Presidential Address:
Sedges, spiders and sequences: systematic biology today

The Linnean Society of New South Wales was set up in 1874-5 in an era when many people were busily exploring all corners of the world and naming new species of organisms: ‘natural history’ as it was called then. The Society’s monthly meetings and excursions contributed to these activities, which were documented in its journal (which is now up to volume 147). The ‘natural history’ of that era has evolved into today’s ‘biological sciences’ with many specialised subdisciplines. This address will explore that evolution, concentrating on systematic biology, which has changed dramatically in the last few decades. Fears about dwindling biodiversity and the competing desires to conserve and exploit habitats and species have increased the demands being placed on systematic biologists. At the same time, advances in computing and molecular sequencing technologies are providing powerful tools for collection, analysis, storage and dissemination of data and information about the world’s organisms. Interdisciplinary collaborations and citizen science increasingly contribute to our understanding of the relationships of organisms and their environment: the complicated web of life.