Question

what are the consequences if there is no hierarchy of classification of organisms

Answer 1

Classification of organisms is important because it greatly expands researchers' ability to make educated guesses about particular species. For instance, in many cases, a particular organism may be both difficult to study and also threatened or endangered, or even human and ethically incapable of being experimented upon. However, a related organism may be quite similar to the species of interest, yet not threatened or endangered and without ethical concerns. I see this implementation of classification in the field of herpetology all the time, but it is true across the board in biology. If a researcher can potentially know more about a species before studying it through minimal effort, then they can be more efficient in future studies of related organisms. Beginning the study of each species from scratch would be laborious and wasteful, making correct classification essential to efficient science.

Bear in mind that people classified organisms before evolution was even thought about and were right much of the time. However, genomic techniques are increasingly utilized to both support and refute morphological classifications, which has enabled the construction of evolutionary histories for both whales and humans, for just a couple examples, which grow better and better all the time. This shows that classification can also be used to explain what has happened historically on top of being able to guide us in our quest for what is happening within organisms.

With this being said, I do find it interesting that some scientists are so passionate about the demarcations of species boundaries. Coleopterology is rife with disputes about the most minute things. In regards to species extinction as a metric of human impact on environment, these numerous 'species' can potentially inflate the severity of environmental problems, and in the wrong hands, lead to policies which preserve species at the expense of ecosystems. After all, if many species are lost, but all of the species filled similar niche space, then the effect on the ecosystem is not nearly as pronounced as losing a species from a niche space for which no other species will fill the gap.

Answer 2

Classification is important because it helps scientists to clearly identify species, study and observe them, and organize concentrated conservation efforts. It also assists as a way of remembering and differentiating the types of organisms, making predictions about organisms of the same type, classifying the relationship between different organisms, and providing precise names for organisms.