Question

Who first used the word systematics?

Answer 1

Scientists who study and contribute to the classification of organisms are called systematists or taxonomists, and their subject is called systematics and taxonomy.
According to Simpson (1961), ‘systematics is the study of diversity of organisms and all their comparative and evolutionary relationships including their comparative anatomy, ecology, physiology and biochemistry.

Complete Answer:
Systematics is the science of identification, nomenclature, description and classification. It has become an indispensable branch of biology in recent times. It is required in every field of the study of living organisms.
The history of the living world reveals that plants and animals appeared on this planet before humans evolved. They gave names to plants and animals so as to recognize them.
In the history of taxonomy or science of classification of organisms, Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778), a Swedish naturalist, used the word systematics first and described 5,900 species of plants in his book, Species Plantarum (1753), and 4200 species of animals in Systema Naturae (1758). He arranged the plants according to his system of classification (sexual system of classification) based on sexual characters. He also introduced a system of nomenclature of plants and animals known as the Binomial system of Nomenclature. According to this method, the scientific name of a species consists of two parts – the first part represents the genus and the second part represents the identity.

Note:
There are various utility of systematics –
It gives us an idea about the organic diversity, its origin and evolution.
It is essential for the study of other branches of biology like ecology, genetics, cytology, etc.
It helps in solving the problem of many epidemic diseases.
It helps in the identification of crop pests and thus in planning their eradication.