© 2000 by ICES/CIEM International Council for the Exploration of the Sea/Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer
Importance of assessing taxonomic adequacy in determining fishing effects on marine biodiversity
National Marine Fisheries Service, Systematics Laboratory, National Museum of Natural History Washington, D.C. 20560, U.S.A.
Department of Invertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C. 20560, U.S.A.
Department of Oceanography, University of Hawaii Honolulu, HI 96822, U.S.A.
[tel: +1 202 357 4990; fax: +1 202 357 1896; e-mail: vecchione.michael{at}nmnh.si.edu].
Fishing can change the biological diversity of an ecosystem substantially, and determining the effects of fishing on marine biodiversity requires a variety of data, chief among them the proper identification of organisms. Because identification of all organisms in an ecosystem is not currently possible, target taxonomic groups (taxa) must be selected. The current status of taxonomic information varies greatly among taxa and among geographic areas within taxa. Problems include nomenclature, diagnoses, and determination of taxonomic relationships. We provide examples of a variety of these problems. We then propose a series of criteria for evaluating available taxonomic information in determining the potential reliability of species identification, including recency and comprehensiveness of revisionary studies, methods used for systematic and phylogenetic studies, adequacy of documentation, and evidence of peer review. When the goal is to explore biodiversity, these criteria must be used differently from when measuring and monitoring biodiversity.
Keywords: marine biodiversity, natural resource management, systematics, taxonomy