Seventy-five Years of Systematic Biology: Looking Back, Moving Forward

Abstract

AbstractWhat does "systematic biology" mean today, where has it been in the past, and where is it going? We explore these questions by considering five elements - collaboration, integration, discourse, infrastructure, and society - that we think have allowed systematic biology to adapt to change and sustain growth without losing its unique identity. In the spirit of celebrating the 75th anniversary of our flagship journal, we generated a comprehensive dataset for all Systematic Biology and Systematic Zoology articles that we could locate (N = 5,150) and used bibliometric and textual analyses to illustrate ways in which our field has transformed over time. We offer our humble opinions on how our community can ensure that systematic biologists inherit an enlightening, dynamic, and enduring future.