Parataxonomy
Encyclopedia
Parataxonomy is the use of less qualified assistance to, or replacement of, taxonomists
in the practice and science of classification.
Parataxonomy may be used to improve taxonomic efficiency by enabling more expert taxonomists to restrict their activity to the tasks that require their specialist knowledge and skills, typically by undertaking basic sorting of collected specimens.
Generally parataxonomists work in the field, sorting collected samples into recognizable taxonomic units (RTUs) based on easily recognised features. The process can be used alone for rapid assessment of biodiversity.
This process is obviously prone to error depending on the sample, the sorter and the species, therefore quantitative studies based on parataxonomic processes may be unreliable and is therefore controversial.
The term is attributed to Daniel Janzen
who used it to describe the role of assistants working in INBio
in Costa Rica
.
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
in the practice and science of classification.
Parataxonomy may be used to improve taxonomic efficiency by enabling more expert taxonomists to restrict their activity to the tasks that require their specialist knowledge and skills, typically by undertaking basic sorting of collected specimens.
Generally parataxonomists work in the field, sorting collected samples into recognizable taxonomic units (RTUs) based on easily recognised features. The process can be used alone for rapid assessment of biodiversity.
This process is obviously prone to error depending on the sample, the sorter and the species, therefore quantitative studies based on parataxonomic processes may be unreliable and is therefore controversial.
The term is attributed to Daniel Janzen
Daniel Janzen
Daniel Hunt Janzen is an evolutionary ecologist, naturalist, and conservationist and the son of a previous Director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service...
who used it to describe the role of assistants working in INBio
Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad
The Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad is the national institute for biodiversity and conservation in Costa Rica. Created at the end of the 1980s, and despite having national status, it is a privately-run institution that works closely with various government agencies, universities, business...
in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
.