[Zoobank-list] GBIF GUID Workshop Report

[Pape, Thomas]

> [Doug:] If we adopt a Registry of Names, 
> and structure the data content properly,
> then there is no reason to abandon gender agreement.

I would still maintain that having some species epithets being spelled differently but covering the same species can be confusing and lead to oversights in, e.g., literature searches, irrespective of their GUID.

>> [Yde:] I agree it could be a good idea to split the responsibilities,
>>ZooBank taking care of the nomenclature and other resources (CoL, ITIS,
>>FaEu, ZooRec, FishBase, etc.) taking care of the taxonomic concepts.
>
> [Doug:] While I see some logic in this, it can also be argued that distribution
> of responsibility in such a fashion could also perpetuate significant
> redundancy of effort, and therefore a waste of our community's limited
> resources.

So why not combine the efforts? ZooBank and the ICZN would be the nomenclatural authority but cannot and should not make lower level taxonomic decisions (generic classifications, species validity, etc.). These would necessarily have to be done by 'subcontractors' with the necessary taxonomic expertise. But we can and should still work on the same set of names.

> [Yde:] Within the the context of the five-year EU Network of Excellence
> "European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy (EDIT)" starting at March 2006,
> supporting the set up of ZooBank is explicitly intended. [....]
> In addition we are searching for possibilities to finance ZooBank as a project itself.

Funding remains a crucial issue and I am happy to learn that efforts are being made to secure funding for ZooBank. But it is also important that the major taxonomic facilities realise their responsibilities for the TAXONOMIC MAINTENANCE of large nomenclators. For example by giving scientific credit to such activities, allocating technical resources, etc. With the collaborative initiatives like the European EDIT and the American LINNE we may get a unique opportunity to avoid the redundancy of effort mentioned by Doug.

Thomas Pape
The Natural History Museum of Denmark