Whew! (Spiders!) 6 Mar 2008 After a three day workshop on the future and nature of taxonomy (or systematics; I’m still unconvinced there’s a difference) I am exhausted and enthused. The former because of the massive amounts of beer we drank, and the latter, well, because of the massive amounts of beer we drank, and the conversations that followed. In particular I am very impressed by Quentin Wheeler’s International Institute for Species Exploration, and the outreach program, “Planet Bob“, both of which stress the vital need to identify, describe and study the planet’s biodiversity in detail before it is all gone (and so it can be retained and not lost!). What is most interesting to me as a philosopher is that the IISE includes philosophers, historians and sociologists in its project. And the history of systematics (or taxonomy), a subject dear to my heart, is crucial. If we want to ensure that we actually do the systematics of life, rather than just talk about it or make available the old knowledge, funding, and therefore understanding of the need, for taxonomy must be found, and found now. An excellent talk by Norman Platnick on spider taxonomy convinced me that this is not a pipe dream – we can achieve a complete taxonomy within our lifetimes. But not if we insist on using simplistic measures like “DNA Barcoding” as a substitute for actual taxonomy. I gave a talk that nobody beat me up on afterwards, on the philosophy of taxonomy, so it has been fun. Now to rest for a day or so… John Lynch gave me tickets to go see Dawkins tonight. Anyone in Phoenix want to go with me? I have one spare, as Lynch has to deal with kids or somesuch. Ecology and Biodiversity Species and systematics
Administrative Miscellany 8 Nov 2007 Some things that piqued my interest without triggering a full post: Read More
Biology Species-related publications 8 Sep 20238 Sep 2023 What’s a personal blog for, if not to blow my own horn? Well, it can only be to blow the horns of those who I have collaborated with, of course. Two of my most recent publications are: The first is a chapter in the open Access book edited by Schwartz… Read More
Evolution Virgin births 4 Dec 2007 Forget about the season; virgin births can happen any time of year… and anywhere. So there is an Ask a Scienceblogger question about virgin births. In zoology this is called “parthenogenesis” (which means “virgin birth”), and in botany it is either called “vegetative reproduction” (think: cuttings) or “apomixis”, in which… Read More
Anyone in Phoenix want to go with me? I have one spare, as Lynch has to deal with kids or somesuch I wouldn’t mind going – that might be interesting. I’m in Tucson right now and it takes at least 90 min to get there, so the sooner the better.
Systematics is the toolkit we use to make taxonomies. Systematics is comparative biology which informes labeling and filing. Sometimes I am a systematic biologist; other times I am a fish taxonomist.