Systematics is the field of biology that deals with the diversity of life. It is the study of organisms living today and in the past, and of the relationships among these organisms. Systematics includes the areas of taxonomy and phylogenetics. Taxonomy is the naming, describing, and classification of all living organisms and fossils. Phylogenetics is the study of evolutionary relationships among organisms. It is also the study of the physical and environmental settings in which evolutionary changes occurred.

Systematics is also an essential part of other fields such as biogeography (the mapping of where species occur), ecology (the study of the habitats and environmental factors that control where species occur), conservation biology, and the management of biological resources.

Systematists collect plants and animals, study them, and group them according to patterns of variation. Systematists study plants and animals in nature, laboratories, and museums. Some study the scientific basis...