To understand the pattern of variation and relationships among the organisms, Systematists study plants and animals in nature, in museums, and in laboratories. The discovery of a new or exotic species in the rain forest of the Amazon Basin, the mountains of Africa, the deserts of Australia, etc., remains an exciting experience. The Systematist who discovers a previously unknown species has the opportunity to name the species and to provide the world with a diagnostic description of the newly known plant or animal. Equally thrilling to a Systematist is the realization that two populations of organisms that appear similar have different chromosome numbers or different reproductive behaviour, or occur in very different environments. At the root of all these tasks is the challenge of developing a classification for the myriad forms of life, a classification based on differences and similarities of features such as form, distribution, chromosome number, behaviour, biochemical pathways, and molecular structure.
Systematists also attempt to make sense of classifications in light of evolution.
To understand evolution, some Systematists analyze the scientific basis of classifications, while others delve into the dynamic aspects of nature, studying such things as the processes that lead to the origin of species, interactions among organisms, and equilibrium states in communities. Other Systematists, concerned over the loss of natural habitats and the degradation of the environment through the expansion of human activities, study the impact of people on the ecosystems of the world and the resultant changes in the biology of the species included. Systematists still roam the planet seeking to describe and catalog the diversity of plants and animals, or to discover potential new crops or drug plants. Other Systematists may screen potential drug plants for active compounds and determine their molecular structure. For instance, Systematists were influential in realizing the relationships among malaria and stickle cell anemia in tropical Africa.