Douglas Yanega joins the ICZN
The latest issue of Nature magazine contains a short Q&A session with fellow Cornellian, heh, Douglas Yanega, insect taxonomist at the University of California, Riverside. The occasion is his newly appointment as commissioner for the prestigious International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), the institution who runs the show on all things related to scientific names for animals.
Some of Dr. Yanega responses are really, really encouraging for newly entomology graduates like myself:
Entomology as a discipline doesn’t get much respect or support. Unfortunately, no one seems to care about the estimated 10 million undocumented life forms on this planet. However, as a career choice, it is phenomenal. I help bring attention to these species. Unfortunately the current California budget turmoil has put my career at risk because I’m considered a staff member rather than a faculty member.
Yay!, phenomenal he said. Anyways, I do welcome his attitude in regards to his new appointment:
I think the present system by which we name species is not policed effectively and has loopholes and ambiguities. For example, scientific names can be published in journals without peer review. Although that freedom is fine, the reality effectively permits taxonomic vandals to plagiarize others or publish without scientific merit.
The ICZN, a 28-member commission, is now trying to deal with this and other messy issues. I advocate substantial changes to the code, such as provisions for online-only publication, but others prefer the status quo, which makes for a contentious debate.
Our current system of scientific nomenclature is one of the greatest achievements in human conventions; when it comes to universal acceptance it puts the Human Rights Convention to shame. The code has its problems for sure, but it is under constant scrutiny and revision, albeit slowly. In any event, it is better to introduce changes from within its governance, little by little, than to try to erect a shady government that no one in his right mind will join.
Read the full interview here.
3 Comments to Douglas Yanega joins the ICZN
For example, scientific names can be published in journals without peer review. Although that freedom is fine, the reality effectively permits taxonomic vandals to plagiarize others or publish without scientific merit.
Fixing this? Hallelujah!
Peter Yeeles July 20, 2009
Apologies – the first paragraph was intended to be in quotation marks.
How do I add quotes in a comment?
Roberto Keller July 20, 2009
No problem. Did it for you. The basic html style tags are supported for comments (e.g., <i>, <b>). To quote a block of text you can use the <blockquote> tag. It will be nice if comment preview gets implemented in WordPress.
Anyways. I foresee that defining what counts as peer review will be trickier than one would think. Lets hope Yanega succeeds in pushing some of those changes through.
July 20, 2009