It is the discipline that synthesizes all of biology and underlies all research in biology. Systematics is essential to identifying species that are important for human health and food production and for the protection, conservation and maintenance of functioning ecosystems. It also provides the evidence for naming organisms, which is the basis of all scientific and popular communication about organisms. Systematics guides the search for useful biological products, biological control agents and potential food crop species. Systematics provides information to policy makers to guide decisions for resource management.
Humanity also benefits from knowledge of the aesthetic values of biological diversity.
A day in the field may begin before sunrise and end after sunset. It may involve collecting or recording data on paper or film or tape cassette. A day in the laboratory may involve anything from observing live organisms to dissection to recording measurements. Some systematic research involves compiling and manipulating very large computer databases. Many systematists compare and integrate information from scanning or transmission electron microscopy, confocal microscopy, and a range of exciting new technologies for imaging organismal form and structure.