Self-help for taxonomists: three things we must do for taxonomy to survive

Abstract

Knapp & Boxshall (2010) concluded that “at the very time when the importance of biodiversity has been realised, our capability of describing and documenting it has been eroded to a crisis point.” It seems to me that little has changed since then but other contributions are focusing on the overall problem so I want to use this article to highlight three practical challenges for taxonomy going forwards.  1. Maintaining and enhancing the system of Reciprocal Illumination. 2. Building and maintaining taxonomic information systems. 3. Addressing issues of societal relevance.