Capacity building and not expert endorsements overcomes limited taxonomic expertise: Adeyanju et al. (2017) revisited

Abstract

Local species checklists are important tools for biodiversity research and conservation. However, limited taxonomic expertise can lead to species misidentifications, thereby reducing confidence in such checklists. Decline in taxonomic expertise is implicated in the taxonomic impediment – extinction of species before they are discovered and described. Global consensus for reducing the decline in taxonomic expertise and consequent taxonomic impediment and species misidentification is capacity building and provision of reliable easy-to-use guides. However, untrained local biologists under pressure to publish results of field surveys may boycott species identification best practices. Here, I use a recent scenario to highlight the plight and responsibility of local biologists in the species identification process.

Keywords: Tropical biologists, Nigeria, bats, capacity building