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The Encyclopedia of Life vs. the Brochure of Life: Exploring the relationships between the extinction of species and the inventory of life on Earth
Abstract
One of the most crucial questions of twenty-first century systematic biology deals with the determination of the real number of living species currently sharing the Earth with us (Cracraft 2002); answers vary widely, but commonly range between 3 and 100 million (see, for example, Stork 1997 or May 2002 and references therein). However, in terms of completeness and correctness, our current inventory of living species is certainly unsatisfactory (Dubois 2003), as the total number of species described so far is known to correspond to only a very small fraction of the Earth´s biodiversity. Indeed, large numbers of species remain to be discovered, primarily insects, small invertebrates and, above all, microorganisms (Chevalier et al. 1997). On the other hand, this gap of knowledge regarding the magnitude of the Earth´s biodiversity limits our capacity to properly manage the world´s biotic resources and conserve biological diversity in this so called Century of Extinctions (Dubois 2003)...
... Estimates of global species diversity suggest that we have inventoried approximately onetenth of the extant species. Despite various estimates being widely divergent, all agree that we are far from having adequate taxonomic knowledge of the biota (Engel et al. 2021, González-Oreja 2008. For Heteroptera, there are no particular studies dealing with biodiversity estimates. ...
Latin American and the Caribbean regions (LAC) harbor one of the most biodiverse areas of the world, the Neotropics. True bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) are a diverse lineage of insects, with more than 45,000 species, particularly speciose in the Neotropical region. True bugs are fundamental in the dynamics of natural and modified ecosystems, with several species critical to agriculture and public health. We compiled Heteroptera research in LAC from 1998-2022 using bibliographic databases. Productivity, collaborative networks, and the main topics studied were analyzed. A total of 1,651 Heteroptera studies from LAC were found, with continuous growth being 2021 the most prolific. Four categories (Taxonomy of extant species, Faunistic inventories and new records, Pest species biology, and Community ecology) represent most of the published research. About 60 percent of the records evaluated correspond to five families (Pentatomidae, Reduviidae, Coreidae, Miridae, and Rhyparochromidae). We emphasize the need to keep working on Heteroptera taxonomy because it will allow further advances in other areas such as phylogenetic analyses, biogeography, ecology, and natural history, among others. The results of our analyses characterize the current state of heteropterology in the region, establishing a baseline for future studies and efforts to broaden the knowledge of the group.
... Although unprotected areas of the western Himalaya support biodiversity, they are threatened by deforestation, habitat alteration and habitat fragmentation caused by the construction of roads and trails (Pandit et al. 2007;Pandit & Kumar 2013). Habitats of such areas may change or degrade completely, leading to extinctions even before the documentation of their biodiversity is complete (González-Oreja 2008). Conversion of natural habitat can specifically lead to local extinctions of specialist species across various taxa (Korkeamäki & Suhonen 2002;Munday 2004). ...
Biodiversity of unprotected areas in the western Himalayan region is under threat. Despite this, it is poorly studied and documented. The citizen science platform eBird was used to record bird species of the unprotected Kanetiya area (Darbhog panchayat), Shimla, Himachal Pradesh from August 2019–2020. Reporting frequency using this data was calculated to represent an index of species abundance. This was calculated independently for each species across three seasons and reported as a metric that can be tracked over time. One-hundred-and-twenty-four (20% of the species from Himachal Pradesh) species of birds belonging to 13 orders and 43 families were recorded. Of these, 37 (30%) were recorded year-round and the remaining 87% (80%) were migratory. The checklist consisted of five species of high conservation concern and 22 species of moderate conservation concern. This checklist also provides insights into the distributions of some species whose ranges within India are not yet well defined (Northern Long-eared Owl Asio otus, Aberrant Bush Warbler Horornis flavolivaceus, Himalayan Owl Strix nivicolum) and into migration through this part of the Himalaya (Black Stork Ciconia nigra). Locals can be educated to upload short checklists for monitoring since they have helped the local forest department’s conservation efforts.
... They are also known as glow worms or lightning bugs, and their taxonomic diversity encompasses more than 2,000 species in around 100 genera and 8 subfamilies across the globe (Shahara et al., 2017). González-Oreja (2008) and Wilson (2003) report that approximately 3,000 species per year perish, or 8 per day, out of a total of 3-100 million species in the globe. In the previous 600 years, around 70 species have gone extinct (Dunn, 2005). ...
A field survey of synchronized fireflies (Pteroptyx tener Olivier) was conducted in Kuala Sepetang, Perak. It involved sampling efforts for six months, from November 2021 to April 2022. A total of 10 sampling stations were selected along 5.63 km from the upstream to the downstream of the river. A sweep net was used for sampling at each station, and the net was swept for two minutes. Such sampling was replicated twice at each station. At the same time, collecting vegetation samples was done by taking the leaves, flowers, fruits, tree trunks, and roots. For species identification, collected specimens were taken to the Laboratory of the School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). From this survey, a total of 111,622 individuals were recorded. This species has been observed on Rhizophora mucronata, Rhizophora apiculata, and Sonneratia caseolaris. The distribution and abundance of fireflies in the sampling area were undocumented prior to this study. This study is being conducted to understand Pteroptys tener’s distribution in Malaysia better and to add knowledge about the undocumented area of Kuala Sepetang. By adding an undocumented location for this species, this study can contribute to and expand the knowledge of the distribution and occurrence of fireflies in Malaysia, particularly in Perak.
... From the start (Systematics Agenda 2000, 1994, the term 'taxonomic impediment' has been ambiguous, designating both the insufficiency and inadequacy of the resources put to the service of taxonomy (the taxonomic impediment sensu stricto) and its main consequence, the wide discrepancy between the reality of specific biodiversity and our knowledge of it (the taxonomic gap; Dubois, 2010;Raposo et al., 2020). The total number of species on our planet is unknown, and its various estimates (using different methods) are widely divergent, but consensus exists that we are far from having inventoried half, and most likely one-tenth, of the species still present on earth today (González-Oreja, 2008). ...
... From the start (Systematics Agenda 2000, 1994, the term 'taxonomic impediment' has been ambiguous, designating both the insufficiency and inadequacy of the resources put to the service of taxonomy (the taxonomic impediment sensu stricto) and its main consequence, the wide discrepancy between the reality of specific biodiversity and our knowledge of it (the taxonomic gap; Dubois, 2010;Raposo et al., 2020). The total number of species on our planet is unknown, and its various estimates (using different methods) are widely divergent, but consensus exists that we are far from having inventoried half, and most likely one-tenth, of the species still present on earth today (González-Oreja, 2008). ...
The science of taxonomy, albeit being fundamental for all organismic research, has been underfunded and undervalued for about two generations. We analyze how this could happen, particularly in times of a biodiversity crisis, when we have increased awareness amongst the population and decision makers that knowledge about species we share the planet with is indispensable for finding solutions. We identify five major issues: the habit of holding taxonomy in low esteem; the focus on inappropriate publication metrics in evaluating scientific output; the excessive focus on innovative technology in evaluating scientific relevance; shifting priorities in natural history museums away from their traditional strengths; and changing attitudes towards specimen collecting and increasing legislation regulating collecting and international exchange of specimens. To transform taxonomy into a thriving science again, we urgently suggest significantly increasing baseline funding
for permanent positions in taxonomy, particularly in natural history museums; reviving taxonomic research and teaching in universities at the tenured professor level; strongly increasing soft money or integrative taxonomy projects; refraining using journal-based metrics for evaluating individual researchers and scientific output and instead focusing on quality; installing governmental support for open access publishing; focusing digitizing efforts to the most useful parts of collections, freeing resources for improving data quality by improving identifications; requiring natural history museums to focus on collection-based research; and ending the trend of prohibitive legislation towards scientific collecting and international exchange of taxonomic specimens, and instead building legal frameworks supportive of biodiversity research.
Although often ignored or belittled, the role of taxonomy in biological research and in other fields like ecology and biodiversity management is central. To paraphrase a famous sentence, nothing makes sense in biology if the organisms studied are not identified and named, as their taxonomic placement in special units, the taxa, provides irreplaceable information on their characters, relationships, and evolution. Misidentification or misnaming of organisms may have unfortunate consequences not only on the accuracy of biological works and on their repeatability, but also in domains like medicine, pharmacology, breeding, agriculture, conservation biology, ecosystem management and climatology." (Dubois et al. 2013)
"Obwohl die Rolle der Taxonomie in der biologischen Forschung und in anderen Bereichen wie der Ökologie und in der praktischen Naturschutzarbeit oft ignoriert oder heruntergespielt wird, ist sie von zentraler Bedeutung. Um einen berühmten Satz zu wiederholen, ist in der Biologie nichts sinnvoll, wenn die untersuchten Organismen nicht identifiziert und benannt sind, da ihre taxonomische Einordnung in spezielle Einheiten, die Taxa, unersetzliche Informationen über ihre Merkmale, Beziehungen und Evolution liefert. Eine falsche Identifi-zierung oder Benennung von Organismen kann unglückliche Folgen haben, nicht nur für die Genauigkeit biologischer Arbeiten und ihre Reproduzierbarkeit, sondern auch in Bereichen wie Medizin, Pharma-kologie, Nutztierhaltung, Landwirtschaft, Naturschutzbiologie, Öko-systemmanagement und Klimatologie." (Dubois et al. 2013)
Natural fluctuations in insect abundance and richness are universal and short-term variations may become confounded with long-term changes attributed to human activities and that lead to local or wider extinctions. Those changes are complex and confusing to quantify and evaluate as bases for assessing needs and priorities for conservation. The distinction becomes important in assessing conservation needs, but also confused through lack of basic knowledge and public/scientific awareness of the reality and extent of need. Several key impediments to progress are outlined and discussed: these link also with detection of threatened insect species.
The Hawaiian Islands were once home to one of the most diverse assemblages of terrestrial snails found anywhere on earth, with more than 750 recognized species. Today, however, the majority of these species are extinct, and most of those that remain are headed swiftly in the same direction. But this is just the crisis that we know about, that we can in some way quantify. In Hawai‘i, and all over the world, a diversity of species—many of them invertebrates—are being lost while they still remain unknown to science. In fact, for every described species that blinks out, the best estimates indicate that roughly another four extinctions take place entirely unknown to us. This article focuses on the particular case of Hawai‘i’s snails and the efforts of taxonomists to catalog them as a way into this broader unknown extinction crisis. Snails have particular lessons to offer in understanding and responding to this situation. This article seeks to draw out those lessons, thinking through some of the challenges for storytelling in summoning up these unseen others and in opening up a space for ethical encounter with living and dead beings that must, in important ways, remain beyond the edges of our knowledge.
Scientific advances over the past century have led to improvements in most peoples' lives, in both developed and developing worlds. But increasingly we recognize that many of these benefits have not been produced in a sustainable way, particularly as human populations continue to grow and the diversity and abundance of many other species diminishes. What happens to our world, and to us and the creatures we share the world with, in the future depends on the actions we take now.
The three missions of Systematics Agenda 2000 (SA2000) - to inventory Earth's species, to understand their relationships, and to use the latter to create predictive information systems-define an agenda of research for systematic biology. The recognition that systematic knowledge underpins biological knowledge in general, and applied biology in particular, has resulted in an amazing growth in systematics over the past decade. Increasingly, systematics is being used to solve, societal problems. This paper describes seven great questions within systematics and discusses their relevance for, and contribution to, conserving and sustainably using biodiversity. These questions fall into four broad categories: Questions about diversity: What is a species? and How many species are there? Questions about phylogeny: What is the Tree of Life? and What has been the history of character transformation? Questions about biogeography: Where are Earth's species distributed? and How have species' distributions changed over time? and Questions about phyloinformatics: How is phylogenetic history predictive?
Simply put: despite over ten years of recognizing the problem and giving it a catchy phrase, we still lack the taxonomic expertise to effectively describe the remaining biodiversity on earth. How can we enjoy and protect something if we don’t know it is out there to enjoy and protect?