vanishing taxonomists, which??

[Robin Leech]

No, it reflects where the money is.
Robin Leech
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Grehan" <jrg13 at PSU.EDU>
To: <TAXACOM at USOBI.ORG>
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2001 6:54 PM
Subject: Re: vanishing taxonomists, which??


> Society seems to be wanting to
> >invest in knowing more about the 1% which is known (vertebrates), than
the
> >unknown.
>
> Do the choices really reflect 'society'?
>
> >And it seems the major preoccupation of vertebrate taxonomists is higher
> >classification / relationships. The "are birds dinosaurs?" questions or
the
> >phylocode versus Linnaean nomenclature when the real threats to us come
from
> >the combinations of insects and microbes (Iike West Nile fever and newly
> >introduced vectors like Aedes albopictus).
>
> It seems that these sorts of questions are the kind that get you into
> the pop journals such as Nature and Science, whereas documenting
biodiversity
> does not (not the real nuts and bolts work anyway). I heard about
> one institution that eliminated positions associated with biodiversity
> inventory and focused on getting new people to do the kinds of
> theoretical research that would gain the institution the high profile
> exposure. Fame (and fortune) is what counts.
>
> John Grehan