As Species Decline, So Do the Scientists Who Name Them

Posted by samzenpus on Thursday May 8, 2014 @09:26PM from the end-of-the-line dept.

tcd004 (134130) writes "Few sciences are more romantic than taxonomy. Imagine Darwin, perched over a nest of newly-discovered birds in the Galapagos, sketching away with a charcoal in his immortal journals. Yet Taxonomy is a dying science. DNA barcoding, which can identify species from tiny fragments of organic material, and other genetic sciences are pulling students away from the classical studies of anatomy and species classifications. As the biodiversity crisis wipes undiscovered species off the planet, so to go the scientists who count them."

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That's silly. by mark_reh · 2014-05-08 22:43 · Score: 0, Troll

I don't care how many species are going extinct, there are enough unclassified species out there to keep taxonomists busy for the next 300 years.
The problem isn't decreasing diversity. It's the same problem with everything: we are getting too lazy to do the grunt work. Who wants to spend their time trying to decide where a creature fits into existing taxonomic trees when there's more "hollywood" type work to be done- you can get out on a Greenpeace boat and get sprayed with water cannons for trying to save whales, ferchrissakes. You might even get laid!