28/06/06 Kickoff Meeting TAXONOMY AND EDIT. 28/06/06 Kickoff Meeting Taxonomy builds up the...

28/06/06 Kickoff Meeting

TAXONOMY AND EDIT


• Taxonomy builds up the conceptual framework through which science and society see and handle biodiversity

• Scientific taxonomic concepts are needed for biological and ecological research

• Taxonomy is needed for conservation, sustainable management and evaluation of resources of biodiversity: environment, national and international regulations, trade, agriculture and industry

• However production and availability of taxonomy is not sufficient = Taxonomic Impediment

Why Taxonomy?


Numbers of known species and minimum estimate of extant species for taxa including probably more than 100.000 species (vertebrates included for comparison). Source WCMC, 1992. Global biodiversity assessment. Chapman & Hall.

Taxonomic Impediment I : extent of the unknown


Taxonomic impediment II: global production of knowledge

Protozoa 356Plathelminthes 316Nematodes 364Annelida 173Mollusca 363Other invertebrates (non arthropodes) 254Crustacea 699Arachnida 1350Other arthropodes (non insects) 109

Hemiptera

1103Lepidoptera

642Diptera

1048Hymenoptera

1196Coleoptera

2308Other insects

925Fish

231Other vertebrates

166

TOTAL : 11603


Marine mollusks

Fish

Ortho-ptera

Birds

Bouchet MARBEF General Assembly 2006 Bouchet MARBEF General Assembly 2006

Species naming curves for various taxa

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000Year

Nu

mb

er o

f sp

ecie

s

Marine molluscs

Fish

Orthoptera

Birds

28/06/06 Kickoff Meeting - 16,2 %1462,51745Total

+ 1,7 %6160Other

invertebrates

- 52,6 %919Nemertinea

- 4,5 %2122Echinodermata

- 51,2 %2143Nematoda

- 42,6 %2747Tunicata

- 53,8 %3065Bryozoa

- 48,7 %3976Porifera

- 44,7 %88,5160Protozoa

+ 5,7 %7470Cnidaria

- 10,8 %8393Plathelmintha

- 30,3 %106152Annelida

+ 9,8 %123112Pisces

+ 3,3 %344333Mollusca

- 11,6 %436493Crustacea

10 yearsdifference

2002-20031991-1995Marine Taxa

Taxonomic Impediment III: decrease in production of knowledge


0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

2002-03Names

0

20

40

60

1992-93

New marine fishes

Authors



1992-93

2002-03

Names

Authors

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1992-93

2002-03

New marine nematodes



Taxonomy IV : fragmentation of expertise and status of descriptors

Descriptions (232 species)

46%

40%

2%

12%

Descriptors (N = 123)

55%

13%

2%

30%

Amateurs describe proportionnaly more than professionals!In Europe more than half of the species are described by people who are not paid for that. Source Fauna Europaea, P. Bouchet

ProfessionalsAmateursRetired professionalsStudents


Taxonomy V : unevenly distributed biodiversity and information about it

biodiversity hotspotholder of large amounts of biodiversity data


The efforts of malacologists from different parts of the world to describe new species of marine molluscs from their own region (internal activity) and from regions other than their own (external activity). From BOUCHET, P. 1997. Inventorying the molluscan diversity of the world: what is our rate of progress? The Veliger, 40(1): 1-11.

Taxonomy VI: uneven distribution of capacities and taxa

DATA =MOLLUSCS


Taxonomy VII : unavailability of information and knowledge

• ?? millions papers and books

- Virtually none indexed and accessible through GBIF or any other mean

• 1.5 + billion specimens in collections - 65 millions? specimens records available through GBIF

(98 including observation records)

• 1.8 million species known (8 million names?)- 0,84 million species available through GBIF / catalogue of life


Remedying the Taxonomic Impediment?

• by improving production through quantitative change of taxonomy

- more research projects, more experts, more infrastructures, more funds

• by improving production through qualitative change of taxonomy- integration of the expertise- integration of the infrastructures (collections, librairies, databases)- integration of the production of taxonomy- integration of training- making taxonomy available on the web

• the objective of EDIT is to induce qualitative change of taxonomy through integration of taxonomic institutions and taxonomic work

= 11.9 million euros / 5 years


• Taxonomic research needs large samples of organisms• Taxonomic research needs access to previous

knowledge• Large collections and libraries provide access to both

large samples and previous knowledge

BUT• Collections and libraries are dispersed and available only

for the minority of taxonomists who work in large taxonomic institutions

• Taxonomy is created and managed slowly, like several decades and centuries ago, whereas the environment is rapidly modified

Why Taxonomic Institutions?


CHALLENGE• Improve production of taxonomic knowledge through

research• Make existing and new taxonomic knowledge available and

usable beyond taxonomists

APPROACH• Taxonomic institutions will improve both production and

availability of taxonomic knowledge by integraton • Taxonomists will improve their production by changing their

culture through new tools and new organization• IT and the web will make integration and availability of

taxonomic knowledge available far beyond institutions

THE EDIT APPROACH


EDIT partnership includes holders of large amounts of data

biodiversity hotspotholder of large amounts of biodiversity data

EDIT partners (27)


EDIT capacities• 400-600 millions specimens in collections

= 30% of the world collections?

• 600-1000 professional taxonomists = 10 -15% of the world capacity?

• 30-50% of name-bearing type specimens?

• Millions of books, papers etc in taxonomy = unrivalled set of taxonomic documentation

• Overall possibly 10-15 % of world professional capacity, BUT – overall less than 5% (?) of the collections and virtually no literature

digitized presently– a long way ahead to integrate institutions of various statuses

which have been competing for more than one century…


EDIT coordination and management

WP1

CoordinationAnd integration

Integrating the expert and expertise basis

WP2

Integrating the infrastructure basis

WP3

Coordinating researchWP4

Resources

Internet Platform for Cybertaxonomy

WP5

Unifying Revisionary taxonomy

WP6

Applying taxonomy to conservation

WP7

Training and Public Awareness

WP8

Products

EDIT operational structure


EDIT organization

European

Commission

CDCCoordinator

Scientific AdvisoryCouncil

Contractors

=

Members

of the Consortium

CETAF

MNHN Project leader

Network OfficeConsortium Board

of Directors

Stakeholders

Network Steering Committee

WP2 WP3 WP4 WP5 WP6 WP7 WP8

INTEGRATING ACTIVITIES

JOINT RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

SPREADING EXCELLENCE ACTIVITIES


EDIT Website


EDIT operational objectives

• At taxonomic institutions level– progress toward integration of infrastructures : standards, new tools,

collections, digital information, reinforce GBIF– progress toward integration of expertise

• At researchers level– change how taxonomists work by elaborating new collaborative IT tools

to improve delivery of taxonomy– make researchers collaborate for inventories and revisions– train taxonomists for Europe and for southern countries

• At users level– make existing knowledge held by taxonomic institutions available, as

well for Europe as for southern countries– make tools to elaborate taxonomy available and used– produce inventories and revisions– make taxonomic expertise available for research and for society


EDIT and GTI operational objectives

• Operational objective 1: EDIT will assess taxonomic needs and capacities at regional level through its Work package 7 Taxonomy for conservation, WP 8 Training and capacity building, and WP 2 Integrating the expert and expertise basis

• Operational objective 2: EDIT will provide focus to help build and maintain the human resources, systems and infrastructure needed to obtain, collate and curate the biological specimens that are the basis for taxonomic knowledge through its Work packages 2 and 3, Integrating the expert and expertise basis and Integrating the Infrastructure basis

• Operational objective 3: EDIT will facilitate an improved and effective infrastructure / system for access to taxonomic information; with priority on ensuring that countries of origin gain access to information concerning elements of their biodiversity through its Work Package 3, Integrating the Infrastructure basis


EDIT and capacity building

• Integrating infrastructures to make them available both electronically and physically (WP 3)

• Making tools for collaborative taxonomy on the internet and making them available to all taxonomists worldwide (WP 5 and 6)

• Setting standards and promoting inventories (ATBI + M) preferably in protected areas (WP 7)

• Training and capacity building (WP8), including specific actions to increase capacities in developing countries


Coordinating and managing EDIT (WP1)

Build up and operate a dynamic structure ensuring long-term operational and structural links between partners

Coordinate the activities regarding research, infrastructures and expertise.

Ensure interaction of EDIT activities with scientific activity in the field of biodiversity and with societal needs.

Coordinate interactions with stakeholders, including communication with institutional stakeholders.

Ensure internal and external communication of EDIT, and its visibility through the web


WP1.1: operation of the administrating structure

1.1 Establishment and running of the Network Office

1.2 Operation of the Network Steering Committee


WP1.2. Orientation, Sustainability and development of exploitation strategies

2.1 Orientation of EDIT activities- the Scientific Advisory Council

- the Board of Directors

2.2 Legal structure

2.3 Interactions with institutional stakeholders outside EDIT and exploitation strategies

2.4 Roadmap for EDIT


WP1.3. Communication (internal / external)

3.1 Establishment and running of the Website

3.2 Publication of the EDIT bulletin

3.3 Participation to meetings and forums


WP1.4. Liaison programme coordinating the ad hoc liaison groups established by WPs

• Maintain coherence and impulse common direction among the liaison groups established for various goals in the different workpackages

• Propose modalities after month 17


WP1.5. Gender action plan

5.1 Work towards achieving gender balance in all activities

5.2 Raise gender awareness among EDIT participants

5.3 Promote women in science

5.4 Consider family-friendly policies


EDIT Websitehttp://www.e-taxonomy.eu


Thank you

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