taxons and orthography

[Andrew K. Rindsberg]

In British English, collective nouns are generally plural, e.g., "The
government are...", but in American English, collective nouns are generally
singular, e.g., "The government is..." The American usage is the older one,
but that doesn't matter much. It's courteous to use the same dialect as the
journal's editors, but not always possible. Of course, they will remind one
of their preferences.

Andrew K. Rindsberg
Geological Survey of Alabama