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TAXONOMY AND EDIT
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• 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?
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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
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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
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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
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0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
2002-03Names
0
20
40
60
1992-93
New marine fishes
Authors
Bouchet MARBEF General Assembly 2006 Bouchet MARBEF General Assembly 2006
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1992-93
2002-03
Names
Authors
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1992-93
2002-03
New marine nematodes
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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
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Taxonomy V : unevenly distributed biodiversity and information about it
biodiversity hotspotholder of large amounts of biodiversity data
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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
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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
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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
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• 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?
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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
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EDIT partnership includes holders of large amounts of data
biodiversity hotspotholder of large amounts of biodiversity data
EDIT partners (27)
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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…
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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
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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
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EDIT Website
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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
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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
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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
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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
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WP1.1: operation of the administrating structure
1.1 Establishment and running of the Network Office
1.2 Operation of the Network Steering Committee
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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
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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
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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
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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
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EDIT Websitehttp://www.e-taxonomy.eu
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Thank you