Tools for Study of Taxonomy

Tools for study of Taxonomy (or) Taxonomical aids

Systematics is the study of biological diversity and the organization of the data into a classification. The word systematics is derived from the Latin word ‘systema,’ which refers to the orderly organization of organisms. It encompasses the species’ evolutionary relationships. Plant systematics is the study of how plants and their evolutionary descent interact. Therefore, systematics based on evolutionary relationships taxonomy.

The acquired knowledge of Earth’s flora has been far from excellent, and only through researching various regions, collecting its elements, studying and classifying it will it grow increasingly excellent. There must be techniques for everyone to designate a taxon as being comparable with another recognized organism after nomenclature and classification systems have been established. Scientists have developed processes and methods for storing and preserving both data and samples. As a result, these researches would necessitate accurate organism categorization and identification, which can be done through taxonomy.

Taxonomy: The word “taxonomy” comes from two Greek words: “taxis,” which means “arrangement,” and “nomos,” which means “rules.” Plant taxonomy is the science of classifying plants as per a set of standards. A. P. de Candolle, a Swiss botanist, created the term taxonomy in his work “Théorie élémentaire de la botanique.”

Plant taxonomy is a field of botany that involves characterising, identifying, classifying, and nomenclature plants based on their similarities and variations. Like palynology in relation to taxonomy; Palynology is the study of Pollen grains, which are also found in fossil forms. Pollen grains morphology plays an essential role in taxonomic classification.

The following are the objectives of plant taxonomy

1. Identification: It is the process of determining the unknown species’ traits and comparing them to those of recognised species.
2. Characterisation: It is the process of describing all the features of a newly discovered species.
3. Classification: It is the process of grouping and organising known species into various groups or taxa based on their similarities and variations.
4. Nomenclature: It is the process of assigning a scientific name based on a set of rules.

Organisms are classified into taxonomic groups, called taxonomical hierarchy, based on their similarities and distinguishing characteristics. The plants are also classified on a similar concept; it is known as the taxonomic hierarchy of plants. The following are the several taxonomic categories in their hierarchical order: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus and Species.

A taxonomist’s work is crucial to all the other biological disciplines since it offers a catalog of plants and animals, identification methods, nomenclature and a classification system for flora and fauna. Several sciences are reliant on study of taxonomy, and each, in return, is reliant on it. E.g., cyto-taxonomy or cytological taxonomy is the study of taxonomy using cytological data such as chromosome number, size, and shape. Therefore, taxonomy is not only fundamental to all other branches of science, but that also relies on them, such as ecology, plant breeding, phytosociology, pharmacology and biochemistry.

Taxonomical aids: Taxonomic aids are collections of specimens or preserved specimens that facilitate the identification of distinct taxonomic hierarchies through considerable investigation. The classification of organisms into distinct categories necessitates extensive lab and field research. This is an important process since taxonomic grouping helps in the identification of numerous organisms that are required in various domains, such as agriculture and bio-resources, and so on.

The primary source that assists in learning the associated level of a set of species, their taxonomic hierarchy, and the taxonomic rank is taxonomical aids or tools for study of taxonomy.

Types and Applications of Taxonomical Aids

• Herbarium: This is a place that stocks preserved species of plants. The herbarium sheets are used to preserve plant specimens. These sheets are made by drying, pressing, and then preserving the sheets. These sheets are then organized according to their taxonomic classification. These sheets contain all information about each specimen

• Botanical garden: These gardens are where specific plants are grown and are labelled according to their taxonomy. The labels also include the scientific names of the plants and their families. The primary purpose of botanical gardens is to identify the species being considered

• Zoological Park: These areas are where birds and animals are kept within protected boundaries. It is hoped that they will be able to live in a natural environment. We learn more about their natural behaviour and habits by visiting them. Humans are welcome to visit zoological parks

• Museum: Schools and colleges can host biological museums, similar to the biology labs in our schools. These museums preserve plants and animals in containers and jars with the use of preservatives. They can also be dried and preserved. Birds and larger animals are often stuffed before preservation. Insects are also killed and pinned to the boxes. Sometimes, we find the skeletons of different animals

• Key: This taxonomic tool allows animals and plants to be identified based on their contrasting characteristics, known as keys. The acceptance and rejection of two keys with different characteristics are usually achieved by keeping them in pairs.

Conclusion

Tools for study of Taxonomy museums, zoos, herbaria, botanical Gardens are techniques and procedures that help in identifying and classifying organisms. This makes these tools very important in studying various species of plants, animals, and other microbes. In a biological museum, there is a collection of animal or plant specimens that have been preserved. Zoological parks or zoos are used to keep living animals for studying and public display. The systematic keeping of dried and pressed plant specimens takes place in herbaria. Botanical gardens are large-sized tracts for scientific purposes where various plants are grown.