Check-lists, Guides, Floras/Faunas

[Santiago Madrinan]

Dear colleagues,

I would like to begin a thread to discuss issues related to outputs of
taxonomic work.  In particular, the production of Check-lists, Guides,
Floras/Faunas are of special interest; there are many aspects of this
type of work that still follow 200+ year old formats and should be
modernized.  Some of these include:

-Who are the users of taxonomic information and what do they want?
-Is what the users want, that which should be produced?
-Check-lists vs. Guides vs. Floras/Faunas
-Contents?:
 *Keys (dichotomous, special features, multiple access, interactive)?
 *Order (alphabetic, phylogenetic)?
 *Names (authorship, abbreviations, synomymy, new names, vernacular)
 *Decriptions (full, hierarchical)
 *Distribution, Ecology, Uses...
 *Maps
 *Illustrations, Photographs, Digital Imaging
 *Vouchers, Examined specimens
 *Literature
-Output (Printed ["Phone-book" vs. "Pocket-book"], Digital [CD-ROM,
Internet])
-Distribution (Institutional vs. Commercial editors and presses)
-Costs & Funding

Hoping to raise interest and discussion,

Santiago Madrinan

--
Santiago Madrinan, Ph.D.

Dept. Ciencias Biologicas         Tel:+57(1)286-9211, ext. 2729
Universidad de los Andes         Fax:+57(1)284-1890
Apartado Aereo 4976
Santafe de Bogota, D.C.
COLOMBIA