determine
the applications and uses for modern day systematics.

Biological systematics classifies species by using three specific branches. Numerical systematics,
or biometry, uses biological statistics to identify and classify animals. Biochemical systematics
classifies and identifies animals based on the analysis of the material that makes up the living
part of a cell—such as the nucleus, organelles, and cytoplasm. Experimental systematics
identifies and classifies animals based on the evolutionary units that comprise a species, as well
as their importance in evolution itself. Factors such as mutations, genetic divergence, and
hybridization all are considered evolutionary units.[1]

With the specific branches, researchers are able to determine the applications and uses for
modern-day systematics. These applications include:

 Studying the diversity of organisms and the differentiation between extinct and living
creatures. Biologists study the well-understood relationships by making many different
diagrams and "trees" (cladograms, phylogenetic trees, phylogenies, etc.).
 Including the scientific names of organisms, species descriptions and overviews,
taxonomic orders, and classifications of evolutionary and organism histories.
 Explaining the biodiversity of the planet and its organisms. The systematic study is that
of conservation.
 Manipulating and controlling the natural world. This includes the practice of 'biological
control', the intentional introduction of natural predators and disease.[1]

Definition and relation with taxonomy

John Lindley provided an early definition of systematics in 1830, although he wrote of
"systematic botany" rather than using the term "systematics".[2]

In 1970 Michener et al. defined "systematic biology" and "taxonomy" (terms that are often
confused and used interchangeably) in relationship to one another as follows:[3]

Systematic biology (hereafter called simply systematics) is the field that (a) provides scientific
names for organisms, (b) describes them, (c) preserves collections of them, (d) provides
classifications for the organisms, keys for their identification, and data on their distributions, (e)
investigates their evolutionary histories, and (f) considers their environmental adaptations. This
is a field with a long history that in recent years has experienced a notable renaissance,
principally with respect to theoretical content. Part of the theoretical material has to do with
evolutionary areas (topics e and f above), the rest relates especially to the problem of
classification. Taxonomy is that part of Systematics concerned with topics (a) to (d) above.
Taxonomy, systematic biology, systematics, biosystematics, scientific classification, biological
classification, phylogenetics: At various times in history, all these words have had overlapping,
related meanings. However, in modern usage, they can all be considered synonyms of each other.

For example, Webster's 9th New Collegiate Dictionary of 1987 treats "classification",
"taxonomy", and "systematics" as synonyms. According to this work, the terms originated in
1790, c. 1828, and in 1888 respectively. Some[who?] claim systematics alone deals specifically
with relationships through time, and that it can be synonymous with phylogenetics, broadly
dealing with the inferred hierarchy[citation needed] of organisms. This means it would be a subset of
taxonomy as it is sometimes regarded, but the inverse is claimed by others.[who?]

Europeans tend to use the terms "systematics" and "biosystematics" for the study of biodiversity
as a whole, whereas North Americans tend to use "taxonomy" more frequently.[4] However,
taxonomy, and in particular alpha taxonomy, is more specifically the identification, description,
and naming (i.e. nomenclature) of organisms,[5] while "classification" focuses on placing
organisms within hierarchical groups that show their relationships to other organisms. All of
these biological disciplines can deal with both extinct and extant organisms.

Systematics uses taxonomy as a primary tool in understanding, as nothing about an organism's

relationships with other living things can be understood without it first being properly studied
and described in sufficient detail to identify and classify it correctly.[citation needed] Scientific
classifications are aids in recording and reporting information to other scientists and to laymen.
The systematist, a scientist who specializes in systematics, must, therefore, be able to use
existing classification systems, or at least know them well enough to skilfully justify not using
them.

Phenetics was an attempt to determine the relationships of organisms through a measure of

overall similarity, making no distinction between plesiomorphies (shared ancestral traits) and
apomorphies (derived traits). From the late-20th century onwards, it was superseded by
cladistics, which rejects plesiomorphies in attempting to resolve the phylogeny of Earth's various
organisms through time. Today's systematists generally make extensive use of molecular biology
and of computer programs to study organisms.

Taxonomic characters
Taxonomic characters are the taxonomic attributes that can be used to provide the evidence from
which relationships (the phylogeny) between taxa are inferred.[6] Kinds of taxonomic characters
include:[7]

 Morphological characters  Behavioral characters

o General external morphology o Courtship and other ethological
o Special structures (e.g. isolating mechanisms
genitalia) o Other behavior patterns
o Internal morphology  Ecological characters
(anatomy) o Habit and habitats
o Embryology o Food
 o Karyology and other o Seasonal variations
cytological factors o Parasites and hosts
 Physiological characters  Geographic characters
o Metabolic factors o General biogeographic distribution
o Body secretions patterns
o Genic sterility factors o Sympatric-allop
 Molecular characters
o Immunological distance
o Electrophoretic differences
o Amino acid sequences of
proteins
o DNA hybridization
o DNA and RNA sequences
o Restriction endonuclease
analyses
o Other molecular differences