Common names for species can vary depending on where you are and what language you speak. Although Latin has long been a dead language, it’s still the lingua franca of scientists.
Scientists use one Latin naming system to describe species and follow a specific set of rules to classify species. These set of rules are laid out in the field of taxonomy, and taxonomists are scientists who identify, name, and classify newly discovered species.
The scientific classification of species, or taxonomy, is important for many reasons and provides a basic understanding about a species in order to make effective management decisions for its conservation and sustainable use. See this useful link to the Convention on Biological Diversity, explaining exactly why taxonomy is so crucial for the preservation of our global biodiversity.
In fishery resources management, actions based on inaccurate species identification can result in ineffective management measures.
That’s because each species has distinct traits and the knowledge of these traits is essential for fishery managers to develop management measures specific to that species. Moreover, in order to preserve the biodiversity of an area, we need to have a clear picture of what is present and this can be achieved thanks to the expertise of taxonomists.
On this SEAFO survey, we’re attempting to identify and classify every single species we sample. We are already familiar with some of the species we find, thanks to previous research, but occasionally we find new, unclassified species and that is when it becomes really exciting!
Here on board we have specialists who help us identify all the species we collect.
Fran Ramil and Marta Gil are taxonomists focusing on corals and other invertebrates (such as sponges), Larvika Singh and Roberto Sarralde are our bony fish taxonomists, Paul Clerkin is our specialist for sharks, skates and chimaeras, and Erich Maletzky is our crustacean expert.
So far the samples from the various seamounts have included corals, sponges, and other invertebrates that need classification so Fran and Marta have been busy with their samples. The others are waiting for their turns!
In future blog posts, we’ll be walking you through a virtual tour of taxonomists at work, but as you’ve seen, we have lots of expertise on board. Ask us your burning questions – we look forward to hearing from you!
05/02/2015