"What are some of the challenges of systematics and taxonomy? Should a biologist's classification be taken as absolute, inviolable truth? In your opinion, is taxonomy necessary and/or important? Why or why not?
I was asked to tell you about some of the challenges of systematics and taxonomy. I will do just that! First of all, when a biologist tries to classify a species he can run into some annoying problems. The problems that I'm talking about are how some species share both animal and plant characteristics. As you can probably imagine, this poses quite a snare for the person who is trying to classify this creature.
This information will prove crucial to answering the next question, which is if a biologist's classification should be taken as absolute. I think not! In the past we have seen classifications being changed as we gain more knowledge about the species that we are attempting to classify, so how is this any different? That's just it, it's not! Of course, most of the time we don't have people wondering where a horse falls into the grand scheme of taxonomy, unless they have completely gone mad. But for some things, such as with the plant or animal scenario, it is entirely possible for something to be classified wrong.
This poses a new question. Is taxonomy important? Well, just because we might classify something wrong every once in a while doesn't mean that it isn't important in my opinion! I think that taxonomy is absolutely necessary! Without taxonomy, how else would we figure out where a cow or woodpecker go. Without it, we would have difficulty differentiating between one species from another. Without it, we might not be able to properly communicate which species we are talking about! That would certainly cause some major challenges for scientists and biologists who are trying to study a certain species don't you think?
Anyways, I hope that you have enjoyed this essay, and please let me know what you think!
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