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How many taxonomists are there?

The decline...

Do the numbers of taxonomists decrease or increase?

Despite the general observation and feeling that the number of taxonomists is decreasing over the last years and that we run into serious trouble with regards to the succession of knoweldge, there is only one source, to my knowledge, giving details concerning this question. It is a report from Australia.

"Taxonomic research and services are seriously under-funded in Australia. For example, in 1991, the US and Canada had 18,000 taxonomists while Australia had 450. Over the past two decades, funding for taxonomic research has declined considerably, as has the number of taxonomists working in museums, herbaria and universities. For example, in 1991 the number of systematic experts in Australian universities was 64, down from 193 in 1974. There have been no surveys done since . Consequently, there are usually significant difficulties for ecologists and marine planners, managers and industry in getting material identified reliably and in a timely fashion – particularly that of marine origin."

However, there seems to be no decrease in the number of publications yet (see ZooRec data).

The facts and sources.

World

Africa

Report on the "Decline of numbers for South Africa from Taxonomy and systematics research in South Africa: vital research facing a crisis in capacity and resources" by D. G. Herbert, G.F. Smith, M.L. Hamer and C. H. Scholtz May 15, 2001, gives following numbers:

Research funding from the same report

Abbreviations: AM = Albany Museum, Grahamstown; DNSM = Durban Natural Science Museum; NFI(TM) = Northern Flagship Institution (Transvaal Museum); NMB = National Museum, Bloemfontein; NMP = Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg; PEM = Port Elizabeth Museum; SFI(SAM) = Iziko-Museums of Cape Town (South African Museum).

Asia

Australia

Figure 54: The percentage of taxonomists working on each taxon out of the total number of taxonomists and the percentage of undescribed taxa remaining in each taxon, in June 2000. This figure demonstrates the paucity of information available for most native species in Australia. The category ‘worms’ includes annelid worms, flatworms, roundworms, velvet worms and thornyheaded worms. Source: ABRS.

Europe

Germany

So far no specific numbers for taxonomists are available but the staff (from caretaker to professor) of universities has been reduced and is still rather decreasing than increasing.

From 1997 to 2007 the universities in the German Land Baden-Württemberg have to reduce the number of employed people by 1.500.

The Landesmuseum für Technik, Mannheim, loses about 100 positions (leaving 70).

Die University of Heidelberg will reduce the number of posts from 1997 to 2007 by 230.

The Humboldt Universität zu Berlin will make 78 professorships redudant form 2004 to 2009 according to a structure plan, dated June 2004 (none at the Museum für Naturkunde, 2 in biology).

The staff at the universities at the Land Berlin was reduced from 12.878 in 1992 to 11.775 in 1998.

Starting from April 1999, the University of Münster is supposed to reduce staff by 183 posts.

The University of Essen loses 127 posts from 1999 to 2010.

United Kingdom

Taxonomists employed by CAB International 1992-2002::

	1992	2002
Bacteriology	1	0
Entomology / Arachnology	12	0
Mycology	15	7
Nematology / Parasitology	6	1

From "What on Earth" the House of Lords Report on taxonomy and systematic biology from 2001-2002.

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