What is the definition of taxonomy?

Taxonomy is defined as the science of classifying organisms. This field of biology involves identifying, naming, and categorizing living things based on their characteristics, relationships, and evolutionary history. Taxonomy helps scientists organize and understand the vast diversity of life on Earth by grouping organisms into hierarchical categories, such as kingdoms, phyla, classes, orders, families, genera, and species. By establishing a systematic framework for classification, taxonomy facilitates communication and research among biologists, making it easier to share information about different organisms and their relationships to one another.

The other options pertain to different branches of biological study. The study of animal behavior focuses on how animals interact with one another and their environments, population dynamics involves examining the changes in populations over time, and plant physiology studies the functions and processes of plants. These areas, while important, are distinct from taxonomy, which is specifically concerned with the classification of organisms.