Systematic biology is the discipline that describes and classifies living organisms, and reconstructs the evolutionary relationships among species and higher taxa. The ability to identify, classify, and compare organisms in an evolutionary context is critical to many other areas of biology, such as functional morphology, ecology, biogeography, behavioral studies, and population biology. Dr. K. Elaine Hoagland, Executive Director of the Association of Systematic Collections, has organized a symposium entitled "Systematics, Society, and Public Policy", at which systematists can interact with governmental policy-makers and a broad range of biologists impacted by systematic biology. The proposed symposium will provide a timely forum for a discussion of the critical role played by systematics in resolving the international crisis in biological diversity. The meeting will generate important position papers and will set in motion ongoing interactions between systematists and policy- makers.
