Widespread support for a global species list with a formal governance system

Aaron M. Lien; Olaf Banki; Saroj K. Barik; John S. Buckeridge; Les Christidis; María Marta Cigliano; Stijn Conix; Mark John Costello; Donald Hobern; Paul M. Kirk; Andreas Kroh; Narelle Montgomery; Svetlana Nikolaeva; Thomas M. Orrell; Richard L. Pyle; Lauren Raz; Kevin Thiele; Scott A. Thomson; Peter Paul van Dijk; Nina Wambiji; Anthony Whalen; Frank E. Zachos; Zhi-Qiang Zhang; Stephen T. Garnett

doi:10.1073/pnas.2306899120

Widespread support for a global species list with a formal governance system

Aaron M. Lien, Olaf Banki, Saroj K. Barik, John S. Buckeridge, Les Christidis, María Marta Cigliano, Stijn Conix, Mark John Costello, Donald Hobern, Paul M. Kirk, Andreas Kroh, Narelle Montgomery, Svetlana Nikolaeva, Thomas M. Orrell, Richard L. Pyle, Lauren Raz, Kevin Thiele, Scott A. Thomson, Peter Paul van Dijk, Nina WambijiAnthony Whalen, Frank E. Zachos, Zhi-Qiang Zhang, Stephen T. Garnett

Research Institute for Environment and Livelihoods

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

Taxonomic data are a scientific common. Unlike nomenclature, which has strong governance institutions, there are currently no generally accepted governance institutions for the compilation of taxonomic data into an accepted global list. This gap results in challenges for conservation, ecological research, policymaking, international trade, and other areas of scientific and societal importance. Consensus on a global list and its management requires effective governance and standards, including agreed mechanisms for choosing among competing taxonomies and partial lists. However, governance frameworks are currently lacking, and a call for governance in 2017 generated critical responses. Any governance system to which compliance is voluntary requires a high level of legitimacy and credibility among those by and for whom it is created. Legitimacy and credibility, in turn, require adequate and credible consultation. Here, we report on the results of a global survey of taxonomists, scientists from other disciplines, and users of taxonomy designed to assess views and test ideas for a new system of taxonomic list governance. We found a surprisingly high degree of agreement on the need for a global list of accepted species and their names, and consistent views on what such a list should provide to users and how it should be governed. The survey suggests that consensus on a mechanism to create, manage, and govern a single widely accepted list of all the world’s species is achievable. This finding was unexpected given past controversies about the merits of list governance.

Original language	English
Article number	e2306899120
Pages (from-to)	1-7
Number of pages	7
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Volume	120
Issue number	45
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2306899120
Publication status	Published - 30 Oct 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. Authors have had involvement with list aggregating organizations as follows: IUBS GLWG: A.M.L.,O.B.,S.K.B.,J.S.B.,L.C.,S.C.,M.J.C., D.H.,P.M.K.,A.K.,N.M.,S.N.,T.M.O.,R.L.P.,K.T.,S.A.T.,P.P.v.D.,A.W.,F.E.Z.,Z.-Q.Z., S.T.G. Catalogue of Life: A.M.L., O.B., S.K.B., M.M.C., S.C., M.J.C., D.H., P.M.K., T.M.O., R.L.P., L.R., K.T., S.A.T., N.W., A.W., F.E.Z., Z.-Q.Z., S.T.G. GBIF: O.B., M.J.C., D.H., T.M.O., A.W. WoRMS: M.J.C., A.K., S.T.G. This work was supported by the International Union of Biological Sciences, Charles Darwin University, the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique—FNRS (grant no. T.0177.21), and the Australian Research Council (grant number DP230102933). We would like to thank Lyah Naindra for her translations of the questionnaire into Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese, Roanne Ramsey for her administrative skills and Miki Ensbey for her assistance for organizing our meeting in Leiden, kindly hosted by the Catalogue of Life and Naturalis, where the questionnaire was discussed in detail by our members. S. Nikolaeva is supported by the Kazan Federal University Strategic Academic Leadership Program (PRIORITY—2030).

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

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10.1073/pnas.2306899120

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https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2306899120

Cite this

Lien, A. M., Banki, O., Barik, S. K., Buckeridge, J. S., Christidis, L., Cigliano, M. M., Conix, S., Costello, M. J., Hobern, D., Kirk, P. M., Kroh, A., Montgomery, N., Nikolaeva, S., Orrell, T. M., Pyle, R. L., Raz, L., Thiele, K., Thomson, S. A., Dijk, P. P. V., ... Garnett, S. T. (2023). Widespread support for a global species list with a formal governance system. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(45), 1-7. Article e2306899120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2306899120

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abstract = "Taxonomic data are a scientific common. Unlike nomenclature, which has strong governance institutions, there are currently no generally accepted governance institutions for the compilation of taxonomic data into an accepted global list. This gap results in challenges for conservation, ecological research, policymaking, international trade, and other areas of scientific and societal importance. Consensus on a global list and its management requires effective governance and standards, including agreed mechanisms for choosing among competing taxonomies and partial lists. However, governance frameworks are currently lacking, and a call for governance in 2017 generated critical responses. Any governance system to which compliance is voluntary requires a high level of legitimacy and credibility among those by and for whom it is created. Legitimacy and credibility, in turn, require adequate and credible consultation. Here, we report on the results of a global survey of taxonomists, scientists from other disciplines, and users of taxonomy designed to assess views and test ideas for a new system of taxonomic list governance. We found a surprisingly high degree of agreement on the need for a global list of accepted species and their names, and consistent views on what such a list should provide to users and how it should be governed. The survey suggests that consensus on a mechanism to create, manage, and govern a single widely accepted list of all the world{\textquoteright}s species is achievable. This finding was unexpected given past controversies about the merits of list governance.",

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author = "Lien, {Aaron M.} and Olaf Banki and Barik, {Saroj K.} and Buckeridge, {John S.} and Les Christidis and Cigliano, {Mar{\'i}a Marta} and Stijn Conix and Costello, {Mark John} and Donald Hobern and Kirk, {Paul M.} and Andreas Kroh and Narelle Montgomery and Svetlana Nikolaeva and Orrell, {Thomas M.} and Pyle, {Richard L.} and Lauren Raz and Kevin Thiele and Thomson, {Scott A.} and Dijk, {Peter Paul van} and Nina Wambiji and Anthony Whalen and Zachos, {Frank E.} and Zhi-Qiang Zhang and Garnett, {Stephen T.}",

note = "Funding Information: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. Authors have had involvement with list aggregating organizations as follows: IUBS GLWG: A.M.L.,O.B.,S.K.B.,J.S.B.,L.C.,S.C.,M.J.C., D.H.,P.M.K.,A.K.,N.M.,S.N.,T.M.O.,R.L.P.,K.T.,S.A.T.,P.P.v.D.,A.W.,F.E.Z.,Z.-Q.Z., S.T.G. Catalogue of Life: A.M.L., O.B., S.K.B., M.M.C., S.C., M.J.C., D.H., P.M.K., T.M.O., R.L.P., L.R., K.T., S.A.T., N.W., A.W., F.E.Z., Z.-Q.Z., S.T.G. GBIF: O.B., M.J.C., D.H., T.M.O., A.W. WoRMS: M.J.C., A.K., S.T.G. This work was supported by the International Union of Biological Sciences, Charles Darwin University, the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique—FNRS (grant no. T.0177.21), and the Australian Research Council (grant number DP230102933). We would like to thank Lyah Naindra for her translations of the questionnaire into Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese, Roanne Ramsey for her administrative skills and Miki Ensbey for her assistance for organizing our meeting in Leiden, kindly hosted by the Catalogue of Life and Naturalis, where the questionnaire was discussed in detail by our members. S. Nikolaeva is supported by the Kazan Federal University Strategic Academic Leadership Program (PRIORITY—2030). Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2023 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.",

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Lien, AM, Banki, O, Barik, SK, Buckeridge, JS, Christidis, L, Cigliano, MM, Conix, S, Costello, MJ, Hobern, D, Kirk, PM, Kroh, A, Montgomery, N, Nikolaeva, S, Orrell, TM, Pyle, RL, Raz, L, Thiele, K, Thomson, SA, Dijk, PPV, Wambiji, N, Whalen, A, Zachos, FE, Zhang, Z-Q & Garnett, ST 2023, 'Widespread support for a global species list with a formal governance system', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 120, no. 45, e2306899120, pp. 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2306899120

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AU - Banki, Olaf

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AU - Cigliano, María Marta

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AU - Costello, Mark John

AU - Hobern, Donald

AU - Kirk, Paul M.

AU - Kroh, Andreas

AU - Montgomery, Narelle

AU - Nikolaeva, Svetlana

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AU - Pyle, Richard L.

AU - Raz, Lauren

AU - Thiele, Kevin

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AU - Wambiji, Nina

AU - Whalen, Anthony

AU - Zachos, Frank E.

AU - Zhang, Zhi-Qiang

AU - Garnett, Stephen T.

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N2 - Taxonomic data are a scientific common. Unlike nomenclature, which has strong governance institutions, there are currently no generally accepted governance institutions for the compilation of taxonomic data into an accepted global list. This gap results in challenges for conservation, ecological research, policymaking, international trade, and other areas of scientific and societal importance. Consensus on a global list and its management requires effective governance and standards, including agreed mechanisms for choosing among competing taxonomies and partial lists. However, governance frameworks are currently lacking, and a call for governance in 2017 generated critical responses. Any governance system to which compliance is voluntary requires a high level of legitimacy and credibility among those by and for whom it is created. Legitimacy and credibility, in turn, require adequate and credible consultation. Here, we report on the results of a global survey of taxonomists, scientists from other disciplines, and users of taxonomy designed to assess views and test ideas for a new system of taxonomic list governance. We found a surprisingly high degree of agreement on the need for a global list of accepted species and their names, and consistent views on what such a list should provide to users and how it should be governed. The survey suggests that consensus on a mechanism to create, manage, and govern a single widely accepted list of all the world’s species is achievable. This finding was unexpected given past controversies about the merits of list governance.

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KW - taxonomy

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DO - 10.1073/pnas.2306899120

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JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

IS - 45

M1 - e2306899120

ER -

Widespread support for a global species list with a formal governance system

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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