[Taxacom] Solanum systematics project

[Lynn Bohs]

Dear Taxacom,
	Wow, I never expected my innocent post-doc ad to invoke a 
storm of criticism!  Just to clarify, this post-doc position is part 
of a large NSF-funded project to monograph the entire genus Solanum. 
The project is completely rooted in traditional taxonomy, 
nomenclature, morphology, and field work and the four PIs all have 
extensive experience in Solanum taxonomy based on morphological 
features.  The University of Utah is only one of four main nodes of 
the project and the one responsible for generating much of the 
molecular phylogenetic data on Solanum, hence the emphasis on 
molecular phylogenetic experience in the job ad.  Two of the other 
project nodes include the New York Botanical Garden and the Natural 
History Museum, London, both of which contain large collections of 
Solanum specimens and are the sites of much morphological and 
nomenclatural work.  I assure you that morphological systematics is 
actively being pursued in this project, and perhaps it exemplifies 
some of the directions that taxonomy is going in the future.  Please 
visit our web site at http://www.nhm.ac.uk/solanaceaesource/ to see 
more about our approach to on-line monography.  Click on "Project" 
for more information about the project as a whole.  Our nomenclature 
database includes over 6500 published Solanum names and can be 
searched from the home page.  Search on "aphyodendron" in the species 
epithet box for an example of a completed "species page" that 
displays morphological information about the species, images, 
databased specimens, maps, and molecular data.  We still have a lot 
of work to do as a Solanum project and many new tools need 
development by the taxonomic community, but progress is being made. 
We invite suggestions and collaborations from the Taxacomers for 
improvement of this resource.
	This project was funded by NSF through the Planetary 
Biodiversity Inventory program, described in more detail at 
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=103065.  Rather than 
representing a reductionist approach lamented by some of the Taxacom 
contributors, this initiative seeks holistic approaches to 
systematics and biodiversity and is attempting to revive taxonomy and 
field work while promoting electronic dissemination of species 
information.  In my opinion, NSF should be congratulated for 
intitiating and continuing this program.
	As a "classical" taxonomist who also works in molecular 
phylogenetics, I agree that systematics is, and should be, a 
multi-dimensional science.  Our PBI Solanum project is attempting to 
put those ideals into practice.

Lynn Bohs
-- 
Lynn Bohs
Department of Biology
257 South 1400 East
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT  84112
(801) 585-0380