The New Taxonomy

Synopsis

Initiatives reinventing taxonomy for the Internet generation are leading to a dramatic resurgence in this once declining discipline. Looking at the effort of several groups, especially the Global Bioinformation Diversity Facility, to catalog the world's biodiversity and make it accessible via databases, this work discusses the future of descriptive taxonomy. It covers such technology as DNA barcoding and its applications, computer-assisted species identification, digital morphology, and E-typification. It also provides insight into effective ways of organizing taxonomic information, and discusses what benefits can be leveraged from a rapid growth of taxonomic knowledge.