Abstract
Taxonomic data form a substantial, but scattered, resource. The alternative to such a fragmented system is a 'unitary' one of preferred, consensual classifications. For effective access and distribution the (Web) revision for a given taxon would be established at a single Internet site. Although all the international codes of nomenclature currently preclude the Internet as a valid medium of publication, elements of unitary taxonomy (UT) still exist in the paper system. Much taxonomy, unitary or not, already resides on the Web. Arguments for and against adopting a unitary approach are considered and a resolution is attempted. Rendering taxonomy essentially Web-based is as inevitable as it is desirable. Apparently antithetical to the UT proposal is the view that in reality multiple classifications of the same taxon exist, since different taxonomists often hold different concepts of their taxa: a single name may apply to many different (frequently overlapping) circumscriptions and more than one name to a single taxon. However, novel means are being developed on single Internet sites to retain the diversity of multiple concepts for taxa, providing hope that taxonomy may become established as a Web-based information discipline that will unify the discipline and facilitate data access.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (144.5 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Blaxter Mark L. The promise of a DNA taxonomy. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2004 Apr 29;359(1444):669–679. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2003.1447. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Godfray H. Charles J. Challenges for taxonomy. Nature. 2002 May 2;417(6884):17–19. doi: 10.1038/417017a. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hebert Paul D. N., Cywinska Alina, Ball Shelley L., deWaard Jeremy R. Biological identifications through DNA barcodes. Proc Biol Sci. 2003 Feb 7;270(1512):313–321. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2002.2218. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Knapp Sandra, Lamas Gerardo, Lughadha Eimear Nic, Novarino Gianfranco. Stability or stasis in the names of organisms: the evolving codes of nomenclature. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2004 Apr 29;359(1444):611–622. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2003.1445. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Lughadha Eimear Nic. Towards a working list of all known plant species. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2004 Apr 29;359(1444):681–687. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2003.1446. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Wheeler Quentin D. Taxonomic triage and the poverty of phylogeny. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2004 Apr 29;359(1444):571–583. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2003.1452. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]