Mapping the biosphere : exploring species to understand the origin, organization and sustainability of biodiversity

View/ Open
Date
2012-03-27Author
Wheeler, Q. D.
Concept link
Knapp, Sandra
Concept link
Stevenson, D. W.
Concept link
Stevenson, J.
Concept link
Blum, Stan D.
Concept link
Boom, B.. M.
Concept link
Borisy, Gary G.
Concept link
Buizer, James L.
Concept link
De Carvalho, M. R.
Concept link
Cibrian, A.
Concept link
Donoghue, M. J.
Concept link
Doyle, V.
Concept link
Gerson, E. M.
Concept link
Graham, C. H.
Concept link
Graves, P.
Concept link
Graves, Sara J.
Concept link
Guralnick, Robert P.
Concept link
Hamilton, A. L.
Concept link
Hanken, J.
Concept link
Law, W.
Concept link
Lipscomb, D. L.
Concept link
Lovejoy, T. E.
Concept link
Miller, Holly
Concept link
Miller, J. S.
Concept link
Naeem, Shahid
Concept link
Novacek, M. J.
Concept link
Page, L. M.
Concept link
Platnick, N. I.
Concept link
Porter-Morgan, H.
Concept link
Raven, Peter H.
Concept link
Solis, M. A.
Concept link
Valdecasas, A. G.
Concept link
Van Der Leeuw, S.
Concept link
Vasco, A.
Concept link
Vermeulen, N.
Concept link
Vogel, J.
Concept link
Walls, R. L.
Concept link
Wilson, E. O.
Concept link
Woolley, J. B.
Concept link
Metadata
Show full item recordCitable URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/5119As published
https://doi.org/10.1080/14772000.2012.665095DOI
10.1080/14772000.2012.665095Keyword
Biodiversity; Bioinformatics; Biomimicry; Biosphere; Conservation; Cyberinfrastructure; Ecology; Evolution; International collaboration; Organization of science; Origins; Species; Sustainability; Systematics; Taxonomy; Team workAbstract
The time is ripe for a comprehensive mission to explore and document Earth's species. This calls for a campaign to educate and inspire the next generation of professional and citizen species explorers, investments in cyber-infrastructure and collections to meet the unique needs of the producers and consumers of taxonomic information, and the formation and coordination of a multi-institutional, international, transdisciplinary community of researchers, scholars and engineers with the shared objective of creating a comprehensive inventory of species and detailed map of the biosphere. We conclude that an ambitious goal to describe 10 million species in less than 50 years is attainable based on the strength of 250 years of progress, worldwide collections, existing experts, technological innovation and collaborative teamwork. Existing digitization projects are overcoming obstacles of the past, facilitating collaboration and mobilizing literature, data, images and specimens through cyber technologies. Charting the biosphere is enormously complex, yet necessary expertise can be found through partnerships with engineers, information scientists, sociologists, ecologists, climate scientists, conservation biologists, industrial project managers and taxon specialists, from agrostologists to zoophytologists. Benefits to society of the proposed mission would be profound, immediate and enduring, from detection of early responses of flora and fauna to climate change to opening access to evolutionary designs for solutions to countless practical problems. The impacts on the biodiversity, environmental and evolutionary sciences would be transformative, from ecosystem models calibrated in detail to comprehensive understanding of the origin and evolution of life over its 3.8 billion year history. The resultant cyber-enabled taxonomy, or cybertaxonomy, would open access to biodiversity data to developing nations, assure access to reliable data about species, and change how scientists and citizens alike access, use and think about biological diversity information.
Description
Author Posting. © The Natural History Museum, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of Taylor & Francis for reuse for non-commercial purposes only. The definitive version was published in Systematics and Biodiversity 10 (2012): 1-20, doi:10.1080/14772000.2012.665095.
Suggested Citation
Article: Wheeler, Q. D., Knapp, Sandra, Stevenson, D. W., Stevenson, J., Blum, Stan D., Boom, B.. M., Borisy, Gary G., Buizer, James L., De Carvalho, M. R., Cibrian, A., Donoghue, M. J., Doyle, V., Gerson, E. M., Graham, C. H., Graves, P., Graves, Sara J., Guralnick, Robert P., Hamilton, A. L., Hanken, J., Law, W., Lipscomb, D. L., Lovejoy, T. E., Miller, Holly, Miller, J. S., Naeem, Shahid, Novacek, M. J., Page, L. M., Platnick, N. I., Porter-Morgan, H., Raven, Peter H., Solis, M. A., Valdecasas, A. G., Van Der Leeuw, S., Vasco, A., Vermeulen, N., Vogel, J., Walls, R. L., Wilson, E. O., Woolley, J. B., "Mapping the biosphere : exploring species to understand the origin, organization and sustainability of biodiversity", Systematics and Biodiversity 10 (2012): 1-20, DOI:10.1080/14772000.2012.665095, https://hdl.handle.net/1912/5119Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Efficient organic carbon burial in the Bengal fan sustained by the Himalayan erosional system
Galy, Valier; France-Lanord, Christian; Beyssac, Olivier; Faure, Pierre; Kudrass, Hermann; Palhol, Fabien (2007-10-04)Continental erosion controls atmospheric carbon dioxide levels on geological timescales through silicate weathering, riverine transport and subsequent burial of organic carbon in oceanic sediments. The efficiency of ... -
Coral reef species assemblages are associated with ambient soundscapes
Kaplan, Maxwell B.; Mooney, T. Aran; Partan, James W.; Solow, Andrew R. (2015-06)Coral reefs provide a wide array of ecosystem services and harbor some of the highest levels of biodiversity on the planet, but many reefs are in decline worldwide. Tracking changes is necessary for effective resource ... -
Character-based DNA barcoding allows discrimination of genera, species and populations in Odonata
Rach, J.; DeSalle, Rob; Sarkar, Indra Neil; Schierwater, B.; Hadrys, H. (Royal Society, 2007-11-08)DNA barcoding has become a promising means for identifying organisms of all life stages. Currently, phenetic approaches and tree-building methods have been used to define species boundaries and discover 'cryptic species'. ...