[Taxacom] Red List of Insect Taxonomists in Europe

[Michael Wilson]

I have registered and entered data as an insect taxonomist, but was
underwhelmed by the questions asked and fear that the results will not be
able to answer on 'extinctions' of taxonomists, or advise effectively on
the other proposals.

We probably all consider that taxonomic positions have been lost in
Universities and Museums. But it would be difficult or impossible to judge
extinctions of positions in Institutions from this survey. The individuals
who have retired may not be extinct but their positions might be.  To give
an example from my own Institution (where I am now 3 days a week - a semi
retired category that is not allowed for in the survey).  At our 'peak
entomologist' we had 4 positions- now we have 1.6 (and one of those is
mostly a curator/collection manager). The individuals who have retired or
left their positions are still alive and well- and still producing- so
their expertise is not yet lost to us- but their positions are!  There
appears at present little hope of recovering these posts.

In the UK we are lucky that we still have a flourishing 'amateur'
entomology community, who are very active in field work, recording and some
producing high quality taxonomic work. Some of these are older and may have
retired from Institutes - some others were never 'professional'
entomologists but very serious amateurs.

I remain unconvinced that the survey will be able to adequately portray the
problems facing taxonomic challenges in Europe. To me it is a lost
opportunity.

Best wishes

Mike Wilson
National Museum Wales, Cardiff





On Thu, Aug 5, 2021 at 8:27 AM Lyubomir Penev via Taxacom <
taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu> wrote:

> Dear Taxacomers,
>
>
>
> We would like to express our immense gratitude to everyone who has
> self-declared as an insect taxonomist (professional or citizen scientist)
> on the *Red List of Taxonomists* <https://red-list-taxonomists.eu/>, thus
> joining in our efforts at the European Commission-supported initiative by
> CETAF, IUCN and Pensoft, aiming to assess the extent of taxonomic expertise
> on insects across the European continent *sensu lato*.
>
>
>
> Still, we know that there are many of you that are not part of this
> endeavor yet. Please come and join us! By making your taxonomic expertise
> visible to the European Commission, you are not only helping us identify
> taxa and countries where the *“extinction” of insect taxonomists has
> reached a critical point*, but also create a robust knowledge base on
> taxonomic expertise to prompt further support and funding for taxonomy in
> Europe.
>
>
>
> In case you haven’t registered yet, you still can do so by self-declaring
> yourself as an insect taxonomist via the Red List of Taxonomists
> registration portal <https://red-list-taxonomists.eu/> until *30 September
> 2021*.
>
>
>
> We kindly request you to also share the registration website (
> https://red-list-taxonomists.eu/) with colleagues at your institution,
> national or international contacts, email groups and social networks to
> achieve maximum participation from all who care about the future of
> taxonomy!
>
>
>
> *You can **read more*
> <https://wikis.ec.europa.eu/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=32112960>* about
> the initiative on the EU Pollinator Information Hive website.*
>
>
>
> With thanks and appreciation,
>
>
>
> Red List of Taxonomists team: CETAF, IUCN and Pensoft.
>
>
> *ANA CASINO*
>
> *CETAF, AISBL*
>
>
>
> *CETAF Executive Director*
>
> *DiSSCo Coordination and Support Office (CSO) Deputy Coordinator*
>
> *ABS Consultation Forum Representative*
>
> P. +32 (0) 2 627 42 51
>
> M. +32 (0) 496 79 19 57
>
> Email: ana.casino at cetaf.org
>
> Skype: ana.casino
>
>
> -----
> Prof. Dr. Lyubomir Penev
> ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2186-5033
> WoS ResearcherID: O-9982-2019
> <https://publons.com/researcher/324250/lyubomir-penev/>
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