Stagnant research funding eroding ability to employ taxonomists and track biodiversity

By Debbie Lawes

Tens of millions of dollars, a comprehensive strategy and national standards are needed to re-build Canada's capacity in taxonomy research, which has slipped significantly over the past three decades compared to other countries, concludes a new report commissioned by Canadian Heritage for the Museum of Nature. Released November 18, the assessment (including a survey of 432 taxonomic experts) suggests that existing funding models such as the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) and Canada Research Chairs programs could play a role in reversing this trend. Such programs have helped to revitalize other neglected fields such as Arctic science.

The report examined three key areas: Canada's taxonomic expertise; the state of biodiversity collections; and access to data about Canadian biodiversity. All three areas were found to be deficient. It notes that stagnant research funding (despite rising costs), retiring experts, a lack of training and jobs, and little movement to digitize national specimen collections are threatening Canada's ability to assess the spread of invasive species, protect species at risk and study environmental changes. The solution, it suggests, is an integrated strategy that generates more funding and facilitates greater collaboration nationally and internationally.

"If Canada fails to act, it risks ill-informed policy decisions on pressing issues such as climate change, conservation, and natural resource management," states the 142-page report prepared by the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA). In contrast, it says a strong research effort in taxonomy "would enable Canada to focus on the discovery of compounds and biochemical pathways for multiple fields of endeavour; from the generation of bio-fuels, to the protection of human health and the development of new manufacturing processes."

Historically, Canada ranked among the top nations in contributions to taxonomic research but that legacy began to erode in the 1980s. Canada's publications contribution has dropped 30% over the last three decades, from 4.5% of the world's total in the 1980s to 3.1% in the 2000s. Over the past decade, Canada's global ranking has slipped from 6th to 14th out of 26 countries. Only India dropped more (from 5th to 15th place).

"The taxonomic expertise in Canada is slipping at the moment when it needs to surge forward," says Dr Thomas Lovejoy, Biodiversity Chair at the Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment in Washington DC, who chaired the expert panel.

The lack of funding support for taxonomy, both within universities and government labs, also means fewer job and training opportunities for graduate students. The survey found that while student interest in taxonomy remains and taxonomists continue to be trained, most trainees are concentrated in a handful of labs, with expertise limited to certain groups of species.

"Job openings in taxonomy have virtually ceased, despite a rising trend in biodiversity science jobs in general. For those taxonomists who do find employment, the field has suffered from stagnant levels of inflation-corrected funding per researcher, in direct contrast with the dramatic rise in research costs," the report notes, adding that this stagnation is biasing research activities away from costly activities such as molecular analyses, remote field work and radiotelemetry.

Most taxonomists are also not being replaced as they retire, resulting in many young researchers moving to other countries or changing professions, the survey revealed. "Now is the time to act, while we still have taxonomic expertise among our senior biologists and the capacity to train our younger generation," says expert panel member Dr Sara Otto, director of the Univ of British Columbia's Biodiversity Research Centre.

Moving collections online

Building Canada's capacity in taxonomy will rely on more than additional research dollars. It will also require more networking and collaboration among large research teams from universities, government and industry and that, says the report, will require greater use of web-based technologies for accessing and sharing specimen collections.

The US, Australia and Sweden are far ahead of Canada in funding digitization programs. Canada's collections contain more than 50 million specimens worth over $250 million. But less than 10% of these data are available online, making it difficult for Canadian researchers to collaborate internationally. The report blames inadequate curatorial capacity, aging facilities and the lack of a national strategy or standards.

Canada has also done a poor job at contributing to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, an open access database of global biodiversity. Only 20% of the information on Canada's biodiversity is being logged within Canada, according to the report.

"This dearth of computerized collection data comes from a lack of consistent investment. There is currently no incentive for investing in the digitization of our collections," says panel member Dr Luc Brouillet, curator of the Marie-Victorin Herbarium, Univ of Montreal. "We need national linkages to encourage the research community to share information." Brouillet estimates the digitization effort would cost at least $150 million.

Another panel member, Dr David Green, director of the Redpath Museum at McGill Univ, stressed the importance of having national standards for maintaining collections. The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, for example, has guidelines that apply to university researchers. But as Green points out, there is no long-term stable funding and a shortage of personnel to maintain these collections.

The CCA is hosting a workshop November 29 in Ottawa to discuss the report's findings and the future of Canadian taxonomy.

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