Seventy-five years of systematic biology: Looking back, moving forward

What 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 (N = 5,150) that we could locate and used bibliometric and
textual analyses to illustrate ways in which our field has transformed. We
offer our humble opinions on how our community can ensure that systematic
biologists inherit an enlightening, dynamic, and enduring future.