Marine biology is the scientific study of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather than on taxonomy. All plant and animal life forms are included from the microscopic picoplankton all the way to the majestic blue whale, the largest creature in the sea—and for that matter in the world. The study of marine biology includes a wide variety of disciplines such as astronomy, biological oceanography, cellular biology, chemistry, ecology, geology, meteorology, molecular biology, physical oceanography and zoology and the new science of marine conservation biology draws on many longstanding scientific disciplines such as marine ecology, biogeography, zoology, botany, genetics, fisheries biology, anthropology, economics and law. Like all scientific disciplines, the study of marine biology also follows the scientific method. The overriding goal in all of science is to find the truth. Although following the scientific method is not by any means a rigid process, research is usually conducted systematically and logically to narrow the inevitable margin of error that exists in any scientific study, and to avoid as much bias on behalf of the researcher as possible. The primary component of scientific research is characterization by observations. Hypotheses are then formulated and then tested based on a number of observations in order to determine the degree to which the hypothesis is a true statement and whether or not it can be accepted or rejected. Testing is then often done by experiments if hypotheses can produce predictions based on the initial observations.